If this book gave off any more Dad vibes it'd turn up at your house and mow the lawn you hadn't gotten round to mowing yourself. The entire story is based around a particular, slightly niche profession which has been carefully researched (reputedly by Francis' wife) so that the protagonist spends much of his time deeply immersed in the prosaic activities of his job in an oddly satisfying and slightly fascinating way. This leads to his being a witness to a dreadful accident, which leads to the discovery of wine and whiskey fraud, and, for the honest-to-God-relatable reason that he's lonely after the death of his wife, he allows himself to become a consultant to both the police and a corporate security agency, coming at the problem from two different ends.
The writing, characterisation, social observation and plotting are definitely a cut above, but it is noticeable that when the story strays into a horse-racing meet, the prose briefly srouts wings and takes off for the stratosphere before being, ahem, reined in again, betraying, I suppose, his years writing about the sport for a newspaper.
Yeah, it's easy to see why this well-crafted piece of entertainment was one of a string of bestsellers, but I do wonder, given his stature, why the audiobook, which has a superb reader, has not been cleaned up in any way - it sounds as if it's been transferred between two tape recorders before being digitised.

I recently finished listening to Proof written by Dick Francis and narrated by Simon Prebble.

For those of you who are uninitiated in Dick Francis mysteries, he tends to write amazing stories that somehow always link back to horses and often horse racing. The connection may be obvious or somewhat esoteric, however, it is always there.

This particular story features Tony Beach, a widower, wine merchant, and general expert on all things containing alcohol. He is catering an event for a friend who runs a stable. The event was the stables way of glad handing some of the horse owners in preparation for the upcoming race season.

He is, very quickly, introduced to a range of characters, including his friends secretary and general dogsbody who claims one of the guests owns a restaurant. He also happens to claim the fellow serves bad alcohol there. Very shortly after a horse trailer somehow gets free and rolls into the tent, literally steamrolling the guests at the party.

Tony's involvement is initially only as a concerned citizen and friend of the family, but it quickly becomes clear that his unusually good memory are both a boon to the police and a thorn in the side of the ne'er-do-wells. What at first seems naught but a tragedy quickly becomes a mystery that puts far too many in danger.

Simon Prebble did an amazing job narrating this book. I'm not sure if it was the writing or narration, but I really connected with this character in a deep way and Prebble brought Tony to vivid life.

Conclusion: This is an excellent mystery. It does have a bit of a slow start, but if you can allow it a bit of time at the gate it will show power in the stretch. I think any mystery lover will enjoy this one.

As with many Francis books, the title of Proof has multiple meanings. "Proof" of guilt, "Proof" of alcohol content, "Proof" of courage, and even "Proof" that life can continue after loss. All four are explored in this volume. In Proof, Francis gives us a look at the wine and spirit industry from the viewpoint of a liquor merchant who has recently become a widower. At the beginning of the book the merchant is terribly depressed from the loss of his wife, and also weighed down by a conviction that he has failed his family because he has never been conspicuously brave or successful as his father and grandfather were before him. By the end of the book, as in many Francis novels, he has discovered his previously unappreciated inner strength and a will to re-enter the land of the living. As usual, I love the way Francis quietly but intensely describes the suffering of his characters, and that oh-so-British stiff upper lip that carries them through their troubles. Although the details of the liquor industry got a bit tedious for me once or twice, this is definitely another worthy entry in the Francis repertoire.

Fast paced whodunnit

Fast, fun, and occasionally informative thriller. Simple, uncomplicated, but rattles along at a good fast pace without being a genuine page turner

Another great everyman mystery by my best bud, Dick Francis. This time, featuring wine. Meet Tony Beach. Wine merchant by trade. Young widower, as is the case in so many of his books. Brave, resourceful, but still just a regular joe. This is why I love these books.

I really hoped for a new career by the end of the book, but the ending made sense to me. Anyway, another good one by Francis. 3.5 stars.

