"Gis' ya money or the orse' gits it" (The Danger - Dick Francis)

Member Name: idodoyou

Product:	The Danger - Dick Francis
Date:	12/01/02 (155 review reads)
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I dunno if this dooyoo is such a good thing y'know?
I can't just finish a book now, close the covers and either file it under 'keeping' or 'ditching'. Oh no, it has to be remembered, digested, dissected and deliberated over, typed up and posted. I try not to. But my mind is full of paragraphs, phrases and things I want to tell you.

Anyhoo .......

Dick Francis is one of my favourite authors. His books have all that I require when I'm in the mood for crime, intrigue and a titchy bit o' lurve and some horses [not together you understand? :) It ain't that sort of book y'know] Cos, really to generalise Dick Francis, his style and his novels, crime, intrigue and a titchy bit of 'lurve' and horses is all you ever get.
Now, I ain't complaining. There's the right mixture, the right amount of all to make one cracker of a novel every time.
Well, almost every time. I admit, there has been the odd weak spots in the Francis line up of literary offerings, but they are so few and far between they are hardly worth mentioning. So I won't .... Mention it that is!

The Danger was first published way back in 1983 by Pan Books. Today it reads just as well as it did 18 years ago. It ain't aged none! Weighing in with 405 pages, a touch more than we can usually expect from Mr Dick, each page packed to the gills with excitement and bloody good reading. Almost every page anyway.
The copy I have in my hot sweaty little mitts is one of the first published, and like the story itself, the cover hasn't aged either. It's bright and orange, and with a wad of dosh on the front. Why orange I dunno? Why the wad of dosh? Well, money features relatively heavily in the story line. Bout' kidnapping and ransoms and stuff y'know.
If ya wanna buy yourself a copy, head off to Amazon and pick one up. If you're going to try the online buying way, expect to pay about a fiver. If yo
u're thinking of heading into a high street bookshop, expect to pay about a fiver. But .... but, if you're going to buy books the idodoyou way, head for my local Sunday market and buy three books [all top authors] for a fiver. Of course, if you live in Scotland, I wouldn't bother. The petrol money will totally negate the saving of the book price! :)

Dick Francis used to be a jockey for Betty Windsor's mother [Queen Mother!!] y'know? And so, natural progression [well, John Francombe did it too] has brought forth writing about his time in the saddle and stories surrounding racetracks and horses. He's been doing it for neigh on 20 odd years [probably nearer 30] and he does it bloody well.

Throughout the years, and the novels we have witnessed a pattern emerging.
Although not always directly set on a racecourse, there is always a link to one some how or other. It might be the merest of mentions or a full blown story set in the world of equine antics.
The main character is usually male [a touch on the sexist side maybe?]. A guy that you and I would most probably know? Down to earth, with no airs and graces. Not the typical candidate to play the hero maybe? But somehow, the fact that the saviour of the somewhat helpless female that has been added to make the hero look better, works much more convincingly that way. All hero's don't need to be 6ft tall with rippling tanned bodies, piercing blue eyes, and smiles to die for y'know? Well, maybe in the movies ........ nothing wrong with a bit of eye candy is there girls ;)
Looking back, and trying to remember all of the Francis novels I've ever feasted my peepers on, I can't remember a single one where there isn't a female role being played. Yep, helplessness in the form of a woman needing reassurance, protection or just good ole fashioned 'lurve' comes to us via the pages and the story. Of course, we are not totally devoid of the 'st
rong woman' in the tales, but why should they have the main roles? The book doesn't need two heroes. The story doesn't command it.
I'm not grumbling. I don't really care. I don't read Dick Francis in order to learn of his view on equality. Just telling you how it is, and what you'll get when you pick up any number of this guy's novels.

Francis' writing style is easy. Which in turn makes it an easy read. Logical really I guess. Oh, I'm not saying that it's not detailed and descriptive. It is. It's just that it's done in such a way that the reader, you and I, complete Horse racing virgins can actually understand what the hell he's talking about. We are not thrown in at the deep end of a pool of equine information and not given a buoyancy aid of insight. If I can understand, and know what he's talking about, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to!
Of course, the main setting of some of his books are not necessarily set on a racecourse or in the world of our four legged equine friends. The settings come in a whole array of locations and occupations.

This one, The Danger, is set in a world of kidnapping. Or rather, the world of advising on kidnapping.
Andrew Douglas works for Liberty Market Ltd, and they do just that. Give advice on kidnapping. Not on how to kidnap you understand, but on how to deal with the kidnappers and their demands of ransom. Cos, lets face it, who kidnaps for fun? There's always an ulterior motive, and 9 times out of 10, the motive is money! Dosh! Bread! Wonga! Moula! Call the green stuff what you will?

When, one after another, a beautiful Italian jockey, a three year old son of a race horse owner, and the Senior Steward of the Jockey Club are kidnapped, tales of their individual ordeals begin to sound familiar. Andrew Douglas, who had been on the case of all three has put the main pieces of the puzzle together [the corners if you like?] and
a picture of the culprit behind this international chain of crime has emerged.

But how can he start to put the pieces back together when he finds himself in a position that he usually witness' from the other side?
Will he be given the chance to complete the puzzle?

Oooh, exciting stuff hey!
Well, yes ....... and no!

I mean, it kept me reading, but it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. Which I s'pose is a good thing .... I'd have only fell off!
Oh, it was interesting enough, and the story was kept at a reasonable pace. Just not highly exciting y'know? But to be honest, I don't actually think it was meant to speed along at some rip roaring speed anyway? Any faster and there would have been no time to learn about the characters. No time to find out about the kidnappings, the finer details. The details we kinda need, and that all go to make up the ending. Some authors make the mistake of trying to stuff to much in and leaving us confused and unsatisfied. Or in some cases, there is just not enough and boredom sets in. Dick Francis, either through instinct or practice, knows just how much the story needs. Just how much we, the readers, his audience needs.

As we head towards the ending, predictability sets in. I don't mean with regards to the identity of the kidnapper, but the other story line that runs along side. The ever present 'lurve' story. It's obvious from the start that the guy will get the girl. It doesn't detract from the book though because the main story we are following, i.e. the kidnappers identity is kept until the last couple of pages. In fact, to be honest, the ending is wrote in such a way that you, well I did anyway, get the feeling that Dick Francis himself didn't really know who to have as the culprit until he reached that bit in the book. It was too sudden and out of the blue. The ending is definitely the weak link in this story.

For an
y Dick Francis fans out there this is a reader. Not one of his best I grant you, but still worthy of your time. If you are looking for a starter into the world of Dick Francis, I'd say pick another. There are others that will make your initiation more enjoyable.

It isn't often you come across a Francis novel that fails to excite. It isn't often I come across a Francis novel that I fail to finish with a resounding slap of satisfaction.
Satisfaction and Francis tends to come hand in hand. To be honest, when you do stumble across one of Francis' weaker offerings it really is a strange feeling!

If I'm going to read this again, I'm not going to bother with the ending. Well, I know who the culprit is, and to be honest with you, I'd rather finish the book on a good note than to have the memory of a good story sullied by the terrible ending.

PUBLISHED : Pan Books
PRICE : R.R.P £5.99
PAGES : 405
ISBN: 0 330 28505

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