The danger

Dick Francis

Book - 1985

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MYSTERY/Francis, Dick
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Subjects
Published
New York : Ballantine Books 1985, c1984.
Language
English
Main Author
Dick Francis (-)
Edition
1st Ballantine Books ed
Physical Description
370 p. ; 18 cm
ISBN
9780449210376
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

The action starts with the first sentence as listeners enter Dick Francis' story (Putnam, 1984) involving the kidnapping of the daughter of a wealthy Italian industrialist and horseracing enthusiast. The British consultant, through whose narration the plots unfold, advises the less-than-competent carabinieri, tracks the kidnapper to the U.S., and himself becomes the kidnapper's victim. Tony Britton reads with different voices and accents for each character, which helps break up such a long story and increases listeners' interest. The excellent narration and quality of the recordings enhance the overall value of a well-written mystery novel. Adult. --Leonard Garigliano

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

As a security consultant for a quiet and unspectacular British firm known as Liberty Market, Andrew Douglas works with the families of kidnap victims and local law enforcement agencies to free hostages and, if possible, capture their abductors. Andrew is very good at his job, and his success depends on remaining in the background; in this shadowy position, he has so far managed to bring 15 kidnap incidents to successful conclusions. The 16th case, arranging the release of Italy's most popular female jockey, Alessia Pucinelli, takes his life in an entirely new direction. Andrew's investigations into the unusual circumstances of her captivity lead him to suspect a pattern; it seems that this particular technique has been used by a gang before. Tony Britton's quiet, low-key voice gives the listener an excellent picture of the quiet, low-key characters that Francis (Hot Money) makes into heroes. Britton is also good at creating Italian accents that sound neither comic nor overdone, yet manage to be quite distinct from each other. For public library collections where Francis's works and/or suspense novels are popular.ÄBarbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Most kidnap-thrillers suffer from pacing problems--with the familiar basics (the snatch, the ransom demand, the drop, etc,) strung out rather too predictably. So Francis, that canny pro, serves up three kidnap cases in a compact, all-tension, overlapping triptych: all the cases feature the same sleuth, and all (more surprisingly) feature the same evil mastermind. The novel opens mid-kidnap in Bologna: jockey Alessia Cenci has been abducted; her doting tycoon-father has agreed to the ransom; but, despite the presence of narrator Andrew Douglas, a kidnap-specialist from ""Liberty Market Ltd.,"" the payoff has been bungled--with Italian cops too eager to nab the nappers. So, while the cops duel with two minor members of the kidnap team, Andrew quietly helps Cenci Sr. to placate the angry Mastermind, arranging for a new payoff: the money is paid, Alessia is found alive (if deeply traumatized), and Andrew's shrewd deductions help the Italian cops to capture most of the nappers. . . but not the anonymous Mastermind. Then, back in England, where Andrew spends his free time with the slowly-recovering Alessia (at a horse-training farm), case #2 erupts in Brighton--as the toddler-son of a coldhearted racehorse-owner is grabbed from a resort beach. This time, however, Andrew and an ex-SAS colleague don't just supervise the ransom-payment; instead, they manage (somewhat too easily?) to locate the kidnappers' hideout, rescue the tot, and grab the locally hired culprits. . . but, again, not the mastermind. Could the two kidnaps be connected? Working from a few nicely teasing clues, Andrew thinks they could. And indeed they are--as Andrew discovers when he flies to Washington, D.C., to handle the kidnapping there of the British Jockey Club's senior steward: Andrew himself is soon kidnapped by the Mastermind. . . with a taut escape/detection/shootout finale. As usual, it's easy to fault Francis for sentimentality--in the sweet Andrew/Alessia romance, in the tearjerking moments during and after the toddler kidnap. This time, too, there's virtually no racetrack detail--while goody-goody Andrew is less interesting than many Francis heroes. Yet somehow none of these drawbacks really interferes with the unique grab of Francis' plain, tough, tender suspense-magic: less truly authentic than other kidnap novels, this one nonetheless tops them all--with a streamlined mixture of mystery, heart (kidnap-victim psychology), and nonstop action. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.