Dick Francis’ character Kit Fielding is the hero of two of his novels, Break In, which I reviewed here, and the present volume, Bolt.
In Break In, steeplechase jockey Kit Fielding defeated the machinations of businessman Maynard Allardeck, who inherited a long family feud with the Fieldings, and is just insane enough to attempt murder to get his way. Now Kit is engaged to Danielle, the American niece of the most important horse owner he rides for, Princess Cassilia. The Princess is married to an expatriate French nobleman, Roland de Brescou, who has very strict ideas about honor. So when the inheriting son of his old business partner suggests that their company branch out into gun manufacturing, M. de Brescou stoutly refuses. Such an enterprise is unthinkable to a Frenchman of his class.
That’s when the new partner, Nanterre, corners the Princess in her box at the races and threatens violence unless she can persuade her husband to change his mind. Then he goes so far as to actually barge into their home and threaten them all with a gun.
And then two of her horses are murdered with a “killing bolt,” a device for humanely putting animals down.
This is a job for Kit. He moves in with them and alternates fending off Nanterre’s attacks with his regular racing duties. He’s helped by Prince Litsi, a distant relation of the Princess’s who’s discreetly courting Danielle, who seems to be having second thoughts about the engagement. Still he’s a decent fellow and good ally. And he’s hindered by Cousin Beatrice, an egregious snob from Florida who’s leaking information to Nanterre. And Maynard Allardeck paces on the sidelines, venomous as ever.
Lots of fun. Kit is as stalwart as before, and the other characters are well drawn and interesting. There is the inevitable pre-marital sex, but the language is fairly mild and the violence restrained. The book does communicate a typically English aversion to firearms, excessive in the eyes of this American. And Kit seems to have bad luck running into a surprising number of sociopathic tycoons. Still, recommended, like most of Dick Francis’ books.
Tag Archives: Dick Francis
The Danger, by Dick Francis
I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about the last Dick Francis novel I reviewed, The Edge, so in justice I want to report on reading his 1984 novel, The Danger
The hero of The Danger is Andrew Douglas, an agent for a low-profile English enterprise called Liberty Market. Liberty Market is in the business of assisting the families of kidnap victims. They use their agents’ paramilitary skills to rescue the victims if possible; otherwise they do everything they can to make the ransom process as secure as possible.
At the beginning of this story, that process has broken down for Andrew. He is supervising, in collaboration with the police, the ransoming of an Italian heiress who is also a celebrity jockey, Alessia Cenci. Some of the police try to arrest the kidnappers prematurely, leading to a hostage situation and imminent danger to Alessia. Andrew, however, is able to negotiate the tensions down, and Alessia is finally released.
Because of his hard-won understanding of her post-traumatic stress, Alessia bonds with Andrew as she goes through the recovery process. When she goes to stay with a friend in England, she and Andrew are able to see more of each other, and she ends up helping him when he’s called on to rescue the toddler son of the owner of a champion race horse. Andrew suspects that a very intelligent, ruthless criminal is targeting members of the racing community for kidnapping, and that suspicion is validated when the chairman of the British Jockey Club is kidnapped in Washington, DC.
Andrew is the kind of hero you expect from a Dick Francis novel—brave, competent, decent and self-reliant. What sets this book apart, in my view, is the work the author clearly did on understanding the psychology of kidnap victims, and the stages of recovery. The section where Andrew helps to draw the horse owner’s rescued little boy out of his prison of fear is genuinely moving.
Highly recommended. Cautions for some adult language and mild adult situations.
Triple Crown, by Dick Francis
A while back I reviewed Dick Francis’ mystery, Decider, and said I’d be reading more. So I picked up the collection Triple Crown (comprising Dead Cert, Nerve, and For Kicks) and read it last week. It was an intriguing reading experience for me.
I have a hard time pinning down what’s so compelling in a Dick Francis mystery. Most of the stories revolve around the sport of racing (with the corruption that racetrack betting invites), and that’s a field of endeavor in which I’ve never had much interest (though I’ll admit that if I have to watch a horse race, I’d prefer a steeplechase, which is the kind of racing Francis concentrates on, at least in the novels I’ve read). I can’t say that he’s a brilliant stylist—in fact I’d characterize him as the kind of author who disappears totally, which isn’t a bad way to get your reader invested in your characters. I can’t say he’s especially skilled at crafting vivid characters. And yet I found myself horizontal on the couch for hours, turning page after page, absolutely under the spell of the stories.
Dead Cert, I understand, was Francis’ first published novel. It’s good, but I think he was still feeling his way. Nerve was his second book, and by then he’d already found his pace. This was possibly the most satisfying tale of revenge I’ve ever read. And For Kicks amazed me. It was the compelling adventure of a man who takes a dangerous job for money, endures great suffering and violence, and in the end learns something about himself that changes his life.
I think what I particularly like is that Francis writes about manly men. Men blessed, and burdened, with strength, integrity, and courage, Churchillian in their resolve never to give up.
What a joy to discover an author you didn’t know before, who has a long list of published works you can look forward to!