Lucky in love and on the track

RIsk is a typical great work of Dick Francis: concise, well written and extremely interesting. All of Francis' works are too short. You want them to go on much longer. Fortunately, he has written numerous books and you can quickly start a new book when you finish reading one of his works.

Long drawn out sections of captivity

Long drawn out sections of endless captivity ruin what remains of a good story.
I love Dick Francis, but this one is close to being a non-starter.

Dick Francis is simply epic. This is the perfect book to spend and afternoon with - preferably in front of a fire with a cup of boozy tea.

"Few match Francis for dangerous flights of fancy and pure, inventive menace." BOSTON HERALD Roland Britten, accountant and champion steeplechase jockey, wakes in darkness with his hands tied. He has no idea where he is or what is happening, and still he manages an escape -- until he is recaptured, and the deadly cat and mouse game proceeds..

A book where the hero is an accountant! Almost changes your view of the species, though I’m married to one, so....

The book was good, moved quickly and was only slightly predictable.

A nice way to spend a few hours, but not a masterpiece.

Roland Britton is an accountant and part-time jockey. After winning a race he is kidnapped. When Roland escapes and resumes his audits, he is kidnapped a second time. He has to find out who is responsible to protect himself.

Two of my great loves--kidnapping and finance--at last wedded in this Dick Francis novel. Also some horse races but they're kind of an afterthought.
I'm a bit sad about the ending actually! Can't believe I got attached to Trevor on such little basis; he's barely around but I feel bad about his and Roland's partnership coming to a disastrous end. Also Hilary Pinlock is a badass and I ship her and Roland way more than Roland/Jossie despite the spiciness of falling for your enemy's daughter.

Dick Francis Hero in this one is a 'boring' Accountant. Wait, he is also an amateur Jockey. After winning a race unexpectedly, he is kidnapped for no apparent reason. Now the accountant turns really interesting, trying to figure why he was kidnapped and trying to escape. He succeeds but gets kidnapped again. Not Dick Francis's best, but readable and I like every day heroes who persevere and win, though the ending was not to my liking. The Hero's love interest was annoying.

DF uses this novel to put a commentary on England's tax laws. Heavy taxation was always self-defeating, with the country losing more for every tightening of the screw. The higher the tax rates, the less there was to tax. I'd have made Britain a tax haven, and welcomed back all the rich who had taken their money and left. A 50% tax on millions would be better than a 98% tax on nothing.

Francis knows how to write and opening and this is one of his best. Accountant Roland Bitten wakes up tied up in the dark and for there must try to get out and figure out why he is there. I read Francis when I find them and always have, finding them at the local library and buying them when I find them cheap. I rarely remember titles and have read most more then once and quite a few numerous times but it is always a treat when I bump into one I have not read before. This was such a case. It is not an instant reread for me but it is a Francis in fine form.

I can always count on a Dick Francis mystery for a fast, exciting read. If I have a whole day to myself, I can finish one in a single day.

In this one we have Roland Britten, an accountant and amateur jockey, who unexpectedly wins the Cheltham Gold Cup, one of the more prestigious trophies in horse racing. He rode the horse as a favor to one of his clients. When an accident happens on the course, he wins the cup. An ugly win, but he'll take it. Before leaving the course, he's kidnapped. He wakes up and finds himself tied up, completely in the dark. Eventually, he escapes only to be recaptured again within a few days. But he can't figure out why.

Once he's freed the second time, he's bound and determined to figure out what's going on.

This is an exciting read. Francis was able to make even both captivities interesting. What's more he makes accounting seem interesting. Fast-paced and breathtaking, this is an exciting one.

Most Dick Francis novels begin with a strange happenstance stumbled onto by an intrepid hero who soon finds himself beat up and bound, fighting to survive, before he solves the crime and gets away with the girl. This one began with a hero who wakes to find himself locked up, without knowing why. The hero, Roland Britten, is an accountant who rides racehorses as an amateur. During his incarceration, he goes over his entire life trying to figure out who locked him up. He finds he’s been put in a sail locker on a boat, and manages a daring escape onto the island of Minorca, where a spinster named Hilary Pinlock helps him evade his captors. Hilary proves to be a valuable ally later in the story, as well. Upon returning to England, Roland begins an investigation into a few embezzlers his testimony had sent to prison, as well as returning to work and trying to work out some puzzling discrepancies in the accounts of some clients. After riding in another weekend race, Roland is kidnapped again for several days, and then mysteriously let go. The location of his prison provides a few more clues to his captors, and Roland keeps digging. He meets a trainer’s daughter who catches his fancy, and spends time romancing her while unraveling the mystery. When he finally figures out who kidnapped him and why, he stages a meeting with the culprits, who have friends he hadn’t counted on. Roland finds himself bound again while the villains escape. He is eventually rescued by his love interest and Hilary Pinlock, and explains the whole scenario, wrapping up the story. Like most Dick Francis novels, this one is peopled with colorful, English characters that liven up the darker violence and mystery. This one didn’t disappoint at any turn.