Pun Salad

Another reader of this book: Elizabeth Hurley. (Last picture on the page.)

The Dick Francis hero this time around is Freddie Croft. Some of Francis's protagonists have interesting, even glamorous professions. Freddie is not one of them; he used to be a jockey, but now he runs a horse transport firm. His vehicles move racehorses from trainers' stables to racetracks, then back again. Boooring!

Meticulous and professional, Freddie might prefer his life that way. But things get a little more interesting: first, against strict orders, his drivers pick up a mysterious hitchhiker, who up and dies on them. The circumstances are just strange enough to prompt Freddie to investigate further, and his mechanic discovers hidden compartments underneath some of the trucks; someone's using them to transport something! But what? And why?

This being a Dick Francis book, things rapidly get more sinister. Another body turns up, perhaps the victim of foul play. Freddie finds himself the target of (a) a police investigation, (b) a nasty bit of vandalism, and (c) attempted murder.

A decent Francis outing, if not among his best. ("Decent" Francis is still pretty darn good, though.)