The book: Andrew Douglas is a partner in Liberty Market Ltd, who advise people how not to get kidnapped; or if they do (get), Liberty partners negotiate with the kidnappers. As the book starts Andrew is working in Bologna, where a top jockey has been with her kidnappers for over five weeks. The first ransom payment fails, when the police gets carried away (I am not spoiling much - this is all in the first three pages!); the rest - well, read it yourself! It is difficult to summarize the rest without spoiling the plot, so I won't.
The author: Dick Francis was a Welsh jockey and writer of more than 40 thrillers. The Danger (1983) was his twenty-second thriller.
My opinion: one of the very best of Francis' middle period. In this period he writes about specialists in often somewat obscure or niche professions; in this case, the specialism (kidnap retrieval) intersects with horse racing. The book starts explosively and the tension rarely lets up - or if it does, there is something else to occupy our interest. It is a real scorcher with good characterization, pace, heartstrings being pulled; it is a book written by a craftsman at the top of his powers, spare and honed. But Francis is also an artist in that he breathes emotion and real life into the story, taking his audience 9pardon the pun) along for the ride - and leaving you with memorable scenes. One of his best - which is saying something!
Amazon Home
