Death Benefit (Published in 2011) - Authored by Robin Cook - Promise vs. greed

Afrodita Pia Grazdani has had the nightmare innumerable times. And it always has the requisite affect on her - leaving her in cold sweat, afraid and insecure. A fourth year medical student at the Columbia University, Pia has been offered an enviable assignment - assistant to the living legend, Nobel Laureate, molecular geneticist Dr. Tobias Rothman himself. He is conducting two researches simultaneously about virulent strains of salmonella and the other, more challenging task of finding out whether healthy human organs can be created from stem cells - organogenesis.
Pia is from Albania, and has undergone immense suffering as a child at the hands of her uncle and authorities in foster care, this hurt was entrenched further when her own father refused to come to her rescue at the foster care center; she is now twenty six and although beautiful, with a stream of admirers, suffers from what could only be some sort of a ‘detachment syndrome’. Her most loyal friend George Wilson, an ardent admirer with whom she has had intimate (according to her, plain sex) relations on four occasions to be precise, is at the receiving end of her lack of emotions; she would rather he leaves and goes home than spend the night in her bed! This is a serious flaw that mars the otherwise pristine beauty.




Dr. Rothman becomes the father figure in Pia’s life; she is deeply attached to him, making up for the loss of emotional contact from her own parent in her growing years. The doctor admires her tenacity and dedication, they become kindred spirits, he even confesses to her that he suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. The success of his research means that Tobias will put a lot of drug companies out in the cold, as organs such as the pancreas will be ‘created’ in labs, bringing down the usage of diabetic drugs, a major source of revenue for drug firms. When Pia breaks the news that after she completes her research and Ph.D, she plans to look after the financial needs of the Convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Rothman is livid, he wonders how she can throw away an opportunity to work with him over a god forsaken charity in Africa! When she tells Tobias the reason why, he offers to loan her fifty thousand dollars for the Convent, the Mother Superior refuses to be repaid, using the word ‘betrayal’, even as Rothman urges Pia to move on instead of being bulldozed with ‘Catholic guilt’.
On the other hand, unknown to the scientists cocooned in their laboratories, the world of medicine, life and death is manipulated by avarice and money. Two former employees of Wall Street, set about to earn a quick buck by buying life insurance policies with death benefits, from people who are in dire straits. They pay premiums on the policies, collecting benefits when the people die. They have researched well and are aware that people in need of organ transplants are especially prone to financial crunches, weigh the odds of finding a donor, and the body rejecting the donated organ. The machinery they’ve created is well oiled and earning them enough cash, when things get a little shaky.
One of their own, a protégée of theirs, decides to pull a fast one on them - she is short selling their stock. Apparently the woman had wanted to be a part of their team, but was rejected, this mad her see red and she decided that they would pay for this decision. This brilliant yet twisted creature has gotten onto the trail of Dr. Rothman, and his cutting edge theory of organogenesis. Maybe these banking brains could make money out of it! Robin Cook has authored thirty odd books, Death Benefit  is another brilliant work from his amazing storehouse of storytelling and imagination!

Dead Heat (Published in 2007) - Authored by Dick Francis and Felix Francis

Max Moreton is well known in the racing town of Newcastle, he owns a Michelin starred restaurant - the Hay Net. His connection to horses - both his brother and late father were horse trainers. The local community knows and respects him for his celebrity status as well as his success as a restaurateur, the youngest decorated chef etc. Unfortunately, this blissful state is short lived. After dining at the Hay Net, regrettably twenty four of his guest diners fall violently ill and are hospitalized. Their illness is linked to a possible case of food poisoning, the origins of which are further traced to Max’s restaurant. His business standing and goodwill take a direct hit when the Hay Net is forcibly closed by the Health Department; he faces a spate of ill luck and court cases.
Just hours later, Max is also seriously ill, so much so that he almost loses his life - could the poisoned food have found its way into his home as well? Despite the fact that he is so unwell, picking up the pieces, he sets about to cater at the Two Thousand Guineas one afternoon - the lunch is being hosted by an American company - Delafield Industries - which manufactures farming machinery. MaryLou Fordham, the lady in charge of the event is overly concerned that the function goes off well, even though a number of prominent faces will be missing after having taken ill. As his crew is serving lunch, a bomb blast rips through a boxed area seating (where a wealthy Arab prince and his entourage were to be seated), killing twenty people, and almost killing Max, too! MaryLou is critically injured and Max wonders whether she will survive. A young employee of his dies on the spot - the damage to life and property is colossal. The police think that the perpetrators of the crime have blown up the wrong box. Sadly, MaryLou loses both her legs in the blast and dies in hospital, part of the other fourteen dead.




