So reliable, an intrepid hero, horse racing, crime and all so easy to read

Riveting

I was surprised at the creative cleverness of this story. I am used to the basic Dick Francis plots, but this was a blend of different elements around a criminal enterprise that is plausible while also being unbelievable. I really enjoyed this one.

Deadly yet fun

The level of detail got a bit thick at times yet the chase was intriguing. Using the language of painters and horse racing was fascinating.


I had to pause and reread how the crooks were found out.

Worth the effort from a master in his genre.

This is a fairly typical Dick Francis novel. In this case, the protagonist is Charles Todd, an artist who specializes in painting horses. He goes to spend a weekend with his cousin and the cousin's wife, only to arrive and find that the cousin's house has been burglarized. The cousin's wife, who apparently surprised the burglars by coming home unexpectedly, has been murdered. The cousin, Donald, is a wine merchant and is currently having some financial difficulties. The police suspect that he may have had his own home burgled and his wife killed in order to collect a large insurance settlement.

Todd, of course, knows that this is a nonsensical idea. In talking with his cousin, he discovers that the cousin recently bought a very valuable painting while on vacation in Australia. The painting, of course, is missing along with everything else of value in the house. In something of a lucky accident, Todd then discovers that someone else he knows had recently bought a similar painting in Australia. Her house has been robbed as well and burned to the ground for good measure.

The coincidence strikes Todd as simply too improbable. His cousin Donald has turned basically catatonic as a result of the death of his wife and in an effort to help him and to get him out from under the suspicions of the police, Todd flies to Australia and begins investigating the events from that angle. Inevitably, of course, he stirs up a hornets' nest and puts himself in danger of losing life and limb. But like a true Dick Francis protagonist, he will stubbornly battle through tremendous odd to see justice done or die trying.

Like virtually any Dick Francis novels, this is a fairly quick and entertaining read. Once you've read a number of these books, you always know what you're going to get, and so returning to one of them is like reuniting with an old friend. There won't be any big surprises, but it will be an enjoyable experience all the same.

Snappy, fast-paced, and with a typical Dick Francis hero. What's not to like?

Charles Todd paints horses for a living, and he's just getting by. His cousin Donald is a prosperous wine merchant with a lovely young wife. Charles arrives for a visit to find that Donald's house has been burglarized, his lovely antiques and a lot of expensive wine stolen, and his wife, Regina, has been brutally murdered. Donald is falling apart, and Charles would love to find a way to help him. But how?

With the help of some colorful characters, Maisie Matthews, Jik Cassavetes, and in spite of the best efforts of some well-organized and very nasty villains, Charles finds a way to help. His enquiries take him to Australia and New Zealand, so we get the benefit of Dick Francis' talent for descriptive writing.

Someone once said that there is a genre of travel books disguised as novels. In the last book I reviewed, Smokescreen, Dick Francis took us to South Africa. In the Frame takes us across the Pacific. A good story, a satisfactory ending, and a guided tour of Sydney, Melbourne, and Alice Springs. Who could as for more?

Synopsist

When Charles Todd visits his cousin, Donald, he lands unexpectedly right in the middle of a major crisis: a burgled house, Donald's young wife, Regina, brutally murdered, Donald himself prostrated by grief, almost at his wit's end. What's even worse the police inspector instead of looking for a murderer starts accusing Donald of orchestrating the whole burglary to profit financially from it and help his ailing firm. Charles is outraged by their approach but what can be done? Especially that shocked Donald doesn't even think of defending himself efficiently.

Returning to London Todd, who earns his living as a painter specializing in horses, is hired by Maisie to immortalize her burned house on canvass. Chatting with that lady he almost has a sense of déjà vu: Maisie, like his cousin, has visited Australia recently, she, like his cousin, brought back a Munnings painting bought for a very reasonable price in an obscure, little art gallery and now she lost her house and almost all her belongings. Just a coincidence? Or maybe those two tragedies are somehow connected? Also in the case of Maisie the insurers are giving the victim a lot of grief, suspecting foul play. When Todd decides to investigate, Maisie is only too willing to assist him financially.

With her money, Charles is able to go to Australia and start sniffing around. He is helped by Jik, his old university friend, also a painter, and his wife, Sarah who live in Melbourne. Soon enough they trail a set of clues only to realize that someone is trailing them. What will they discover?

