RIP - Dick Francis

Dick Francis has died. He has been one of my favorite authors for years. I have read and collected all of his mysteries and even read his nonfiction. You check out his obituary here.

It used to be my yearly treat to get a new hardcover by Dick Francis. And I would usually read all the others again (in order of publication) while anticipating the new book. His text was spare and his characters rather formulaic (the quiet person with uncompromising values who gets involved in a mystery) but something about them really resonated with me. As a champion jockey, his first books dealt with jockeys who solved crimes. He made horses and horseracing fascinating to me (even though my only real contact with horses began and ended with a friend's 4th birthday party at a stable when I learned that horses were huge, scary, and smelled really bad.)

Later mysteries veared away from jockeys as the main character but horse racing was at least peripheral in almost all of them. My favorites to this day are Reflex, Proof, and  Hot Money.

Reflex is the story of Philip Nore, aging jockey and photographer, who suspects that a racetrack photographer's fatal accident was really murder--and unravels some nasty secrets of corruption, blackmail, and murder. Philip also deals with the fact that he was abandoned by his mother and handed around to her friends as a child leaving him with a real sense of insecurity

Proof -- Wine merchant Tony Beach has expertly catered his latest society soiree, but the fun's over when a team of hit men crash the party...literally. The event leaves Tony with a bitter aftertaste of suspicion--and sets off a mystery that's an intoxicating blend of deception, intrigue, and murder.Tony is also dealing with devastating grief after the sudden death of his belove, pregnant wife.

Hot Money -- Malcolm Pembroke never expected to make a million pounds without making enemies. Nor did he expect his latest wife to be brutally murdered. All the clues suggest the killer comes from close to home - but after five marriages and nine children, that still leaves the field wide open. When he finds his own life in danger, Pembroke entrusts his safety to his estranged son, Ian, an amateur jockey; and through him discovers a compulsive new outlet for his financial expertise. Soon he's playing the international bloodstock market for incredible stakes. Not the safest bet for a man on the run from avaricious relatives. Particularly when one of them got a bomb... Malcolm Pembroke never expected to make a million pounds without making enemies. Nor did he expect his latest wife to be brutally murdered. All the clues suggest the killer comes from close to home - but after five marriages and nine children, that still leaves the field wide open. When he finds his own life in danger, Pembroke entrusts his safety to his estranged son, Ian, an amateur jockey; and through him discovers a compulsive new outlet for his financial expertise. Soon he's playing the international bloodstock market for incredible stakes. Not the safest bet for a man on the run from avaricious relatives. Particularly when one of them got a bomb...

If you haven't read Dick Francis and like mysteries, I highly recommend him. If you have, bow your head with me and mourn the passing of a fine writer.