Proof

Rating:
Summary: Easy to read, crime story based on the liquor industry.
Review: A typical Dick Francis, with a capable but modest hero who investigates a crime at great risk to himself. This time the crime is in the liquor industry, and only takes in the fringes of the racing world. For a change, our hero gets shot instead of beaten up, but survives to outwit the villains in the end. A good easy to read novel giving an interesting background to the wine and spirits industries.

Rating:
Summary: It's a strike for the King of track mysteries
Review: Dick Francis does an excellent job of entertaining while educating. This is a fast moving story that revoles around ones fears, the alcoholic beverage industry, and the horse racing world. The characters are well defined. This is Dick Francis doing what he does best.

Rating:
Summary: One of Francis' best books
Review: Dick Francis reminds me of a master craftsman of say fine furniture. His quality and style are such that, though all his pieces are different, they nevertheless bear the mark of his unique style and craftsmanship. Once in a while you'll come across a piece that's so unique that at first you're not absolutely sure it's one of his but a very short inspection convinces you that, yes, as odd as this piece may be, it's his.

That's a long way of alluding to the fact that Francis' books tend to be highly formulaic. For the most part you know what you are getting before you even open the cover. The formula consists of a highly independent, iconoclastic, extremely self-reliant protagonist who, for reasons he doesn't fathom, has become the center of a storm that, before everything has played out, will involve him in intrigue, murder and at least one act of horrific violence aimed at him personally. There will be some sort of at least marginal if not central theme of horse racing and a specific theme to the book-precious gems, photography or, in the case of Proof, the wine business.

Proof is a bit of a departure form the formula. The horrific violence is right up front in the form of a ghastly automobile accident. Tony Beach, the protagonist of this accident is present to experience it though he emerges unscathed. The accident does, however, bring him into contact with a private investigator. Their shared experience leads them to get ot know one another and the investigator, realizing Tony has some skills he needs, drags him into one of his cases. Thus Tony is an involved party to, but not the focus of the intrigue of this novel.

Moreover, Tony is not your typical Francis protagonist. Recently widowed, Tony is trying to modulate grief within the context of his own insecurities of not having lived up to the rough outdoorsman-horse fancier image of his very renowned father.

The end result is a Francis novel minus the usual comfort level of the formula. While it can be a risk for an author to diverge from his comfort zone, Francis handles it here with aplomb. Francis is one of the greatest thriller novelists ever. The result is one of his best novels ever. That's not a bad combination!

This is a great read both for the Francis fan as well as the casual suspense-thriller reader.

Rating:
Summary: One of Francis' best books
Review: Dick Francis reminds me of a master craftsman of say fine furniture. His quality and style are such that, though all his pieces are different, they nevertheless bear the mark of his unique style and craftsmanship. Once in a while you'll come across a piece that's so unique that at first you're not absolutely sure it's one of his but a very short inspection convinces you that, yes, as odd as this piece may be, it's his.

That's a long way of alluding to the fact that Francis' books tend to be highly formulaic. For the most part you know what you are getting before you even open the cover. The formula consists of a highly independent, iconoclastic, extremely self-reliant protagonist who, for reasons he doesn't fathom, has become the center of a storm that, before everything has played out, will involve him in intrigue, murder and at least one act of horrific violence aimed at him personally. There will be some sort of at least marginal if not central theme of horse racing and a specific theme to the book-precious gems, photography or, in the case of Proof, the wine business.

Proof is a bit of a departure form the formula. The horrific violence is right up front in the form of a ghastly automobile accident. Tony Beach, the protagonist of this accident is present to experience it though he emerges unscathed. The accident does, however, bring him into contact with a private investigator. Their shared experience leads them to get ot know one another and the investigator, realizing Tony has some skills he needs, drags him into one of his cases. Thus Tony is an involved party to, but not the focus of the intrigue of this novel.

Moreover, Tony is not your typical Francis protagonist. Recently widowed, Tony is trying to modulate grief within the context of his own insecurities of not having lived up to the rough outdoorsman-horse fancier image of his very renowned father.

The end result is a Francis novel minus the usual comfort level of the formula. While it can be a risk for an author to diverge from his comfort zone, Francis handles it here with aplomb. Francis is one of the greatest thriller novelists ever. The result is one of his best novels ever. That's not a bad combination!

This is a great read both for the Francis fan as well as the casual suspense-thriller reader.

Rating:
Summary: Hands down my favorite Francis novel!!
Review: I love the hero and the story.... Francis doesn't get much better than this! Start here and work your way around all his novels and come back to it again and you will totally understand what I mean. A jem!

Rating:
Summary: Fine Francis mystery, with a wine industry theme
Review: More sedate than his parents, Tony Beach has found contentment running a small wine shop in a small English town, but he is still dealing with the recent tragedy of the loss of his wife. He is soon brought in as a consultant by the police in what seems a relatively harmless, small scale fraud--someone is mislabeling wine. But it seems there's quite a bit more to it than that, and the wrongdoers are willing to kill--again--to avoid prison!

With only a minimal involvement of the racing world in this mystery, Francis paints an interesting and informed picture of the wine and liquor industry. A bit formulaic, not unusual for Francis (his heroes ALWAYS feel they have to go get the crucial evidence themselves, rather than leaving it for the police!), but not unduly so.

Well worth a good read.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book
Review: This book does everything right--it introduces the reader to a new world, it has a tight plot and engaging characters, and it uses emotion effectively. Tony Beach is, in his own eyes, a coward and a failure. Both his father and grandfather were distinguished military men, while he, after years of searching for something he can be good at, has settled into a modestly comfortable life as a wine merchant. As the story opens, Tony is still grieving for the death of his wife, whom he loved very much, and he is still living under the shadows of his great forebears. In the course of the story, however, Tony is able both to come to terms with his loss and to discover strengths of his own. The crimes described in the story are not pretty, but the story is about more than crime. My favorite part of the book is the ending, where Tony finds out that he has more in common with his father than he ever thought.

Rating:
Summary: Dick Francis with a twist (pun intended)
Review: This book is a typical Francis hard-to-put-down, fast-reading thriller with one exception. Francis does his usual thorough job of investigating Clancy-style, but this time goes easy on the horses and heavy on the liquor industry. As usual, one is swept away by the story and is delighted to learn what Francis has uncovered in his research.

Rating:
Summary: Dick Francis with a twist (pun intended)
Review: This book is a typical Francis hard-to-put-down, fast-reading thriller with one exception. Francis does his usual thorough job of investigating Clancy-style, but this time goes easy on the horses and heavy on the liquor industry. As usual, one is swept away by the story and is delighted to learn what Francis has uncovered in his research.