A masterpiece

Only Dick Francis writes this well! All characters are charming and believable. I felt like I was on the train travelling across Canada, and the mystery theatre scenes were well written and added another dimension to the story. Dick Francis is my favorite author and I highly recommend his books!

Definitely one of Dick Francis' best mysteries--although in this one the hero is not a jockey or former jockey. He is working at the tracks to get rid of 'evildoers' who would ruin racing. He stays very anonymous, until he has to accompany the Great Transcontinental Race Train (across Canada, stopping to allow the rich owners to race their favorit). This time Tor does not know who might be the bad guy or guys as they too are 'undercover'. There are many unusual characters on the train as well as a lovely young lady who arranges everything for the owners, and makes Tor think its might be time to settle down, but he has to survive attempts on his life first.

Tor Kelsey is young, single, and independently wealthy, which leaves him free to do virtually whatever he wants. He chooses to work as an undercover agent for the English Jockey Club, ferreting out threats to the English racing world. Kelsey is particularly gifted at disguising himself, blending into whatever circumstances in which he might find himself, and sneaking up on his quarry who never even notice that he's there.

In this case, a thuggish blackmailer named Julius Apollo Filmer has insinuated himself into the world of British racing so cleverly that the Powers That Be have no way of driving him out. Kelsey is assigned to get the needed evidence, which becomes increasingly important when Filmer joins an expedition called the Great Transcontinental Mystery Race.

In this case, the continent in question is North America, and a group of very wealthy and socially prominent owners are taking their horses on a week-long trip across Canada. The trip is designed to promote Canadian horse racing and it will be a very lavish party with some important horse races along the way. Kelsey will join the party on the train masquerading as a waiter, while he attempts to prevent whatever disaster Filmer intends to cause along the way. As always, an attractive woman will enter the picture, and Tor and the woman will do the slow dance leading to romance that is a hallmark of these novels.

The story is okay and will remind the reader in some respects of Agatha Christie's great novel, Murder on the Orient Express. The journey across Canada is interesting, and the scenery along the way is well-described. To my mind, though, this is not among the best of the Dick Francis novels because it lacks the tension that usually exists between the protagonist and the (always) nasty villain. Without giving anything away, the climax of the novel isn't quite up to the author's usual standards and thus this book seems a bit flat compared to many of the others. It's enjoyable, but a three-star read rather than anything more.

The book is about the Canadians setting a big race and they made things interesting when letting a huge train named the Canadian race to the destination and things happen when a psycho path goes on the train and the mysteries happen with disappearing people and the train must be stopped before it goes across Canada and misses the the huge Canadian race.

Let me be frank - this has to be one of my favourite books of all time.

I began reading Dick Francis when I was 13 years old, back in 2019, on my mother's recommendation. The first novel I read was "Straight" which immediately hooked me. However, after nearly 4 years of reading his works, "The Edge" has to be my best. It has everything you need - mystery, intrigue, romance, villainy and, of course, horses.

In summary: 10/10 - highly recommend!

Not for me. Too long, not enough about either racing or the train which is book’s setting.

4.5 stars. As others have said, more eloquently than I, much of Dick Francis' heroes are of the same base. Having said that, I enjoyed the buildup, the action and the writing of this book. Due to the way the book played out, there was (it could be argued) two climaxes, both of which were rather delicious, with the second one being a lot more satisfying. I was a little disappointed at the resolution being so short.

Tor Kelsey is an undercover investigator of sorts for the jockey club. He is independently wealthy and does the job just because he enjoys it. A horse owner names Filmer is obviously dirty, but they haven't been able to get evidence on him. Tor is asked to go on a transcontinental mystery train ride across Canada with owners, Filmer among them, and horses. It stops for races in a couple of cities, and there is an ongoing mystery acted out for the enjoyment of the passengers. Tor works as a waiter on the train, and tries to uncover Filmer's plot. It was a bit contrived. Ok, a lot contrived, but still decent reading. Francis creates interesting characters that you like.

4.5 Stars

The Edge by Dick Francis has a bit of a 'Murder on the Orient Express' (by Agatha Christie) feel to it, which I loved. Set on a train, we are pulled into an intriguing tale with an undercover (racing) agent, a transcontinental journey, horse racing elite, a sociopath with an agenda, plots, death, blackmail, corruption, danger, high stakes, crime & investigation, mystery, suspense, tension, dramatic developments, interesting characters, and humour.
->2023 Reading Challenge.
->Glennie's Collection
Dick Francis novels were a familiar fixture in our household when I was growing up, as both my parents loved his books. He was amongst the first ‘adult’ reads that I explored at the time, and over the years I have read everything he’s written. I remember every time my mother read one of his books, she'd tell me about him and how he'd gone from being an RAF pilot to being the Queen Mother's favourite jockey, before retiring to become a journalist/writer.
Since my mother passed away over a year ago, I have been making my way through her book collection, finally. I decided to make reading her entire collection a part of my reading challenge for the next couple of years (she has a HUGE collection), as well as a way to pay tribute to my mum, who was such a voracious reader..... Reading her collection of books has stirred up a lot of memories, mostly of our shared love of reading. I am forever grateful that she passed on her love of reading to me.

