Flying Finish (Francis Thriller)

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Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society. The book builds to a thrilling,violent and dark climax.While generally,most Francis books include a fair bit of torture,this one has multiple murders. But he soon discovers that something else is going on in the guise of transporting horses,in his new job.He confronts the culprit,who confesses,but is unfazed. Francis combines his passions for horses and flying in this book (he was a flyer in World War II).Grey manages to fly and land a DC 4,with which he is not familiar.Scarcely believable,but makes for good entertainment.

There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series. He says, "Each one, you think to yourself, 'This is the last one,' but then, by September, you're starting again. If you've got money, and you're just having fun, people think you're a useless character." Or, as independently wealthy Tor Kelsey says in The Edge, explaining why he works for a minuscule salary: "I work... because I like it, I'm not all that bad at what I do, really, and it's useful, and I'm not terribly good at twiddling my thumbs." [29] Collaboration [ edit ] But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice. Francis suffered racing injuries, being first hospitalized from riding at the age of 12 when a pony fell on him and broke his jaw and nose. [21] He drew from this career resulting in broken bones and damaged organs for his novels, in which his characters suffer the same. In 1957, after Francis suffered another serious fall, the Queen Mother's adviser, Lord Abergavenny, advised him that she wanted him to retire from racing for her.

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Like many of Britain's noble families, Henry's has fallen on hard times financially. The massive family home is ancient and falling into disrepair. His parents and elder sisters expect Henry to do the right thing and marry some wealthy heiress who will bail out the family, but Henry wants no part of it and constantly avoids the young women that his mother keeps throwing at him. a b c d "Obituary: Mary Francis". The Times. 6 October 2000 . Retrieved 18 October 2009. [ dead link] On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott. The book's publication takes place in England in September. American publication in past years has been in February, although his next book, Straight, is set to be published in November. Once the manuscript is out of his hands, he takes the summer off, while percolating the plot of his next book. Research on the next book begins in late summer and continues through the autumn, while he's gearing up for his promotional tour for the just-published book. Come January, he sits down to write again. We generally try to read at least one chapter per Book Day, and that is what we did this time too. Except that Thursday we read chapters 15 and 16 both, because they were fairly short. And then today we decided we just had to finish both chapters 17 and 18 and get to the end of the story, because let me tell you, these last four chapters were un-put-downable. Definitely the most dramatic and exciting of the whole book! I got carried away: I was reading way too fast. I would never be able to read professionally, I get too caught up in the story!

Clippinger, Don (30 March 1983). "Drive To Save Aintree Nears Goal". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved 28 April 2013. During the Second World War, Francis volunteered, hoping to join the cavalry. Instead, he served in the Royal Air Force, initially as a member of ground crew and later piloting fighter and bomber aircraft, including the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters, [8] and the Wellington and Lancaster bombers. [18] He received an emergency commission as a pilot officer on 29 July 1944, [19] and was promoted war-substantive flying officer on 29 January 1945. [20] Much of his six-year service career was spent in Africa. [2] Horse racing career [ edit ]It takes a little while for the plot to get going, but soon Henry clues in: there's something Yardman Transport is doing that isn't on the up-and-up. And there's the fact that his predecessors and coworkers keep going missing...

In 1983, the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in England "stood at the brink of extinction," according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. News reporter Don Clippinger wrote, In January, he sits down to write, staring down the barrel of a deadline. "My publisher comes over in mid-May to collect the manuscript," he says, "and it's got to be done."And when Grey discovers that both his predecessors also went missing in curious circumstances, he begins to doubt the wisdom of his career change.