Max is also being sued by a young violinist Caroline Aston, who is  part of a string quartet, who was at the Stakes; she holds him responsible for the loss of professional opportunity - their anger turns to strong attraction, though. The two fall in love and are engaged at the end of the novel. Amidst all the problems that’re piled up against him, Moreton is concerned and dogged in his determination about finding out who is responsible for this debacle?
His culinary reputation and business on the stake, Max Moreton sets out to clear his name - his findings lead him to the fact that kidney bean lectin, found in undercooked beans is responsible for the illness of his guests, including himself. However, there is one little detail that the Health and Police Departments need to be aware of - kidney beans weren’t on the menu the night the mishap took place.
After his wife Mary’s passing away in 2000, Dick’s son Felix worked with him to research on the next novels, co-writing with his father. Dead Heat is a refreshing look at the mystery genre the Francis duo are famous for, set in the world of hospitality, with the racetrack as a backdrop.

Whip Hand (Published in 1979) - Written by Dick Francis

Sid Halley never had it easy - orphaned at a young age, he became a racing trainer’s apprentice at fifteen, but was well looked after by his trainer who taught him the ways of the world and the racetrack - he became a champion jockey, turned sensible investments into a fortune, married for two years in happiness, two years in discord and one year in bitterness - divorced after five years – choosing the racetrack over marriage. Misfortune struck when his left hand was crippled after he fell from a horse, and the animal trampled his hand. Furthermore, it was amputated after a villain - Howard Craye, damaged it (Odds Against). He has still not come to terms with the loss of his limb and struggles to accept his new battery charged hand, all metal and plastic in place of sinew and blood.
As he sits watching a ‘decent comedy’ on  telly one evening, he is visited by Rosemary Caspar, the wife of a well to do, high flying trainer George Caspar, for whom Sid had ridden in the past. The lady suspects that someone is out to ruin her husband by sabotaging his thoroughbreds; sadly no one gives her any attention or believes in humoring her suspicions. A lot is at stake for the Caspars - their reputation, wealth and social standing, their future in racetracks and off course their beloved horses, who have suffered at the races, losing out to equine specimens lesser than them. Now there is Tri-Nitro, and Rosemary is concerned that he will suffer the same fate. She pleads with Sid to ensure that nothing happens to George’s thoroughbreds, he agrees to help.




Sid gets in touch with Bobby Unwin of the Daily Planet, who wrote a piece on George Caspar sometime ago. The journalist agrees to give him a copy of  the magazine when they meet. While he is trying to sort through affairs de Caspar, his ex father in law Admiral (retired) Charles Roland asks him to come over and meet Jenny, his ex as well as him. Apparently Jenny was swindled by a smooth talking conman, into doing some shady mail order business to raise money for charity - once Jenny rakes in the moolah, the conman disappears, leaving her to cover his tracks and answer to the donors; she also faces the horrific possibility of landing in prison!
A third sub plot is added, as Sid’s help is requested to investigate the shady dealings of many patrons and syndicates of the Jockey Club. Lord Friarly, Earl and landowner approaches Sid and tells him that he is concerned about how syndicate formers were buying horses cheap, selling them for four times the profit – it was legal up till then, but things went awry when these horses  failed to perform - the Earl suspects that the races are being fixed.
Sid has his hands full this time, and he is in a spin - yet, he never compromises on his ethics and ideals, ever the perfect Francis hero! Whip Hand is the only novel other than John Le Carre’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, to have received the Gold Dagger (Best Novel, 1979) and the Edgar Award (Best Novel,1980). For Dick Francis fans, this book can be enjoyed.

Reflex (A novel by Dick Francis) - Published in 1980 - Insurance conspiracy

Phillip Nore is lying with his face in the mud - thrown off an ill tempered, poorly trained horse; as he trudges uphill to where the rest of the jockeys are in the weighing room, he is constantly reminding himself of why he is a steeplechase jockey - he loves riding, he loves horses, and frankly, he doesn’t know how else to spend his life, other than pursuing his second love, amateur photography. He is reminiscing about another famous photographer - George Millace, father of Steve Millace, twenty three, serious jockey, upset that his prize winning dad is no more and his mum’s house has been burgled. Phil had been riding Steve’s horse, incidentally, when he had a fall.
Getting ready one day for his next race with Daylight, Phil is brimming with confidence as he is certain that he’ll win the race; however, the horse’s trainer Harold Osborne asks him to deliberately lose, just so that Victor Briggs, a moneyed horse owner who owned most of Osborne’s horses, had placed a bet on another horse winning. Harold does not want to displease his boss, and would rather compromise on the fair rules of the game than earn Victor’s ire. Phil is thirty years old, and has worked with Harold for seven years; he lost races intentionally for three, and knows full well that if he  were to disobey the boss’s orders, he might lose his job and worse, he may never be employed elsewhere either. However, Phil does not accept any remuneration for these fixed races, and refuses Victor’s generous offerings.




