Gerard Logan is justifiably distraught. Martin Stukely, Priam Jones, Lloyd Baxter and Gerard had driven to the Cheltenham races, it’s New Year’s Eve, 1999. Sadly, of the four, only three men return. Martin loses his life when his mount crushes him in the race. The jockey Stukely and professional glass blower Logan (proprietor Logan Glass) had first met in a jury room, and although they had little in common, the men came to enjoy and shared a great camaraderie. But now, Martin is dead.
Gerard owns a charming glass art studio in a picturesque part of the Cotswold. He earns a decent living selling art to tourists and locals.
As the remaining three friends leave the racecourse, they are met with Eddie Payne, Stukely’s valet, who hands over a videotape to Gerard, telling him that Martin had planned on giving him the tape after the races.
On his way from work at his art studio, Gerard decides to stop by at a local pub, leaving the tape in the studio - bad idea. In his absence, the place is ransacked and the tape stolen. Also, Martin’s widow – Bon-Bon suffers the same fate, as her home is raided. Gerard is assaulted in his studio a few days later, the masked men demand that he disclose the whereabouts of the tape to them - funny, didn’t they have it already? When he does get his hands on the tape, Logan is shocked to see Ed (the valet), his daughter Rose and wily bookie Norman Osprey in the film - there is a fourth person present, whom Gerard cannot recognize.
Later, Logan finds out that the fourth entity is one Dr. Adam Force, described to be ‘a very plausible con man.’ The doctor has stolen audio visual material related to cancer research, a priceless boon to many sufferers. Could the tape be the one with all these goodies in it? Gerard almost gets killed many times over in the process of finding out! There are a million questions on his mind - why would the trespassers steal every single videotape in the Stuckely home? Why should they believe that he, Gerard, is aware of the tape’s possessor?
In the end, Gerard chooses to honor Martin’s memory by creating a trophy - a horse leaping over a crystal ball - featured on the cover of the hardback version of Shattered. The villains in the story are indefatigable, especially Rose Payne. Kudos to Dick Francis for his range of characters - Michelin starred chefs, solicitors, meteorologists, and now a professional glass blower. Like all of Francis’s characters in the main lead, Gerard is drawn into reluctant heroism and triumphs, but is self effacing and therefore makes no fuss over his heroism!
The story is interesting, holds the readers imagination for quite a bit, although the equine backdrop is somewhat subtle, the only reference made to horses and racing – begins and end with Martin Stuckely’s fateful death. Shattered, sadly, the fortieth book, would be his last with wife Mary, who died shortly after the release of the novel. He dedicated Shattered to England’s Queen Mother on her hundredth birthday; incidentally, Francis had served as jockey to her and Queen Elizabeth as well.
+-+Written+by+Dick+Francis,+another+murder+investigation.jpg "Shattered (published in 2000) - Written by Dick Francis, another murder investigation")
Gerard owns a charming glass art studio in a picturesque part of the Cotswold. He earns a decent living selling art to tourists and locals.
As the remaining three friends leave the racecourse, they are met with Eddie Payne, Stukely’s valet, who hands over a videotape to Gerard, telling him that Martin had planned on giving him the tape after the races.
On his way from work at his art studio, Gerard decides to stop by at a local pub, leaving the tape in the studio - bad idea. In his absence, the place is ransacked and the tape stolen. Also, Martin’s widow – Bon-Bon suffers the same fate, as her home is raided. Gerard is assaulted in his studio a few days later, the masked men demand that he disclose the whereabouts of the tape to them - funny, didn’t they have it already? When he does get his hands on the tape, Logan is shocked to see Ed (the valet), his daughter Rose and wily bookie Norman Osprey in the film - there is a fourth person present, whom Gerard cannot recognize.
Later, Logan finds out that the fourth entity is one Dr. Adam Force, described to be ‘a very plausible con man.’ The doctor has stolen audio visual material related to cancer research, a priceless boon to many sufferers. Could the tape be the one with all these goodies in it? Gerard almost gets killed many times over in the process of finding out! There are a million questions on his mind - why would the trespassers steal every single videotape in the Stuckely home? Why should they believe that he, Gerard, is aware of the tape’s possessor?
In the end, Gerard chooses to honor Martin’s memory by creating a trophy - a horse leaping over a crystal ball - featured on the cover of the hardback version of Shattered. The villains in the story are indefatigable, especially Rose Payne. Kudos to Dick Francis for his range of characters - Michelin starred chefs, solicitors, meteorologists, and now a professional glass blower. Like all of Francis’s characters in the main lead, Gerard is drawn into reluctant heroism and triumphs, but is self effacing and therefore makes no fuss over his heroism!
The story is interesting, holds the readers imagination for quite a bit, although the equine backdrop is somewhat subtle, the only reference made to horses and racing – begins and end with Martin Stuckely’s fateful death. Shattered, sadly, the fortieth book, would be his last with wife Mary, who died shortly after the release of the novel. He dedicated Shattered to England’s Queen Mother on her hundredth birthday; incidentally, Francis had served as jockey to her and Queen Elizabeth as well.
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