Date first published	1991
ISBN Number	0 7181 3468 0
Page Count	277 H/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

Peter Darwin, a young First Secretary in the Foreign Office, returns to England from Tokyo for some quiet leave before taking up a new post. On the way he stops briefly in Miami, and there becomes entangled in a fracas which involves his going back to Gloucestershire, scene of the long buried memories of his childhood.

Walking unexpectedly into a veterinary surgeon's desperate troubles there, he begins to recall events from the past and comes to realise that if he stays around he can perhaps save a good many people from destruction.

Trained to penetrate the truths behind facades he has to use all his diplomatic skills to unravel not political shenanigans but the cruel fates which befall racehorses. The trick, as he progressively discovers, is not to suffer the same deaths.

This was Dick's 30th novel.

Review

I would describe this as one of Dick Francis's standard novel, a loan hero, entering into a fray by accident, and then being slowly sucked into events already taking place.

A little unusual is the fact that the victim isn't the hero, and he could in fact have walked away without any repercussions. The protagonist, has his aims on money, and seems to have little, no interest in the main character, a fact which only changes towards the end when he realises that he is about to be unmasked.

The story has quite a slow pace compared to some novels, but like all of his books shows a deep knowledge of the main subject, and at one point even takes us through an operation to relieve colic (which I'd heard of but not really understood). The slow pace however does not detract from the story, it allows events to develop, and also gives the reader time to work out what is going on.

However the protagonist stays firmly in the shadows until the very end, and the reason for the events are not cleared up until the end, although the pointers to the reasons are laid out about half way through the book.

A fun nicely paced story, with virtually no violence, although there are a couple of very nasty incidents. Can you solve the riddle of the dead body?

Previous	Index	Next