Risk

By: Dick Francis

Narrated by: Tony Britton

When he wakes in a pitch-black room with his hands bound, Roland Britten – accountant and champion steeplechase jockey – knows he’s entered a nightmare of someone else’s making.

Wracking his brain to figure out who’s out to get him and why, he comes up empty, but somehow manages a death-defying escape. It isn’t long, though, before he’s recaptured. Now, with his life at stake, he must take every risk to outsmart his well-disguised enemy and save himself ...

©1977 Dick Francis (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.

Critic reviews

"Francis captures our attention and holds us spellbound." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Francis is a genius." (Los Angeles Times)
"Few match Francis for dangerous flights of fancy and pure, inventive menace." (The Boston Herald)

Dick Francis at his best

This is one of Dick Francis' better books and he delivers a good tale every time he gives us a new book. I found the action and story to be fast paced and well narrated. The plot revolves around an accountant in the racing world trying to determine why he was kidnapped. This not one of those tales that you can work out who the villain is until almost the end. It also has a suprising conclusion which does not detract from the tale. The reader does well to pass along the suspense and emotion without being over the top. I have listened to this a few times already and enjoyed it every time. I have also read and loved the book. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a light, but satisfying, whodunnit.

not one of his best

must be one of his first books -- the sex part was completely unnecessary and unrealistic

Fast - kept interest, Slow - time to imagine

As usual in the 44 mysteries by Dick Francis, my favorite author, the main character is an honest, hard working man who is respectful of women and unexplained things keep happening to him, as happened in RISK.

The hero may get shot, stabbed or beaten up but he doesn't go looking to shoot, stab or beat anyone up, just to solve the problem and make it go away. This describes WILD HORSES about a movie director, 10 LB PENALTY about a young man helping sis father run for Parliament, TO THE HILT about an artist, STRAIGHT about a jockey whose brother is a gem wholesaler, LONGSHOT about an author, PROOF about a wine merchant, REFLEX about a jockey becoming a photographer, HIGH STAKES about a toy designer, All but 6 books are stand alone. Some were made into TV movies and series.

It is very nice that the author refrains from graphic sex and violence. Of course, these are mysteries so some violence is expected as well some romance as the characters are well rounded.

Dick Francis was the Queen Mother's steeplechase jockey and champion before retiring in the 1950's. He went on to write a horse race column and then all these mysteries. Very few of the mysteries are duds but all mention horse racing in the background if not in the main story. A dependable mystery nearly every time and I always learn something I didn't know before.