The book: Edward Lincoln, son of a stable hand, has made it - he is a successful film star. When a friend asks him to go to Sout Africa, where the friend's horses are not running well, he accepts and travels to Johannesburg. He meets a lot of people, but who is responsible for the bad running, and why? And then the troubles spread - to himself. The scenes he has been filming earlier become a horrible reality...
My opinion: Francis' 11th thriller, first published in 1972, is tautly written, has got good atmosphere, well-drawn people, and a complicated plot that will leave you guessing. Bouts of tension, good detecting; but as the hero is happily married, there is no romance - something that makes the books so satisfyingly complete, otherwise! What we get instead is a couple of scenes that will have claustrophobics (and most of the rest of us, too) cringe.
A good Francis - not his best, but solid gold.
