I had not read a Dick Francis book in a decade, until today. I had meaning to reread his books for some time and today I did. I wanted to begin here, because this one remained with me long after I read "the end". I will be moving onto "10lb Penalty" next.

I don't know that Dick has ever had a bad story to tell.

This is a hum-dinger of a psychological thriller. There are plenty of episodes of the sort one expects from Dick Francis--horseracing and murders--but the core of this book is a family drama. Malcolm Pembroke is an exceedingly successful gold trader and consequently a multi-millionaire many times over. He has been married five times, as a result of which he has a very large extended family--former wives, quite a few inlaws, and many grandchildren. When it becomes obvious that someone is trying to kill him, he asks his estranged (unmarried) son Ian, a very able amateur jockey, to help him stay alive. Though both of them wish it were otherwise, in their hearts of hearts they know it's some member of the extended family who's trying to murder Malcolm and Ian too, but which one? Therein lies a subtle tale in which nearly every member of this disfunctional family is a potential murderer.

I can see why Dick Francis had a terrific career as a mystery writer and why fans still seek out his books.

"Hot Money" is a very enjoyable romp through a disfunctional family populated with several ex-wives and children of various legitmacies. Several attempts have been made on the life of Malcolm Pembroke, the family's patriarch. Malcolm reaches out for help to his estranged son, Ian, an amateur jockey who had turned his back on the Pembroke clan's money and problems. The fun begins.

Francis' world is perfectly etched within his brand of "horseman author" and he brings the readers just enough taste of the horse world to add color but doesn't get bogged down in the love of the horse. I thoroughly enjoyed this book for its quick wit and clever crimes. I chuckled out loud at several moments and therefore it earned its Four Star rating. Otherwise, it would have been relegated to Three Star as it repeated information and rehashed points from multiple angles - something most mystery readers seem to relish, but, since I lean toward the thriller and suspense genres, I found the repetition tiresome.

Overall, a very enjoyable read.

Wealthy gold investor Malcom Pembroke has had five wives (including one dead and one recently murdered). He has seven live children (about half with spouses and children of their own). He also has a son who is institutionalized for brain damage. This son was the sole survivor of an automobile accident that killed his mother and brother.

Now someone is trying to kill Malcom.

Recently, he has been spending millions of pounds on frivolous pursuits while his offspring are all scrambling for money.

Could it be that someone in the family wants to inherit Malcom’s money before he spends it all? Would a family member be willing to kill him?

Malcom settles on his estranged son Ian, an amateur race jockey, to help him solve the puzzle and keep him alive.

The horses are almost a secondary story in this novel. The complicated family relationships are what make this story shine – and moves it into the pole position as one of my favorite Dick Francis reads.

loved this book, would read and recommend.

Ex-wives and to many children all wanting to have a piece of the fortune that their ex-husband and Father or Father in Law had accumulated. One of them couldn't wait for him to pass away naturally - which one was it though?

What is there to say about Dick Francis? As I think about all of his books (yes, this review covers all of his books, and yes I've read them all) I think about a moral ethical hero, steeped in intelligence and goodness embroiled in evil machinations within British horse racing society - either directly or indirectly. The heroes aren't always horse jockies, they can be film producers, or involve heroes engaged in peripheral professions that somehow always touch the horse racing world.

But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.

Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.

You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).

There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.

Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.

I have read a number of Dick Francis books and this is different given the horse racing is secondary to the general story. That said, I enjoyed the book. One of the main characters, Malcolm, is the patriarch of the family. Although he is an imperfect person, you grow attached to him as the story evolves. This is true for his son Ian as well. Their escapades are fun to ride along with as you read. The rest of the story including characters from his multiple marriages is filled with family dysfunction, malice and greed. It moves at a good pace with the unexpected twists and turns. An entertaining read.

My favorite book by Dick Francis. I've read it many times. Once I even read the last page and went back to the first page and read it again. Horses, gold, murders, travel, bombs. A couple of big surprises towards the end.

Very fun. This is the one with a rich dad and siblings from different moms, and someone has murdered the latest stepmom. Our hero is an amateur jockey and assistant trainer, and the only one who doesn’t keep nagging dad for money.

Hmm, I don’t think there is any torture.

"I intensely disliked my father's fifth wife, but not to the point of murder."

So begins "Hot Money," Francis's 1987 masterpiece of homicidal family drama. Malcolm Pembroke is a filthy-rich gold broker and serial husband with a string of wives and children surrounding him. When someone murders his latest wife by suffocating her in her own potting soil, he turns to his estranged son Ian for protection and help.

Ian, while interesting enough, is a fairly innocuous hero; the true focus of the novel are the poisonous relationships radiating out from Malcolm, who can't seem to stop stirring up drama between those closest to him. In order to solve the mystery, Ian has to go back to the resentments of childhood and study the psychologies of all his half-siblings, which is where a large part of the charm of the book comes in. In "Hot Money," Francis creates not so much a charismatic hero as a charismatic family, one you want to keep finding out more about--and one with a terrible secret to hide.

"Hot Money" was written right as Francis was entering into the height of his powers, and is superbly paced and plotted. There's nothing earth-shaking about it, exactly, but it holds up well to repeated reading, and is guaranteed to provide plenty of pleasure to Francis fans or anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

Ian Pembroke, assistant trainer and amateur jockey, gets a call from his father, self-made multi-millionaire Malcolm, out of the blue. They hadn't spoken since Malcolm punched Ian in the nose for calling his soon-to-be 5th wife Moira a gold-digger. But now Moira is dead--murdered--and Malcolm has had an attempt on his life. Would Ian stay with him, and help him stay alive?

Easier said than done. It quickly becomes clear that the would-be murderer is one of Malcolm's living immediate family, which includes 3 ex-wives and 9 grown children. Ian and Malcolm stay one step of murder attempts moving quickly from place to place, while Malcolm pursues expensive hobbies guaranteed to drive his family to howling fury in fear that he will dissipate his fortune before they can inherit. Will he die before he runs out of money?

I love this book, and reread it regularly. The characters are sharply drawn--no mean feat for such a large family--and the question of how to distribute wealth is provocative. Enjoy.