The Danger (Published in 1983) - About kidnapping, authored by Dick Francis

Five weeks, three days, ten hours - that’s how long it’s been since twenty three year old Alessia Cenci has gone missing, aka kidnapped. Andrew Douglas, partner, Liberty Market Ltd, an insurance company, where he is adviser on kidnappings - is the man sent to bring back the young jockey and deliver the ransom, in Bologna, Italy. He is suave, collected and clever, making him the perfect negotiator in ransom cases, within the ‘circles’, he is looked upon with respect for his many successes. When Alessia, one of the best female jockeys in the world, is kidnapped, as she drives home in her expensive sports car - he is the obvious weapon of choice, selected to get her back - alive. After he does so successfully, his services are sought once more when the three year old  son of a derby winner is abducted while he plays innocently on a South Coast Beach and the senior steward of the Jockey Club goes missing as he drives to a press reception in Baltimore.
On further investigation it is revealed that the kidnapper, though making all three incidents look independent, is actually the same person - a serial abductor, and while it may seem to the reader that Andrew is sometimes tailing a wild goose, yet he is on the right track, one which spans England, Italy and America! Andrew is pitted against Giuseppe, aka Peter, a cold blooded, elusive and wily European kidnapper, whose favorite prey are people associated with the racing circuit. Paradoxically, Giuseppe is actually from a wealthy family, and has fallen out with his father, and may have walked down the path of crime because he is in dire straits!




The book was written in 1983, a period fraught with kidnappings, which were the most favored modus operandi of criminals - they were ruthless, violent and lacking all human emotion - the abductors were able to put the fear of God not just in the victims and their families, but were also able to capture popular public imagination with vile apprehensions and forebodings of who could be next? Given this background, the story begins in Italy, a country no stranger to high profile kidnappings and unsuccessful police attempts to prevent them or to rescue victims. Even after the kidnapping of the little boy in England, the UK police seem adamant to do things their own way, endanger the child’s life. It is only the Americans who exercise caution and cooperation with Andrew, understanding the dangers of the odds stacked against them.
The technology and some of the settings may seem jaded in the twenty first century, yet the novel is gripping, taking an emotional look into survivors; for instance, Alessia is unable to commit to a relationship after the kidnapping, given that she is mistrustful of the intentions of men. There is the sign of blossoming of a relationship towards the end of the story, though with Andrew. Typically Francis, it is a good thing that comes in too late in the book!
An equine thrill to entertain you on a journey or weekend afternoon, with the interesting perspective that when all  else fails, and if the kidnappers don’t want you to call the police- rely on an external agency that can chalk out the best deal for you!

Risk (published in 1977) - Written by Dick Francis, a story of a kidnapping

Richard Stanley Francis or Dick Francis was born in Pembrokshire, Wales, England on October 20th 1920. His father was a renowned jockey and Francis was catapulted in to the world of Horses, Jockeys and racing. He dropped out of school to train as a Jockey and was a fighter pilot in the Royal Air-force during World War II. After the war Francis became a celebrity Champion Jockey winning over 350 races. He was the lead Jockey for the Queen Mother. But he had to drop out of Horse racing after a serious fall and became a racing correspondent for Sunday Express. Dick Francis churned out numerous best sellers and most of his books deal with the mysteries in the realm of Horse racing and Jockeys. He wrote more than 40 international best sellers and is the recipient of numerous awards. Being a three time recipient of Mystery writer of America's Edgar Award he was made the Grand master of MWA. He is also the recipient of Britain's Crime Writers Association's Gold Dagger Award for fiction in 1979 and the Cartier Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award. He also has the Gumshoe award to his credit. He was accorded the CBE in 2000. Dick Francis died in his Caribbean home on February 10, 2010 bringing down the curtains to an illustrious life.
Ronald Britten the hero is an accountant who moonlights as a steeplechase jockey. This is one of the few books of Dick Francis which has an accountant as the star, as accountants are considered the nerd incarnates. But as it is foretold “nerds rule the world”, Ronald Britten with his penchant for number's analyses and observes each and every situation and gets tailored made solutions for them. Any ways as he wins the Cheltham Open Championships, he is kidnapped and locked aboard a sail boat.



Ronald cannot make head or tail of his incarceration and gets no answers. He soon escapes to an island and is helped by the middle aged spinster Hillary Pillock to evade the criminals. Hillary has a very unusual request as a price for her help and she becomes very crucial for Roland later. Ronald reaches mainland and continues his investigations. He checks out whether he has any bad run ups with anyone while doing auditing and soon he pin points certain suspicious elements.
As the investigations go on, Ronald gets involved in the races and develops a romantic interest with a jockey's daughter. But as he is riding to another race, he is again kidnapped, but let go. Soon he peels off the disguises of many of his so called friends and with the help of his fiancée and Hillary manages to bring his captors to the book.
A very engrossing tale complete with all the racing trivia which an insider like dick Francis can only provide. The language is simple and to the point, therefore there are no skip areas. This page turner does follow the formulaic thriller of Dick Francis, with an underdog hero coming up trumps against a violent world intent on killing him. But Francis manages to get the readers attention focused on the who done it plot. The unmasking of the villain is the masterpiece of this novel and I would suggest not to miss this one.