What I likedt

I liked the characterization in this novel, I really liked it a lot. It was done in really great way. Charles (or rather Todd, he hated being called Charles in fact) is a painter and he talks, thinks and breathes his passion. If he watches somebody he can describe them very accurately afterwards, he can tell you what ingredients are in particular paint colours, he can distinguish between a fake and an original just looking at the paint brushes; you don't doubt for one second that he is the real thing. The same can be said about his friend Jik - although he is a man of a completely different temperament and style, he and Todd understand each other perfectly well mainly because they share the same way of thinking.

It was a nice change that Todd wasn't made to fall in love during his investigation. Well, he kind of fell for Sarah but he controlled his feelings like an adult, responsible person. No insta-love or insta-lust - it made the novel even better. At least I got the feeling that the relationship between Jik, Sarah and Charles were natural and real.

What's more, I loved the narration style - smooth, elegant, unaffected, peppered with funny dialogues and situations in the right moments, teaching you a thing or two about art as well. In fact I was surprised when I found out that Francis was not a painter but a retired jockey; the man definitely knew a lot about painting and must have had an artisitc soul.

It is a crime story and I am glad to say that the whole mystery was nicely done, not very difficult but also not so easy to solve. Sometimes Todd reminded me of Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street - they shared the same passion in pursuing the justice. It is a compliment of a kind I suppose ;).

What I didn't liket

I admit that Charles Todd was a bit too lucky from time to time, especially for a total rookie of a private investigator who encoutered very ruthless and agressive criminals on his path. It was his first case, after all! I was also surprised a bit that such a big, efficient criminal organization like the one he discovered didn't have a plant inside the police forces. However, those are minor quibbles.

Final verdictt

One of better murder mysteries I've read for a long time even if it felt a bit dated. I will gladly take another Francis book.

Listened. Typical Francis, but I think I've had a bit too much of that recently and typical is turning into stereotypical. Won't penalize this one for that, although tempted.

This is a bit of a departure from Dick Francis’s usual fare in that it’s about the art world rather than the racing world. The artwork in question is horsey, but he isn’t immersing the reader in the horse world. That’s pretty much the only thing that detracts from the book for me. The characters are real and interesting, the backdrop of the mystery includes a lot of information about art, and the puzzle is complex and kept me guessing.

As always a very exciting Dick Francis, even if this story has only marginally to do with horses.
Todd visits his cousin Donald. When he arrives at his house, the police are already there. His sister-in-law is murdered in the living room. The whole house is devastated and most of it is robbed. A short time later, Todd meets a 'crazy' lady whose house has been burned down. What do these two cases have in common? Todd soon realizes that he is going to Australia. Together with his old friend Jik and his wife, the trio sets out to find the culprits. They not only find out that pictures have been forged and sold in all parts of the world, but that this gang is depriving all owners of the forged pictures and their belongings.
Todd must also painfully realize that this organization does not stop at anything. He passes death twice and is seriously injured. With the help of the police in Australia and England, the head of the organization is finally snapped.
(4½)

This was a good light hearted mystery novel. I can say I liked it, even though, having just fractured my shoulder this past summer (skateboarding), I physically cringed at the idea of getting out of bed and doing all the things our main character did as soon as he did. No way! The fracture in my shoulder was considered hairline and I was unable to turn my head without excruciating pain for at least two weeks. Ah well, that's fiction for you.

Charles Todd, a young professional artist, arrives to visit his cousin Donald, a British wine merchant, & his young wife, Regina, only to find their home has been robbed & burglarized and Regina has been murdered. With his cousin rendered nearly catatonic at his wife's death, Charles, leaves Donald and stumbles upon another crime victim that he suspects might have a connection somehow to Regina's murder. Charles sets out to find Regina's killer. In an adventure that takes him to the other side of the world to the Land Down Under, he & his art school friend track down an international art forgery and robbery ring that ends up nearly getting them killed, in their sleuthing adventures across Australia and New Zealand. Never a dull moment!

As usual with Dick Francis, his novel grabs the reader on page one and refuses to let go. It's not action that grabs the reader, not in the sense of physical danger lurking around every corner, but a psychological gripping that embeds the hero into the reader's sympathies. Francis has us hooked on Charles Todd's journey as he attempts to help his bereaved cousin clear his name. Todd is Everyman doing his decent best against a much larger enemy and a seemingly indifferent justice system. It doesn't hurt, of course, that Todd's journey takes us halfway across the English-speaking world or introduces us to the world of art or into race-day excitement. This was a good mystery and I was wondering all the time how it would unravel and how the crime worked.