Straight - Hardcover

Dick Francis has written thirty-nine novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), his autobiography (The Sport of Queens) and the biography of Lester Piggott. He is rightly acclaimed as one of greatest thriller writers in the world. He has received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers Association’s Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and the Mystery Writers of America have given him three Edgar Allan Poe awards for the best novel of the year, and in 1996 mad him a Grand Master for a lifetime’s achievement. He was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2000. Dick Francis divides his time between England and an island in the Caribbean.

By now, regular readers of Francis's novels know exactly what to expect: a carefully plotted mystery woven through the world of horseracing, with a few twists and a hero who can be depended upon to do the right thing. On those counts, his 28th novel neither surprises nor disappoints. When Derek Franklin, a steeplechase jockey nursing a shattered ankle from a bad spill, learns of the death of his older, long-estranged brother Greville, he's stunned to find himself named as both executor of the will and sole heir. But in rapid succession, Derek is mugged, his brother's gemology firm is robbed, and Derek himself is assaulted in another robbery attempt; understandably, he comes to suspect that Greville's death may not have been an accident. The complications that follow involve diamond trading, a horse named Dozen Roses and secret computer passwords that are discovered with such consistent good luck that credibility suffers. So does Derek--by story's end, he has rebroken his ankle and been involved in two shootings and a car wreck. Thanks to a clever finale, however, he emerges as intact as the author's reputation. Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection; Mysterious Book Club main selection; BOMC featured dividend selection.
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