Always enjoyable reading a Dick Francis book even an old one that I finally pulled off my bookcase. This one took a bit to unravel all the characters and keep them straight, but as time went on you could actually picture them thru the descriptions and events. Quite fun riding along with them on the train, having the entertainment of the staged murder mystery, the delicious descriptions of their food, envisioning the spectacular scenery and learning a bit about rail travel. Horses and horse racing of course with the addition of the hunt to rid the industry of at least one soulless human being all wrapped into a complex plot and finale that Francis is so good at.

Unlike most of Francis' works, this one takes place on a train. Like most, this one also revolves around horses.

The Canadians are trying to set themselves up as the next big thing in race-horsing and to advertise their racing season, they've decided to feature special races and also organize for a traveling jaunt across the country for owners and racegoers by a special train. The cross country experience offers splendid meals on wheels, a 'live' mystery put on by special actors and an opportunity for those interested in horses and horse-racing to get together and experience the many joys of the Canadian horse-racing scene.

Enter Julius Apollo Filmer - a man whom the British racing world widely knows to be a thorn in the flesh for the Stewards and other senior officials in British racing because of his penchant for causing trouble. Julius' racing history is chequered, his deals shady and he has been implicated in the death of atleast one stable lad while being suspected of causing the suicide of a well known trainer. However, the charges levied against him remain unproven as the key witnesses backed out at the last moment and the man has continued to remain an eyesore no one in the racing world can do much about. Julius also carries a grudge against the racing establishment and will be traveling on the Canadian race train - to what ends and for what purpose, one can only guess but suffice it to say that the Canadian racing establishment is worried enough to request for help from their British counterparts.

Enter Tor Kelsey - mild mannered, unassuming, quiet - a man so in the shadows that most people never know he is there. Known for his ability to literally 'melt into the crowd', he is one of the best investigators in the British racing security team and he too, will be traveling on the Canadian race train. What he learns, sees and foils is what follows by way of a riveting plot that, though occasionally slow, picks up most satisfactorily and promises an all round enjoyable tale.

Other characters are nuanced, well written and play their parts admirably. The Edge is perhaps not as fast paced as a lot of Dick Francis' other mysteries but it is a story not to be missed if you like a good, quiet, suspenseful book for a Sunday afternoon read.

Book Report
Isabela Grajales Moreno 10B

Tittle: The edge
Author: Dick Francis
Page: 52/80
Genre: Mystery and fiction

Summary:
Tor Kelsey is an uncovered agent of the Jocker Club secuity service. He is ivolded in the attempt to rid horse´s races of his enemy Jullius Apollo Firmer. The court not believe what he says, so he has to collect evidence in a discret and cunning way. Jullius is a sicopath, a genius of blackmail and criminal corruption. Tor and Jullius get on a train, which goes for several races on Canada. The train is full of people of high class, rich people with fine horses. Kelsey pretends to be a waiter to follow all Firmer steps without being discovered.

Theme:
The theme of the book is cunning, and it also have a secondary theme that is criminalistic.

Opinion:
I really liked the book. It was interesting, but it didn´t captioned my whole attention. The book have lots of great details, I liked how the author described all the things, as the beauty of Canada and the scary the train was. The climax is great and is raiced satisfactorily. Sometimes the story turns monotone and that is what I didn´t like. But in general, is a good book, I enjoyed it.

Recomendation:
I think people should have the opportunity to read this novel. Although it has some flaws, it fails to let the reader stop wanting to know what is going on and what is going to happen next. It is also a book with easy understanding, which makes it suitable for people of any age.

Vocabulary words:
Serried: pressed together or compacted, as soldiers in rows. (adjetive)
- Sentence: I watched the serried troops yesterday.

Heavenward: directed toward heaven. (adverb)
- He was going heavenwards.

Twilight: the soft, diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon. (noun)
-She was receiving a twitlight in her face.

Blob: a globule of liquid; bubble. (noun)
-There were blobs in the park.

Daub: to cover or coat with soft, adhesive matter, as plaster or mu. (verb)
- My room id covered with daubs.