Absolutely loved this book! It’s one of my favorite of Dick Francis. Brought me closer to Scotland, thanks to an intriguing character.

My first Dick Francis but not the last. Just a fun mystery. Nice guy painter just wants to paint in the middle of nowhere Scotland and be left alone but gets asked by his family to help - hide a treasure, hide a horse, save a business - and so he does.

This book was a shout out to my Grandfather who died in December. Dick Francis was his favorite author and it gave me so much pleasure to know that I was reading one of his favorites.

There are some authors that are so compelling, so interesting, that you never want their books to read. I don't know what makes Dick Francis one of those authors, but whatever it is, he has it. I realized soon after this started that I had read this before and I didn't care. I happily went along for the ride all over again. I listened to this one read by Simon Prebble, my favorite Dick Francis narrator, and it was a perfect marriage of story and narrator, as it always is. I wish there were new Dick Francis books to discover, but I'll take a rerun if that's all I can get.

There were a few differences between this one and the usual Dick Francis mystery. The connection to racing was peripheral at best and the hero is an artist, not a jockey. I don't know if the author has actually studied acrylic painting, but he had me sold and I wish the painting he created actually existed because I would love to see how it turned out. I didn't even care who the bad guys were or how it turned out. I just enjoyed the ride.

Wierd Alexander lives in the Scottish mountains in a bothy, where he paints, happy in his solitude. Until one day he returns from a supply run and interrupts 4 thugs ransacking his home. After being beaten and thrown down the side of the mountain, Al reluctantly heads to London to support his mother in a time of need. Things continue to spiral out of control.
I really like Alexander and the cast of characters in this book. My favorite character is the private investigator. This was a fast, delicious read and I am keeping it for a future reread.

A fun read. Lots of things were hidden from thieves who were ready to murder to find them. Like so many Dick Francis books, racehorses played a prominent role. This book also added a historical fiction feel which granted weight to the story, making it feel like a continuing part of history. Fast paced and fun to read. There was both excitement and humor and the main character had an awkwardness which created an unlikely hero. I recommend to anyone who likes horse racing, murder, and a touch of romance.

One of My Favorite Novels of All Time

For reasons I cannot exactly define, I love everything about this novel.
This is easily one of my top ten personal favorite novels by anyone, anywhere.
To me, Dick Francis' novels about ordinary people who, when pressured, do extraordinary things, are among my favorites of the untold numbers of books I have read in my 57 years.
Dick Francis' characters, mastery of description, twisty plots, and exciting action peaked, for me at least, right here in To The Hilt.
I have read and reread To The Hilt numerous times over the years since it was first published; this time I added this Kindle version to my collection and simply savored every word anew.
Alexander Kinloch is almost like a friend to me.
Every little thing that makes Dick Francis novels great is at its best here, is about as close as I can come to explaining why I love this particular book so much.
My parents were voracious readers and somehow I was the one of four children who just might have out read my parents. Dick Francis novels are like an inheritance to me since I discovered his mysteries in their mountain of books.
Now, my parents and Mr. Francis have gone on from this life, but though I never met Dick Francis, I am grateful to him for leaving such treasures behind, and grateful to my parents for, among many things, turning me on to Dick Francis' novels.

To the Hilt was my first Dick Francis novel. It was a light and entertaining read. Millions embezzled from a renown brewery, the financial guy shows up dead, and the owner Ivan has a heart attack. He entrusts his stepson, a painter and loner living in the Scottish highlands, as his agent much to the chagrin of his daughter and her almost comically vehement husband.

To add to the story there was Scottish clan history and estates, artifacts passed down through the centuries, thoroughbred training and racing, and wonderful descriptions of the artist's visions, paints, and techniques. Would love to see his work, too!

