Hot Money by dick francis

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

His best work

In my opinion, this is his best novel and I have read and re-read all of them. As always horse racing is the central feature, the secondary a on this one is gold trading/making money.

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maidemartine

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

Somebody murdered Moira Pembroke. The cops think her husband, Malcolm, did it. Moira was his fifth wife. Malcolm says he’s innocent, and he gets downright vocal about it when someone tries to end his life.

With five wives, a man can sire a lot of children, and so it is with Malcolm Pembroke. Sure, you can sire them, but can you trust any of them if your life is on the line? Malcolm realizes he has one son among the many he can turn to.

Ian Pembroke is an amateur steeplechase jockey. He and his dad haven’t spoken in three years, and Ian doesn’t care much for his siblings and their respective mothers. He barely tolerates his own mother. In short, the family is dysfunctional by every measure, and when its members see Malcolm spending their precious inheritance like a drunk politician, they want nothing more than to stop him.

This is a fascinating book that looks at the corrosive power of money when it blends with the even more destructive power of hate and distrust. Because Dick Francis is the remarkable writer he is, you will ally yourself with Ian Pembroke immediately. You’ll bask in his innate intelligence and even in his ability to ultimately forgive a dad who should never have distanced himself from his son in the first place.

You’ll also find Ian’s half-siblings memorable and fascinating. Of course, if you love mysteries, you’ll red it for the sake of the mystery; but there are so many other reasons you’ll want to read this that the mystery is almost—almost tangential. Read it and celebrate the life and talent of Dick Francis.

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Chadiyuu

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

This was a good one. I thought I'd have trouble relating to the serial husband (he's had 5 wives), but he was actually quite likeable. I thought his children's sense of entitlement was realistically portrayed.

It lost pace about 2/3 of the way through with all the repetitive questioning of the different family members, but the ending was good.

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Zackzkai_BR

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

Very surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The backdrop of horse racing made it iffy for me, as would have golf or boxing. Well done characterizations, believable dialogue, just-right pace, and a MUCH appreciated list of main characters made this a pleasure to read.

No, I did not guess whodunit.

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cirruspalace

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

Like Whip Hand, this is a favourite of Francis's I've read many times and firmly one of his best.

It's light on ideology except maybe the usual Francis Libertarian belief in self-starting and hard work being the 'right' way...although by the end even that's being questioned a little.

This is rare (unique?) for his books in that at no point does our hero have to overcome a huge test of strength against violence. It's not something you miss at the time becthe narrative is so strong and the mystery so compelling.

Is every character pretty much reprehensible? Yeah, but that's also part of the enjoyment, savouring these people at each other's throats. As such, Francis achieves the Agatha Christie effect of every one of the many suspects seeming equally likely but doesn't skimp on any logical characterisation or emotional depth in doing so.

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yuchan

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

If you think you have a dysfunctional family, read this book. It may make you feel better. This is about Ian and his father. His father has been married 5 times. His last wife was murdered and now someone is after him. After Ian and his Dad have been estranged for years his Dad asks him to be his “body guard”. Someone is trying to kill him and he is scared. Malcolm Pembroke is very rich. The dysfunction in the family is essentially his money and their lack of it. Based on the circumstances of the attempts on Malcolm’s life, he and Ian conclude the murderer must be a family member. So, in addition to keeping Malcolm safe, Ian is also trying to figure out who dunnit? The horse part of this book, (there always is in Francis book), Ian is a Steeplechase rider. AND, Malcolm starts buying horses. I liked this book. I normally do. When the mystery was solved at the end, I thought to myself, How simple that is. Hot Money is money that is used to bet when there is “inside knowledge”. Use that in the search for the truth and you will solve the crime.

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yoyowhatup

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

This is at least my fourth reading of this peak-Dick-Francis suspense tale.
The Pembroke family revolves around its patriarch Malcolm, whose gift for making money has earned him the "Midas" nickname. Malcolm's big personality also encompasses big appetites; the man has five ex-wives and a large complement of children. Well, he had five. One died in a car crash with one of her children, following which Malcolm embraced a new lady, Moira, over whose arrival his adult son Ian had a falling out with his father.
Estranged for three years from Malcolm, Ian is surprised to get a call from him. His wife Moira was recently murdered; police aren't entirely convinced Malcolm was not responsible, although they allow that Ian, busy at his job as an assistant trainer for a racing stable, had a solid alibi. But now Malcolm thinks someone is trying to murder him.
The family--three ex-wives and multiple children--are anxious that Malcolm is giving away his fortune; i.e., their inheritances; although all the children were given generous trust funds in the past, several are now in financial straits. Their bitter mothers are pushing the narrative that Ian will cut them all out of their inheritances, even as they appeal to him to influence Malcolm. Malcolm is stubbornly refusing to hand over more money on a matter of principle. But a second attempt on Malcolm's life, barely averted by Ian, prompts Ian to recommend evasive action until they can figure out who is behind the attacks.
The sudden intimacy of father and son hiding out enables them to reconnect as adults. Soon, Ian uses his insider family knowledge to reconnect with his many siblings. Sadly, it becomes apparent that one of those people is a murderer.
The greatest pleasure of this particular Francis novel is the depth of character development. We meet the entire Pembroke family, and learn their psychological issues and desires, their needs, and their fears. Francis was always good at creating memorable characters with minimal narrative, but here he parted from his normal brevity to display the dynamics of an extended family in crisis. The suspenseful underpinnings are just gravy on a well-written story about the traumas we choose to carry, or which we unconsciously pick up.
This is a free-standing novel, as are all of Francis' novels. Enjoy.

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IbanezEHB1000PW

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

I liked this one more than any other Francis book. A totally dysfunctional family, a father with a Midas touch that (horrors!) thought his kids should make it on their own and a trust fund, and one sensible son. "Entrenched belief is never altered by the facts," and the Pembrokes prove that to be true.

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