I like a lot of Francis' books and this one in particular. The hero is pretty clearly intended to be read as being somewhere on the autistic spectrum (although it's never made explicit) and the handling of both his interior monologue and his emotions is fascinating.

I found Flying Finish at a local flea market. I picked it up because of the gorgeous maroon-and-gold hardcover (which is tragically too esoteric to appear on Goodreads), and I bought it because the first page made me giggle. I’m glad I did.

Having not read a mystery book since my Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys days, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself so invested in this book. The hilarity was well-timed, the plot well-structured and the prose well-expressed.

Francis captures his time in the ‘60s wonderfully, without making his characters seem dated or scenarios far-away. And while it remains only a sub-plot in the story, he pens protagonist Henry’s love for Gabriella in a most enchanting way.

I greatly enjoyed Flying Finish. I’m glad this was the book I picked to close my year out with.

Extremely dated but fun

not one of his best

This mystery has too much gore, much more than the usual Francis mystery. And unless you are a pilot the intricacies of piloting are just too exhaustive (and exhausting) I hated the end because I wanted to see the girl again!! I’ll move on to another Dick Francis to clear my mind of this one! It

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Much to his snobbish family's horror, Henry Grey takes on the dirty and demanding job of transporting racehorses by air (He had worked initially in the office of a company handling the paperwork and agents for transporting). And when he discovers that he is transporting something altogether different, he has to fight to land with his life intact.
Meets friend of pilot Patrick - Gabriela and falls in love with her an Italian girl. They comunicate in french as he does not know italian and she does not know english.Patrick is fluent in italian. In Milan Gabriela works at souvenir counter in the airport. Patrick smuggled contraceptive pills for Italian women who could not get them in Italy.
Various employees of transporting company that Henry Grey worked for had gone missing as they were murdered by Billy. The boss was transporting communist and other contraband with the horses. Also, one of the senior emplyees had got involved in a scheme to export horses twice to get extra retirement money as at that time the UK was giving 1.75% of export value as an incentive.
Both Gabriela and Henry are shot, unbeknown, in Milan by Billy hired gunman masquerading as a horse groom in the transporting planes working for the boss. Billy had a real dislike of Henry as he had inherited a title and would physically bully him which was also a ruse to distract Henry was seeing what was really going on. Rather than shooting Henry after kidnapping him when he left the hospital as he had received only a graze. Gabriella shot through the lung and quite serious. Henry had some out to go to the police station in Milan, Billy wanted Henry to beg and thus gave the opening for Henry to turn the tables instend of been shot execution style outright. Henry (who has a commercial licence) flies the larger hijacked place DC4 back to his home airport just enough fuel, only just found the airport. Patrick also survived but two other flight crew murdered. Ends with the understanding Gabrella and Henry and Patrick all survive and Henry is going to take up the pilot job he was offered. He also races horses.

Dick Francis usually writes a brand new character for every one of his mysteries, and this one in particular I found rather compelling. Like many of Dick Francis' protagonists, The main character isn't very aware of his own abilities, appeal, and strengths. He knows himself as suppressed and mild, drifting, introverted and socially awkward. The way he describes himself spoke a lot to me....except in my case, I rather lack the nerves of steel and cold willpower that he eventually exhibits in the fight for life, limb, and justice.

The only downside to this book is the excessive details of flying planes. I understand that the author was really into flying, but he doesn't infodump on horse racing, so why does he infodump on flight controls and procedures? It threw me out of the flow of the story more than once, and I ended up skimming once or twice as well. Otherwise, a very good read.

Part of the British nobility, Henry Grey is the family's hope for continuity. But Henry doesn't want to be the next lord. He'd rather ride in a steeplechase, or fly airplanes, or have an ordinary job. He doesn't want to get by on his title. That's the first tension in this book.

The second is the threats to his orderly life And, the third is his discovery of a smuggling operation.

"I pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the dusk-filled house. I, Henry Grey, descendant of the sea pirate, of warriors and explorers and empire builders and of a father who’d been decorated for valor on the Somme, I, the least of them, was going to bring their way of life to an end."

I enjoy a good read from Francis. He gets the details right, whether it is a horse jumping over a fence or the way freight needs to be stored in a DC-4. But here he is unable to pull it together:
Many of the scenes run on too long
The sociopath is a cardboard cutout
There are only two-dimensional supporting characters
The romantic bits are without any depth
The ending is "not with a bang, but a whimper."

2.5*

Dick Francis' fifth novel, and the fifth one I've read, as well. This one has less to do with racing and horses than the previous ones, though the connection is still there. Once again, the story builds up to an almost unbearably tense climax or, really, TWO of them, in this case.

This volume centers on the exploits of Henry Gray, who finds himself fed up with his boring life and decides to leave behind his respectable job at a bloodstock agency and instead work for a horse transport company. However, he discovers a tax-fraud scheme and when he reveals his knowledge he finds himself in a dangerous situation. Overall, this novel has all the twists, turns, and horses that one expects in a Francis novel. If you like other books by him, you will enjoy this one as well.

This is an odd Dick Francis work in the sense that the horse world angle is less pronounced; it could be said that it is more of an airplane transport novel. Nonetheless, the protagonist is easy to root for and there's plenty of action.

Another great read - second time around! Not much about horses in this one, but it still romped along. The “flying finish” was gripping! My heart was in my mouth, whilst being thankful that I was firmly on the ground! Excellent!!

Sir Henry Grey, son of a minor English earl, decides he has to work for a living and avoid the distasteful moniker of being one of the idle rich. He accepts a job as a head groom transporting horses around the world. In his travels he meets Gabriella working in the Milan airport and, for the first time in his 30-something life, he falls madly in love. Shortly after, he realizes his employer is transporting more than horses and his and Gabrilla's lives are in danger.