Flying Finish (Francis Thriller)

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And when Grey discovers that both his predecessors also went missing in curious circumstances, he begins to doubt the wisdom of his career change. The novel follows Henry Grey, a pilot and reluctant heir to earldom, who gets a job ferrying horses abroad and quickly finds himself in hot water. What kills me on top, it still has a modern, a relevant feel, even though by now a lot of it is hopelessly dated: no mobiles, airports after 9/11, feminism in Italy, no more Yugoslavia. Our current partner charities in the UK are READ International, the National Literacy Trust, Room to Read. This leads to a great ending with of course torture, Henry beaten and an escape in a DC4 over Europe.

This, and other similar, casually tossed off asides are instrumental in keeping us intrigued as the mystery builds until Henry finally begins to peel back the curtain.By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions.

Henry didn't think much about it at the time, but he also never quite forgot about that disappearance either. This story is based almost completely in the air transportation of horses, so don't expect much action on the turf.The Companion Book Club, London, 1966, De Luxe Edition, hardback with dust wrapper, NF/nf, boards dark green/gilt, dark green endpapers and edges of text block, 224 pp.

Pink hardcover boards with gold/gilt lettering to the spine in a very good clean and tightly bound condition. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society. Delays arising with the courier or Royal Mail are outside of our control and are not completely unavoidable. I had looked through my many Francis titles (I collected most of them over the years) to find the ones that involved planes in some way, and when it was my turn to pick the next Current title, I chose this one. I understand that the author was really into flying, but he doesn't infodump on horse racing, so why does he infodump on flight controls and procedures?

There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series. As this is an older book of Francis', some of the language used can be harsh in terms of class and race perspectives. Before long, Henry will discover that something very odd is going on in the horse transport business, and his discovery could well cost him his life. It also stands out because the character of Henry goes though a believable character change and arc.