One of my favorite Francis books. Francis trades the typical setting of the English world for the Canadian countryside, as seen by rail. The hero is, as usual, quietly competent and prone to form sudden and inexplicable romantic connections. The bad guy is nefarious, to be sure, but not quite to psychopathic villain that plagues so many of Francis' other books. The mystery here is rather backwards, as well--the hero and his employers know full well who the bad guy is, and they spend the bulk of the book figuring out what exactly he is up to, how to prove it, and how to put a stop to his crimes. As is often the case with Francis' works, I find thinking that it would have made a pretty compelling movie. Definitely a worthwhile way to kill a few hours.

Yes, five stars for what this is--a good, entertaining listen while I worked around the house. Every cosy mystery writer worth their salt tries their hand at train mystery at some point, and Francis is no exception. James Bond meets Agatha Christie as Our Hero goes undercover to ensure that Canadian racing is kept safe from a British Baddy, while falling in like with a travel agent and befriending a bedridden old lady without ever taking off his disguise. No sex, please--we're British, upstanding and practically perfect in every way. Simon Prebble made this a joy to listen to as always.

I did wonder how Mercer got to be such a rich man while being quite such a softy. I don't know of many multi-millionaires who see the good in everyone; that wouldn't work in the cutthroat world of big business. OK, so he inherited his first millions, but we're meant to believe he's a sharp businessman--and yet he likes everyone and bumbles around not understanding what's happening half the time. Then there's the not-so-endearing trait of sending his problem child off to boarding school in England; I've seen parents do that in my own city and it never helps. I also wondered how a train, even one going at 35 MPH, could slam on the brakes without being heard by someone outside, but let's not get picky. I enjoyed listening to Prebble's superlative reading more than the print book I read many years ago.

Suspense in small doses, nothing severe, and fortunately no scene of Our Hero being tortured or left to freeze, drown or starve. Not really a whodunit this time--more of a "let's make sure no one gets done." Light, crisp mental popcorn.

When we were first married Marshal’s mother recommended a Dick Francis mystery to me to read. I really didn’t want to because they were about horse racing, which I knew nothing about. But because you didn’t say no to Marshal’s mother I read it and became instantly hooked.mOver the years Marshalmand I read all of his books. Recently a friend recommended me to reread this book because it is about a train trip all the way across Canada with horses, owners, trainers, stopping at various towns to race the horses. And also, there are murders.

As usual, Dick Francis has constructed a plot so engaging that one hates to go do anything else besides read. Lots of new information, description that entwines one in the story and a most satisfying ending where the bad guys get their comeuppence. I do love his fiction books!

I seldom give a Dick Francis book less than 4-Stars and this is no exception. A very interesting theme (The Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train) with a good plot and lots of extraneous information regarding railroads and trains.
I did learn something reading this book that I never knew before. I have always used the term "Lion's Share" when referring to someone who got the largest portion of something, but I never considered where it came from. I learned that, in the jungle, the females (lionesses) do the hunting in packs, while the male lion sits by watching and then comes in for the "lion's share" of the kill.
Never know what you're going to learn reading Dick Francis.

Back in the 80s and early 90s, I read a lot of Dick Francis. He writes to a formula. The protagonist is a young or youngish single man who has some kind of expertise. Said protagonist is embroiled in some kind of mystery. In the early books it was horseracing, or something to do with horses. Later on, he branched out into flying, computers, photography, what have you.
In The Edge, Tor Kelsey is a race course detective, working for the British Jockey Club to keep bad actors away from the turf. His bosses send him to Canada to track down a particularly villainous villain, a British racehorse owner who has the habit of scaring the people who cross him almost to death. He also blackmails race horse owners into selling or giving him their horses. The bad guy, Julius Apollo Filmer, was tried for conspiring to murder a stable boy who had revealed that he, the stable boy, knew things about Filmer that would get Filmer chucked out of racing. The stable boy was found dead two days later. All the witnesses either disappeared or recanted. Filmer was acquitted.
Canadian racing has sponsored a cross country race train, to endless hoopla, that will carry the owners of racehorses, with their horses, and other racing devotees, across Canada, running three races along the way and luxuriating in Canada's wonderful scenery. Filmer is on the train, and because Tor Kelsey's bosses think he'll pull something, so is Tor.
Throw in a murder mystery play that unfolds as the train speeds past beautiful Canadian scenery, and you've got some drama.

I enjoy all of Dick Francis' books, his mysteries are always interesting and I enjoy the depth he brings to the characters. With that said, The Edge is my favorite of all of his books and the one i have re-read the most over the years.

The story revolves around Tor Kelsey an undercover security operative for the British Jockey Club. He is sent aboard the Transcontinental Mystery Race train to try and thwart a nefarious character who has been involved in bad dealings, but no proof has ever been brought against him due to threats to keep those affected and knowing silent. To complicate matters on the Race train (which is hosting horses and owners in races across Canada) there is an ongoing Mystery on the train to keep everyone's attention during the trip.

The Edge is Francis at his suspenseful best and the story is twisty throughout- highly recommended if you enjoy mysteries.

I have always loved Dick Francis' books so I was happy to find one that I hadn't read yet. The bonus was that it takes place mainly in Canada.
The Canadian Jockey Club hoping to promote Canadian racing arranged for a VIA rail trip from Toronto to Vancouver for race horse owners and their horses. It includes races in Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver as well a stop in Calgary for a trip to Lake Louise. All familiar territory for me.

But one owner Julius Filmer is a ruthless operator who has recently acquired ownership of several horses under extremely suspect circumstances. Undercover for the British Jockey Club Tor Kelsey is posing as part of the trains staff hoping to ward off any trouble and trying to uncover just what Filmer is up to. It is a trip with plenty of bumps on the rails and a finish that is pure Dick Francis.

1 Jan 1989
4 Jul 1990
1 Jan 1998
30 Jul 1998
8 Sep 2016


One of my favorite Dick Francis mysteries. I love the whole train trip. And I reread it accordingly. Every so often. And anon.

The set up, the scenery, the mystery being acted out. I long to recreate the trip, following up with a cruise to see the whales in Alaska.

I thought this was generally a fun time but a bit slow to get going. It was ruined a little bit for me later in the book due to mention of animal cruelty. Could have gone for anything else to explain the horribleness of that person and that's what he went with. There were a lot of characters floating around but I was able to keep up mostly with the main ones. I never totally understood why they sent this guy on the train, like what they expected to happen, but I guess things did happen so it worked out. (Some people sent this main character guy on the train to keep an eye on this not-nice fellow involved in horse racing.) Some cool things were the housebound old lady who he reported to and the murder mystery storyline with actors on the train. I don't feel great about horse racing so that wasn't a draw for me.

The Edge doesn't have as much action along the tracks and courses as many of the books Francis writes. Most of it isn't set in England, but in Canada on a special racing excursion train that is also a train running one of the mystery adventures with actors. I found it interesting to see behind the scenes for both the train crew (mostly the wait staff) and the actors. And of course there is a real-life mystery -- just what foul deed is rich sociopath Filmer planning. Can our hero Tor Kelsey thwart that plan? I read the book quickly as I wanted to know the answers.

In some ways, the theme in this book is summed up in this quotation: What made one man good, I wondered, and another man bad: one man to seek to build, the other to frighten and destroy. The acid irony was that the bad might feel more satisfied and fulfilled than the good.

If you like mysteries that have horse racing as an integral part of the story, Dick Francis should be right up your avenue. If you also like mysteries that take place on trains, then The Edge should be your cup of tea.

This book cost me a few late nights - but I don’t begrudge it one bit. Loved the train ride across Canada, and the fun tale.