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Title:
Dead Cert
Series: Standalone
Author:
Dick Francis
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Mystery
Pages: 218
Words:
86K
Publish: 1962
First
off, that has got to be one of the world’s ugliest, most uncreative
covers ever. I don’t like it and the publishers should be totally
ashamed of themselves. In fact, if the publishers were standing right
in front of me now, I’d punch them in their ugly face and tell them
that cover hurts me more than me mashing their schnozzes did them.
#metoo
I
saw Dick Francis books all through my growing up years. He was at the
library. He was at K-Mart. He was at Barnes & Noble. He was at
the airport. He was everywhere. Most of the time the covers just had
his name in HUGE letters and then a small title and no picture. I was
not interested in a book styled that way (of course, what I’m
showcasing here is even worse, so be careful what you wish for,
right?). Fast forward 30+ years to today when I was on the hunt for
new to me old books. I think somebody recommended Dick Francis to me
as an author in one of my “Book
Recommendations” posts. So I knew the name, I just didn’t
know anything about him or the stories he wrote. My interested was
piqued when I found out that most of his stuff was standalone
stories. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind multi-volume stories or
even series that are self-contained stories, but there is a part of
me that just wants to read ONE book and have that be it. Francis
filled that niche. It has taken me almost 18months to start, but
given my TBR
Reading List, is actually quite a reasonable time frame. I also
knew that horses and equestrian racing formed the nucleus of the
stories, so I prepared myself for all sorts of horsey things.
This
was an enjoyable murder mystery that at times left me scratching my
head as to why the main character was doing what he was doing instead
of going to the police. Then I realized it was 1962 and things were a
little different in Merry Old England than they are today. Seriously
though, that was the part of the story that made this 3stars and not
any higher. It also brought out just how much the speed of
communication changes things. Walking somewhere to get to a
telephone. Leaving messages. Crime was slower because life itself was
slower because it was going as fast as it could but it just wasn’t
as fast as today. Now that I’ve gotten this first book under my
belt I expect to be a little better prepared for next time. I’m not
sure that if the main character in the next book tries to be super
detective man that that will go over any better than it did here
though. Our guy has to play detective because the police aren’t
doing anything, but man, it just didn’t ring true. Even with the
“Oh, it’s 1962”. It’s probably as realistic though as those
filthy casual cozy murder mysteries where some bleeping blonde bimbo
baker solves a mystery with her friends instead of actually running
her bakery.
I
learned about steeple chasing (the specific kind of horse racing
featured here in the story) and am now an expert. Ask me anything
about it and I’ll give you the answer. It probably won’t be the
correct answer, but that’s on you for asking some random guy on the
internet questions about horse racing.
While
I enjoyed this book overall, it did feel like the kind of popcorn
summer book that people who only read a book a year would read. What
I am hoping for is that each book will be different enough to set it
apart from its predecessors.
★★★☆☆
From
Wikipedia
Admiral
should have won his race at Maidenhead, but an unexpected fall and
the accidental death of top jockey Bill Davidson gave his friend,
Alan York, the win instead. But Alan recognised a trip wire when he
saw one and was not about to let a murderous act go unpunished. The
trouble was that he left drawing it to the attention of the
authorities too late and the evidence had disappeared. Only the
efficient Police Inspector Lodge is prepared to believe that it was a
deliberate killing - and at first is inclined to suspect Alan's
involvement.
Alan
is persuaded to ride a novice hunter in another race and is surprised
to find it belongs to the glamorous Kate Ellery-Penn, whose Uncle
George has given her the horse as a birthday present. Alan is
attracted to her from the start, but unfortunately so is another of
his jockey friends, Dane.
As
he leaves the course, Alan comes across two gangs of taxi drivers,
from London and Brighton, brutally fighting it out with knives and
knuckle-dusters. Not long afterwards he recognises some of them when
he is roughed up as a warning not to pursue his enquiries, but this
only spurs him on to investigate what is obviously an organised
attempt to interfere with horse racing on a wider scale than he had
first thought. Some of his jockey colleagues have already come under
suspicion for deliberately slowing down their mounts: the popular and
experienced Sandy Mason, for example, and the cocky but easily
panicked youngster, Joe Nantwich.
From
now on Alan sets out on a double pursuit, of the gang responsible for
the death of his friend, and of Kate. The latter lives in a stately
house in Sussex with her upper-crust Uncle and her Aunt Deb, who does
her best to discourage Alan from taking his interest in Kate further
when he pays a weekend stay. While there he visits Brighton with Kate
and comes across an ex-military pub landlord who has organised his
fellow owners of small businesses in resisting a protection racket.
Taxi drivers from one of the local firms were involved with this and
Alan traces some of those he recognises from his earlier run-in with
them to Marconicars.
Before he can take things much
further, Alan's own horse is tripped during a race. As he lies on the
ground helpless, one of those who had helped rig the wire comes over
and kicks him unconscious. When he comes round in hospital, he
is concussed and there are gaps in his memory. Back at Bill
Davidson's house, where he continues to live for the time being, he
discovers that one of Bill's young sons routinely listens to incoming
phone calls. From him he learns that Bill had received a phone
instruction to pull the race in which he died. Having had such a call
too, Alan had forewarned Inspector Lodge of what might happen and is
visited by him as he recovers. Suspicion seems to point to
a bookmaker who has an office above Marconicars and to one
of their principal customers.
Joe
Nantwich has discovered a clue to who might be rigging the races but
before he can hand it over to Alan, he is stabbed to death at the
West Sussex races. Next the killers come after Alan, posing as police
officers, but he manages to escape them on Admiral (which he has
inherited from Bill) and jumps over the wayside hedges into the
fields and then a fir plantation, with the fake officers and the
Marconicars fleet combing all the nearby roads.
Overcoming
one of their drivers, Alan heads for the main office and finds Uncle
George at the radio microphone, furiously insisting that Alan be
killed. Rather than be arrested, Uncle George shoots himself and
consequently Kate rejects Alan, only relenting later and agreeing to
marry him. When Alan's memory returns fully, he realises it was Sandy
Mason who had been passing on information about his enquiries to the
gang and had kicked him after his fall. With Dane's magnanimous help,
Alan gets his revenge by unseating Sandy from his horse mid-race.
