This was a bit different than other books but still horse and racing centric. The plot was more complex with an ending that was totally unexpected. I have yet to read a Dick Francis book I haven't loved.

The first Francis I ever read, back in the early 80s. "Get me out of this" was a new concept to me at the time, and Our Hero does his McGyver to rescue himself from repeated abductions that he doesn't quite understand.

Francis himself moonlighted as an accountant to stretch his jockey salary in the days before computers were everywhere. This plus his personal knowledge of offshore banking (he did, after all, move to the Bahamas when he got rich and famous) provides knowledge that doesn't smell of "I spent weeks researching this." This time around, though, I noticed that the typical Francis jockey-hero isn't quite the upright, forthright, downright square he appears to be. We begin the trend for lovemaking scenes and torture of the hero by the bad guy, but never fear, you're on Planet Francis so you can rest assured it will all come out right in the end.

David Case is not my favourite reader as I find his narration wooden, which cost a star. Prebble and Britton are to be preferred.

A decent, but very old fashioned thriller.

An accountant and amateur jockey is kidnapped one day, with no clear motive.

The mystery itself was fine if a little predictable. I wasn't a fan of the ending- the book just seemed to stop abruptly with an unsatisfactory resolution.

Both of the female leads felt very 1 dimensional. Probably would have been considered strong feminist characters in the 70s when this was written, but they don't come across well in this day and age.

This is one of the best titles for a Dick Francis mystery. We’re all familiar with the normal risk in his adventures—the racing related risks and the mystery-solving risks. But this time, the whole thing revolves around accountant risks. Didn’t think that accountants take a lot of risks? Read this book and you may just change your mind.

Roland Britten, our accountant hero, wakes up to find he’s a captive with no clue in the world as to why anyone would want to take him prisoner. This is a tense and scary way to start the novel and it only gets more so as we learn more about Roland’s predicament. True to Francis’ heroes, Roland is clever and brave and he figures out a way to escape his captors, but things only get worse from there. They keep coming after him and he has no idea why.

We the reader are also perplexed by Roland’s troubles, but Francis plays fair with us just like we were reading an Ellery Queen mystery. The clues are all there, but when he finally figures out what’s going on, Roland doesn’t handle the situation the way that most of us would. And that leads to another thing Dick Francis does better than anyone else on the market—write about pain.

This is one of the better Dick Francis novels. I’ve read it at least three times now over 25 years and I would not be the least surprised if I read it again someday.

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Rehomed

I am not a fan of horse racing. It draws no interest from me. But Dick Francis’s books – every one set in that world – have interested me from the moment I picked up the first one I read, probably 50 to 60 or more years ago.

In Risk accountant and part-time steeplechase jockey is kidnapped twice yet gets free both times without suffering great harm. Looking into what’s behind them, he uncovers massive fraud.

I have now read every book Dick Francis wrote. And that is a sad occasion tinged with the memory of having read 43 generally interesting and engaging novels. Offsetting that is that his son, Felix, continues the string of great reads.

Good quick, interesting read!

Again, Great reading by Dick Francis. Wild and enjoyable ride w/the horse in the book.
A look at the world of Accounting and what some things the career is about.

Only Dick Francis can make an accountant's work exciting and weave a fascinationg story around it. Classic Francis!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading a 'new to me' book of Dick Francis. (It's hard for me to believe I'd never run across it!). Again, he has written a story which thoroughly engaged my interest. This is a 'different' kind of story, and different kind of protagonist, for him; not noticeably so but enough that I was 'oh this is different'. A very good read with a sort of (for me, anyway) surprise ending.

Not on of his better books, but like his other books around this time period, we learn too much about a non horse racing profession-this time charter public accounting. A couple of kidnappings, some out of the blue twists and the hero wins in the end

Risk is one of the better titles in the Dick Francis catalogue, one that I recommend to readers as yet unfamiliar with his opus as a showcase of his abilities as a storyteller. As usual, it is told in first person by a likable character that looses no time in getting under the reader's skin and gaining his sympathy. How's this for an opening line:

Thursday, March 17, I spent the morning in anxiety, the afternoon in extasy and the evening unconscious.

Read on to find out how the fortunes of Roland Britten, up-and-coming young accountant and amateur steeplechase jockey, rise and fall from one moment to another, with the regularity of a montagne-russe ride. A rather lengthy opening sequence describes Roland's attempts to escape from being kidnapped for unknown reasons. The time is well spent for getting acquainted with his level headed approach to problem solving, his ingenuity and his stoical acceptance of things out of his control ( When things go bad, you endure what you must, and thank God it's not worse. ).

Back in England (come on, you knew he would escape, Francis is not George R R Martin to snuff out his main character in the middle of the story!), Roland tries to put back the pieces of his life and return to the routine of balancing accounts, auditing tax declarations and sneaking off to ride in another weekend race. With the usual thorough research, Francis makes the rather boring activity of adding up columns of numbers into a glamorous and dangerous pastime. The mysterious bad guys are not finished with Roland and the plot thickens with the introduction of a trio of ex-convicts as potential suspects (sent down by Roland himself for fraud) plus assorted trainers, horse owners, bookmakers and racegoers. Complications of a romantic nature with a rather ripe and plain school mistress ( I wonder though what kind of school the author went to?) competing for Roland affections with the young and lively daughter of one of his clients.

I have read so many of Dick Francis thrillers that I am now able to spot the bad guy from his first or second appearance on the scene. With Risk, I am discovering it doesn't do to become overconfident, as the author is still capable of pulling a fast one on me ( I was right about his boss being crooked, but didn't see the mastermind that organized the kidnapping, and also didn't cotton on to the fact a whole coterie of baddies might be involved, as in Agatha Christie's classic Orient Express murder ). The finale is typical Francis, brains and resilience ( Endurance is like tax. You're silly to pay more than you have to, but you can't always escape it. And you can whine, or suffer with good grace. ) versus violent ruthlessness and greed, leaving me with a feelgood smile pasted on my face and a little more hope in my fellow humans. In the introduction, critic H. R.F. Keating says Francis scores equally with professors of logic reading in the train from Oxford and children reading under the desk at school. I find myself in agreement with him, and look forward to keep reading these books as I get older.