I've been rereading all the Dick Francis on the shelf in the Homer Public Library. This one is still my favorite. Painter Alexander Kinloch, nephew of a Scottish earl, is summoned from his aerie in Scotland by his mother to tend to his step-father, whose prosperous brewery has been ripped off to insolvency by its disappeared comptroller. Wonderful characters, contained but loving mother Vivienne; dithery but honorable step-father Ivan; proud, stubborn, hilarious uncle Himself (the earl); viperous but charming step-sister Patsy and her execrable husband Surtees; and one of the more capable and most amusing sidekicks I've ever read in the private investigative team of Young and Utley. The creation of the portrait of Zoe Lang is genius--wonderfully descriptive and mesmerizing.

Reflex, Straight, Banker, Proof, Decider also wonderful. Yeah, he was a jockey and there is always a horse around somewhere, but the books are often only peripherally about racing. Part of the greatness of his novels lies in the different worlds he explores in each of them, painting in To The Hilt, photography in Reflex, gemstones in Straight, venture capitalism in Banker, wine in Proof, architecture in Decider. He writes pretty much the same character every time, first person male, young, stubborn, honest, honorable, never a whiner, always calm and cool and on occasion astonishingly forgiving. Maybe it's always the same narrator, but it's someone you want to spend time with, and the writing is excellent. Read Proof for the telephone conversation between English Tony and French Henri, worth the entire price of the book alone.

This was an enjoyable read, with a good bit of mild wit, a fascinating series of settings, a decent plot, and a string of questions that remain unanswered and keep you going. I read it in basically one sitting. I also appreciated a very accurate narration from an artist's mind. My only major critique is that I felt continually offended by the flippant outlook implied by Alexander's unserious approach to his "marriage" and his need for an untethered solitary existence in the mountains... I guess it wouldn't have been as rough if in the story, he was met with any real resistance from the woman in his life... I understand that it was kind of a La La Land situation in which she needed to follow a particular vocation as much as he did, but... please. Then don't have them marry in the first place, and don't have it be fine and dandy after all, with him riding in years later and her being all: "Everything is forgiven, come to bed" on the literal first night lol.

This was a fun read. I have been meaning to get back to a Dick Francis novel for a while and after reading this am glad I did. It is not a great novel and it did not "wow" me. Not a whole lot of action. It was just an enjoyable story.

Alexander Kinloch, nephew of a Scottish earl, wants to do nothing more than paint and occasionally play the bagpipes in his bothy in the Scottish mountains. He enjoys his solitude. The story opens with Alexander in town to pick up his mail and supplies. Since his bothy has no electricity or phone he uses the opportunity to phone his mother and learns that his step-father has suffered a heart attack. He promises his mother he will come to visit. Upon returning to his bothy he finds four thugs who beat him up all the while demanding to know "where is it" before tossing him over the side of a cliff. Neither Alexander or the reader knows what "it" is that the thugs are looking for.

Bruised and battered Alexander returns home where he learns that his step-father's prosperous brewery has been ripped off to insolvency by the finance director who has absconded with millions of pounds. With his step-father deeply depressed and still recovering from his heart attack Alexander agrees to act as his power of attorney and try to save the brewery. There are wonderful characters in this story ... in addition to Alexander we have his contained mother Vivienne, his dithering step-father Ivan, his uncle the Earl ("Himself"), and Chris Uttley, the chameleon private investigator to name a few.

A Dick Francis novel wouldn't be complete without horse racing and in this outing we have Golden Malt, a thoroughbred owned by Ivan, and in the care of Al's estranged wife Emily, a race trainer. Al needs to hide Golden Malt as well as the King Alfred Gold Cup both of which are owned by Ivan but it is difficult to prove and don't want to get tangled up in court. Al is good at hiding things. He has been keeping the ceremonial hilt owned by his uncle the Earl ("Himself") hidden for years. This is the jewel-encrusted, solid gold handle of the ceremonial sword of Scotland's would-be king, Bonnie Prince Charlie which the Scottish government claims belongs to them.

It is a race to save his step-father's, and thus his mother's, honor. Along the way Alexander will emerge from his life as a recluse, discover the costs of becoming a hero ... and the benefits.

Dick Francis was honored by the Mystery Writers of America as a Grand Master in 1996.

Just not horsey enough for my taste!