Audiobook Review: To the Hilt by Dick Francis

To the Hilt
Author: Dick Francis
Narrator: Simon Prebble
Publication: Recorded Books (February 8, 2013)
Length: 9 hours and 44 minutes

Description: Featuring the gripping plot, dramatic settings and believable characters that listeners have come to expect from Dick Francis, To the Hilt displays the master at the top of his form.

Alexander Kinloch is definitely the black sheep of his noble family, choosing the precarious life of a painter over a lucrative job in his stepfather’s brewery. But when a trusted assistant disappears with millions of pounds, Alexander is reluctantly thrust into a foreign world of bankers and auditors. Brutal thugs and jealous relatives stand in his way as he labors to save the business and protect the family treasures. In the face of adversity, Alexander must defend himself and his family’s honor to the hilt.

After three dozen novels, Dick Francis maintains his reputation as one of the most popular mystery writers of our time. Both suspenseful and poignant, To the Hilt is a wild ride through a perilous adventure.

My Thoughts: Alexander Kinloch is a painter known for his golf paintings. He is also the stepson of a brewery owner and nephew of the local Laird. He lives in quiet isolation on his uncle's land in Scotland until the day four thugs come to his home and beat him up demanding that he give them something unnamed. 

While recovering he gets a call from his mother saying that his stepfather has had a heart attack and needs him. Battered and bruised, he heads there to see his very upset stepfather who asks him to hide his racehorse and the crown that is the basis for the replica of the winner's trophy at a race he sponsors. He also finds that his stepfather is being verbally abused and pressured by his daughter who has hated Al since his mother married her father. 

His stepfather gives Al his power of attorney and asks him to act for him. Al soon discovers that the brewery is in big trouble. The man in charge of the accounting his embezzled all the money and taken off for parts unknown. 

This was an excellent story of a man out of his depth, but who has brains and character and the ability to find the right people to help him find the money, save the racehorse and the brewery, and win the day. I especially enjoyed the characters who helped Al including his eccentric private detective and the woman who helps him save the brewery.

I bought this one September 17. You can buy your copy here.