Klasická Francis. Postavy barvité, ale typické - ať už jde o hlavního hrdinu nebo o záporáka. Záplatke pěkná, ale včetně rozuzlení jasná pro každého, kdo od autora přečetl jinou knihu. Jako obvykle rozvláčný začátek a posledních 10% knihy, kdy nejde odložit (když jsem v jedenácti letech četla Smrt favorita, nechtělo se mi ho odkládat ani kvůli rozbalování dárků na Štědrý den). Rozvláčné to možná ale připadá jen mě - nečtenáři detektivek - nebaví mě přemýšlet, kdo asi je vrah a rozřešit případ, proto knihy nečtu. Na druhou stranu, v těch dvanácti jsem francisovky četla kvůli těm koním (kterých tam ani moc není), Expert/Proof ale vyniká v popisu výroby a ochutnávání vína, whiskey, brandy a ginu tak, že vás to nutí otvírat bar. A taky se člověk v tomto oboru lecčemu přiučí, což se pro dospěláka, buďme upřímní, hodí víc než ti koně :-)

Vintage Francis

I have been reading & re reading Dick Francis novels for most of my adult life. The earlier books now have considerable period charm, and invariably begin with a tautly written opening - obviously learnt from his earlier journalism. Each book has a theme and setting using a well researched background as a base for the crime which includes some aspect of the horse racing world - and Proof is no exception. The main character here is a knowledgable wine expert running his own small shop, well respected but grieving for his late wife who tragically died sometime before the opening of the story. As with most of the other books a number of supporting characters emerge but in this story there is no romance, given the circumstances. Is it my favorite? Difficult to say as a number of the other books have a strong claim. I prefer the
earlier mid range to some of the later books and to those of Felix Francis who continued with the 'Francis' brand following DF's decline and death. I now often listen to these on Audible, many of which were excellently narrated by Tony Brittan.

I always enjoy reading a good Dick Francis novel. They are pretty clean, the language isn't too bad, and not a lot of sex.... Sometimes I even reread the books, because it's like being with a friend you haven't seen in several years. I really enjoy the characters he uses, and also enjoy the series he wrote about too. Tony Beach is a wine merchant with a small shop. He also provides the alcohol/drinks for parties. While at a party he did annually for a horse trainer, there is a horrible accident when a horse trailer careens down the hill from the car park and into the party tent. Over the next couple of weeks, Tony becomes involved in two investigations. There was the investigation of what happened at the party but there is a bigger investigation going on. Larry Trent, one of the attendees at the party (who is killed) had been blabbing about how he'd been at another party where the alcohol wasn't the quality is should be for the label. He'd been talking to Tony, which is how he got involved. The police looked to Tony as an expert to help locate the watered alcohol. What happens next is standard Dick Francis hold-on-for-the-ride stuff.
I really enjoyed this one. I'd been looking at Goodreads lists of Dick Francis books and this one was right at the top of the votes. I can understand why. The story pulls you in and introduces a number of characters and then the questions. The main character gets himself in and out of a scrape or two. About the time you're wondering how is this all going to come together, the pace picks up and the last hundred pages are a flying race to the finish. I was reading it on edge wondering what was going to happen and would he get out. I'd not read one yet where he didn't, but o my! Thriller to the end. Recommend

I've read one or two of Dick Francis' books but this is, by far, the best one. Perhaps it's to do with the easily likeable protagonist, Tony Beach, an unassuming, intelligent, and kind man. He didn't think he's anything special but his ability to distinguish one brand of alcohol from another made him the perfect 'consultant' for this particular case of stolen alcohol. It's a very easy listening for me & my only complaint is that it sounds like it is a digitalised cassette tapes. The sound was soft and tinny.

Lockdown Book #18

Always 5 ⭐️ for Dick Francis.

I love Dick Francis' books. (I do love the British mystery done right.) This story not only has some of the horse set but gives an education on the business side of wine. The MC is smart, lonely, quiet and braver than he thinks. Typical Dick Francis hero. Loved the story. Dick Francis could write. Very enjoyable.

I enjoy reading books by Dick Francis. This one was as good as the others I have read. There is always a mystery and murder mostly pertaining to horses and horse racing. This one was based around liquor and a wine dealer and his shop. It is a fun easy read.