Francis does his typical good job of suspense with some mystery thrown in. The main problem for the protagonist is not simply how to expose one bad guy, but how to expose--convincingly to the police--a well-organized international group of art thieves. And to stay alive in the process. The supporting cast includes several well-drawn characters.

This entry from early in Francis’s long career didn’t seem quite as sharp as some later books. It wasn’t a bad book, just one not up to the high standard of his later works, signs he had not yet fully hit his stride.

It was a story revolving around the scam of copies of famous paintings sold as the real thing then stolen from the buyer and resold again and again that leads to arson and murder. And like all Francis’s books, it’s full of twists and turns to keep the reader on edge.

Sadly, I have only one more Dick Francis book on my ‘To Read’ list, and when I’ve read it, that will be a sad day.

Another winner from Francis. Charles Todd is a painter, mostly of horses and things related to horse racing, who is thrown into investigating an international theft ring. Todd's cousin, Donald, has his home robbed and his young wife killed soon after returning from Australia where they purchased a painting by a famous painter at a bargain price. Of course it was stolen too but he gave Todd a description of the horses in the painting. Soon thereafter, Todd runs into a woman at the races who had her home burned down after it was robbed and she too had just returned from Australia with a good painting at a reduced price. In both cases, the police suspect the owners of insurance fraud so Todd sets out to investigate the art gallery in Australia to see if his suspicions are right. He soon discovers that the theft ring sets up novice painters in public galleries or other public spots to identify rich marks that they then send onto the fake gallery to buy the discounted paintings by a master. The gallery is there for only a few weeks and then they close up shop and send men to rob the houses that the paintings were sold to. They also must steal the painting because it is really a fake and then they use the painting again on another mark. Todd is able to eventually break in and take records proving his suspicions but not before he is thrown off a balcony, kidnapped and shot at. He survives all those attempts and still makes it back to England with the list, the fake paintings and the proof necessary to get the police off the victim's backs.

I thought I had read all of Dick Francis's novels, then I accidentally started listening to this audio version on my tablet. The story didn't sound familiar, and I listened to the whole story. This isn't one of the author's best, but I enjoyed the albeit familiar underestimated hero digging into a dangerous situation, suffering, but surviving, painful consequences of his investigations, and discovering the depth of his commitment and that of his friends.

Even at 99p I almost didn't buy this one as I recalled it not being particularly good and...well it's somehow not. Which is a shame because the plot is ambitious and clever, and it breaks with some of his traditional touchpoints and structural choices. And yet, as a whole it's unsatisfying.

First the bad: There are a few dodgy points: the misnaming of Uluru is probably to be expected in a book from 1976; the casual throwaway line near the end of the book about how your nice Irish neighbour could be about to bomb kids is like a grim gut punch of a racist assumption. On top of that we once more see Francis get on his hobby horse about how no one in modern society is allowed to take risks etc. We have got so used to 'boomer memes' spouting this sort of stuff it's quite funny to be reminded their parents thought the same of the boomer kids.

Clearly Mary or Dick got hugely into painting just prior to writing this one so it's packed full of the specifics of the craft, and no surprises there as we know this is what a Francis novel is like. But all the characters just feel like reused watered-down versions from previous novels. Nothing about the leads' painting really rings true and, despite most of it taking place in Australia, there's little flavour.

Finally, in terms of the plot, while it's well layered, the organisation seems altogether too huge and there's an entire sub-plot involving the theft of antiques that is never resolved in any particular way.

Excellent. If you're a fan of Francis this is great stuff. And for once, he takes the time to continue the narrative after the baddie is unveiled in order to deal with Charles's brother's ongoing grief.

Thoroughly enjoyable but not, I think, Francis's best work. I don't mind the fact that his books adhere to a formula, but this one never seemed to develop fully enough to really bring the formula to life. However, I did enjoy the Australian setting and the interactions between Jik and Todd, and I thought that Sarah's character was skillfully drawn. She wasn't a caricature. She progressed through very natural suspicion, reluctance, fear, courage, and affection.

Good old Dick Francis.

The offhand social/political commentary is always interesting...this was coincidentally on the Troubles.

It's always hard to rate different genres of books. Dick Francis has long been one of my favorite quick and enjoyable reads. I think I've read all of his books and I've read many of them multiple times (including this one many years ago). Still, this is an excellent Dick Francis novel. Hence the five star rating. Is it on a par with "A Gentleman in Moscow" or other 5 star literature? Probably not. But for me In the Frame provides 5 star entertainment. So 5 stars it is.

It’s been a while since I read a Dick Francis - and from memory I have read a few and thought them quite good. His USP is crime set amongst the horse racing fraternity. So in their parlance, this was a bit of an “also ran” that unimpressively limped home.

My favourite Dick Francis mystery, although I think Whip Hand is the best.

Painter cousin to the rescue.

I even learned a lot about painting and paintings with this story. Only nominally, obliquely race related, it was more about the criminal mind and international theft rings. This was a great quick read.