more Dick Francis
May. 5th, 2016 08:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitHere's the latest news from Operation Lie In Bed a Lot and Read All the Dick Francis. I'm still feeling a bit under the weather--not actually ill but very tired, and emotionally a bit low--so lying down + light fiction has enormous appeal.
The Edge, 1988
Main character: Tor Kelsey, investigator with the Jockey Club
This has the oddest premise I've so far encountered in Dick Francis's books: it's set on a cross-Canada train journey, a sort of luxury excursion for racehorse owners that includes some stops for races, and which also features a murder mystery performed by actors who pretend to be guests and crew. Kelsey, in search of a real villain, is undercover as an actor who's undercover as a waiter. The plot is a bit overegged, and as a result the romance subplot is even thinner and less plausible than is typical for Francis, but worth it if you like journey stories (I do). There's also an interesting brief little scene where a gay man makes a pass at Kelsey.
Straight, 1989
Main character: Derek Franklin, jockey
After his elder brother's sudden death, Franklin finds himself having to run his brother's jewel import business. This one feels like a psychological novel wrapped in, and rather bogged down by, a mystery. To some extent it's about grief--the opening scene in the hospital is intense--and to some extent about identity, the latter mostly in creepy ways that I'm not sure Francis realized were creepy.
Longshot, 1990
Main character: John Kendall, travel writer and wilderness expert
Kendall becomes entangled in the family of a racehorse trainer whose biography he's agreed to write. There's a lot to like about this one, especially the family dynamics and the unusually complex way Francis handles the mystery plot. However, it is flawed by troublesome sexual politics that I wouldn't have expected from Francis.
Comeback, 1991
Main character: Peter Darwin, diplomat
This feels like more "typical" Francis than The Edge or Longshot, as Darwin, on leave and at loose ends, helps a veterinarian friend investigate a series of mysterious horse deaths during or after surgeries. It's perfectly entertaining but not a standout, except perhaps for some unusually disturbing violence.
Driving Force, 1992
Main character: Freddie Croft, owner of a racehorse transportation company
Croft tries to figure out who's been using his horse vans to smuggle, and what they've been smuggling. Again, fairly typical Francis, but with bonus points for Croft's sister (a physics professor and amateur helicopter pilot) and a sufficiently unusual love interest that it took me about 3/4 of the book to realize she was really going to be the love interest.
In general this is a good run of books; Francis's characterization has improved a lot, and they're less formulaic than the earlier novels.
The Edge, 1988
Main character: Tor Kelsey, investigator with the Jockey Club
This has the oddest premise I've so far encountered in Dick Francis's books: it's set on a cross-Canada train journey, a sort of luxury excursion for racehorse owners that includes some stops for races, and which also features a murder mystery performed by actors who pretend to be guests and crew. Kelsey, in search of a real villain, is undercover as an actor who's undercover as a waiter. The plot is a bit overegged, and as a result the romance subplot is even thinner and less plausible than is typical for Francis, but worth it if you like journey stories (I do). There's also an interesting brief little scene where a gay man makes a pass at Kelsey.
Straight, 1989
Main character: Derek Franklin, jockey
After his elder brother's sudden death, Franklin finds himself having to run his brother's jewel import business. This one feels like a psychological novel wrapped in, and rather bogged down by, a mystery. To some extent it's about grief--the opening scene in the hospital is intense--and to some extent about identity, the latter mostly in creepy ways that I'm not sure Francis realized were creepy.
Longshot, 1990
Main character: John Kendall, travel writer and wilderness expert
Kendall becomes entangled in the family of a racehorse trainer whose biography he's agreed to write. There's a lot to like about this one, especially the family dynamics and the unusually complex way Francis handles the mystery plot. However, it is flawed by troublesome sexual politics that I wouldn't have expected from Francis.
Comeback, 1991
Main character: Peter Darwin, diplomat
This feels like more "typical" Francis than The Edge or Longshot, as Darwin, on leave and at loose ends, helps a veterinarian friend investigate a series of mysterious horse deaths during or after surgeries. It's perfectly entertaining but not a standout, except perhaps for some unusually disturbing violence.
Driving Force, 1992
Main character: Freddie Croft, owner of a racehorse transportation company
Croft tries to figure out who's been using his horse vans to smuggle, and what they've been smuggling. Again, fairly typical Francis, but with bonus points for Croft's sister (a physics professor and amateur helicopter pilot) and a sufficiently unusual love interest that it took me about 3/4 of the book to realize she was really going to be the love interest.
In general this is a good run of books; Francis's characterization has improved a lot, and they're less formulaic than the earlier novels.
