The Edge

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The Dick Francis hero in this outing is Tor Kelsey; he's independently wealthy, but to keep himself from falling into degenerate lassitude he has a real job: undercover investigator for the British Jockey Club. He's trying to nail one Julius Apollo Filmer, a dastardly villain who's trying to worm his way into horseracing via intimidation, blackmail, and murder.

The plot is probably one of Francis's most contrived, but it's still entertaining: Filmer is going on the "Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train", a trans-Canada rail trip that transports rich owners and their horses from Toronto to Vancouver. They stop along the way to race and sightsee. And, for entertainment, a group of professional actors is aboard to stage a semi-improvisational mystery play inamongst the passengers during the trip. How this all gets involved in Kelsey's efforts to thwart Filmer is unlikely, but fun.

The rear-jacket photo of Dick Francis shows him on the train engine, and his acknowledgments thank a number of train folk. So I assume he experienced a version (hopefully less perilous) of the voyage himself; it shows up in the book's details and descriptions.


Last Modified 2024-02-01 5:12 AM EDT