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Secret Cargo
| Article
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10480 |
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Section : |
BOOK WORLD
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1993 |
2,496 Words |
| Author
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Robert F. Geary
Robert F. Geary is head of the English Department at James
Madison University. His academic interests include the gothic
novel and its literary descendants. |
DRIVING FORCE
Dick Francis
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1992
280 pp., $21.95
On the first description, the mystery novels of Dick Francis sound like "sleepers" in the sense of soporifics mystery genre versions of Sominex. Described as a "brand-name author" by his publisher, Francis restricts his plots to matters connected with horse racing in England. Nor does he have as a central character a dangerous, brooding loner likely to erupt in violence to carve a path to the truth. Lacking the allure of an exotic locale or a borderline protagonist, Francis' latest book, Driving Force, at first promises little excitement, seeming a quiet bedtime read perhaps for those who prefer to turn a few pages of a mildly cerebral mystery before falling off to sleep at night.
Like its author, Driving Force is, however, a "sleeper" of another sort altogether a quiet, graceful book that turns in a surprisingly good performance, one fully justifying the loyalty of the author's admirers. Francis transforms the self-imposed limits of his writing into real strengths to create a novel of compelling plausibility at every level. His own impressive craftsmanship more than makes up for the absence of the highly dramatic, two-fisted action we expect from American mystery-thrillers.
As an author, Francis is himself a surprise. He followed his father's occupation to become an outstanding British jockey, winner of more than 350 races and holder for four years of the position of Queen Mother's first jockey. Advised to retire in 1957 after breaking his collarbone for the twelfth time, Francis agreed to write a series of features for the Sunday Express and ended up staying on for sixteen years as the paper's racing correspondent. During this time he turned to mystery fiction, garnering a number of prestigious awards, including prizes from the British Crime Writers Association as well as several Edgar awards. Successfully building on what he knows best, Francis has earned a second distinguished reputation for skill, this time both from professionals in the mystery field and from fans here and in England.
A MOST ORDINARY SLEUTH
"I had told the drivers never on any account to pick up a hitchhiker but of course one day they did, and by the time they reached my house he was dead."
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