And so, Phil loses the race, so does Steve Millace, who also nurses a fractured collar bone and asks Phil to drive him to his mother’s in Ascot. The young man mentions to Phil how the late George Millace appreciated Phil’s talent for photography and thought he would make an ace photographer. As they near Steve’s home, they are shocked to see an ambulance and police car parked outside. Steve’s mother has been beaten black and blue, furniture is broken, the surroundings are in disarray. Phil accompanies the lady and her son to hospital, but not before he collects George’s ‘rubbish’- old film negatives and photographs, to sift through later.
Meeting a lawyer friend of his later, Phil sits down with Jeremy Folk and the two are surprised at the contents of George’s box. Some years ago, a man called Elgin Yaxley had received a huge sum in insurance after five of his thoroughbreds had been shot dead, the killer -Terence O’Tree had been sent to prison. Yaxley had told the authorities that he had never met O’Tree, and had no idea who he was; yet, George had photographed the two men at a French Café two years ago, before the incident had taken place (according to the date on the picture) – Terence was imprisoned and Elgin had raked in all the insurance money and gone away to Hong Kong. Obviously, the presence of the picture negated the man’s claims, and implicated him in fraud - could this be the reason why George’s house was ransacked and his poor wife attacked?
A refreshing story, told in Francis’s smooth and simple style of writing, Reflex will capture your imagination as the motive for murder and fraud take the reader by surprise. Phillip Nore is the quintessential Francis hero - principled and young, attractive and humble. Worth reading!

The Edge - Authored by Dick Francis - Published in 1988

Dick Francis writes his twenty seventh novel - The Edge, with the character of Tor Kelsey playing the lead. For once, the hero is not a jockey but a successful sleuth, and the story is set on the Great Transcontinental Train in Canada - instead of a racetrack in the UK. Kelsey narrates the story as well. On board the train are a group of wealthy horse owners, who have chartered it, promoting equestrian sport through a series of races, an adrenalin charging, and high profile junket for the rich and famous.

Also, there are on board actors who add flavor to the journey – acting out a whodunit about the killing of a horse, asking fellow travelers to help solve the case. Kelsey is on board, in the guise of a waiter. A bit of background on Kelsey - he is a wealthy fellow but is working ‘to avoid the temptation of being able to have every sweet in the sweet shop’, currently employed with the Jockey Club, but only because he loves horses and the racetrack, he is, as mentioned earlier, a smart investigator who has a winning personality.

He is here, on the trail of a murderer or killers, one of whom is Julius Apollo Filmer, who has to his discredit an unexplained number of deaths. The aim of the horse lovers is to promote love for Canadian equestrian sport across the country - and Julius is the man who wants to throw a spanner in the works. Tor is employed with the Club to tail Filmer, known in the racing circles for having the reputation of a troublemaker. Julius has the standing of one of the coldest hearted and cruel operatives of the racetrack underworld, implicated in the death of a stable hand, and is the most likely reason why a trainer killed himself.

Amongst the other passengers are the Lorimer family, wealthy and famous, they are lending their hand (and wallet) to contribute towards the growth of Canadian equestrian sport; the  family seems perfect, except that beneath the surface are chinks in the armor. The most sought after character of Filmer is someone we see very little of, but his presence is felt throughout the story, it’s as if the negativity of his being is all pervasive.

The whodunit enacted by the troupe of actors on board, meant to entertain, is actually carried out - and Kelsey’s adeptness is under the scanner as he works to solve the case. However, let it be made clear to the reader, that Tor is aware who the criminal is - it’s just that he doesn’t have enough evidence to nab the guy. Typical cat and mouse game, Tor the cat is waiting to pounce on Filmer the mouse - when – that is the question! Key witnesses have backed out at the last minute, given Filmer’s track record for intimidation.

The novel’s appeal lies in the fact that the element of adventure and mystery is enhanced by the train journey, also, the character of Tor, though near perfect, has human blemishes - he is concerned how his lack of foresight and strategizing to prevent a train crash would impact families and his own guilt at having failed to save lives. An audio book for this novel is narrated by Tony Britton, a Dick Francis favorite, with an almost convincing Canadian accent. A good read, if you are a first timer – you’re hooked to Francis, if not, this is another masterpiece from the author for your personal collection!

Straight - Authored by Dick Francis - Published in 1989

When he is almost rendered jobless after an accident that leaves his ankle broken, steeplechase jockey Derek Franklin’s sagging spirits are further pushed to the bounds of being broken when he receives sad news. Greville Saxony Franklin is hooked. To life support. And soon he bids farewell to the world. Derek inherits his brother’s life - wealth, horses, business, mistress, and his enemies - a deadly inheritance. The two brothers have rarely ever met, a consequence of their parents having separated, there is a bond between them.

Greville was a lawyer, who imported precious stones, and was a frequent face at the racecourse. He loved his money making enterprise, and generously bequeaths it all to his baby brother - nineteen years his junior. The very first attack was unexpected, and left Derek flabbergasted - after gathering the belongings of his dead brother, he is crudely mugged, the bag with Greville’s belongings, snatched from him.

"The bad scorn the good, and the crooked despise the straight”- reads a note Greville wrote shortly before he passed away. Derek soon discovers that his older brother’s fondness for the greens was insatiable. On plunging head on into sorting and sifting through Saxony’s business and financial affairs, he is informed that a large cache of diamonds has gone missing. If Derek is unable to trace the stones, his brother’s carefully built - up business will go kaput.

In the midst of it all, he is confronted with the harshness of the British Law which forbids jockeys from owning horses - so he would therefore have to sell his brother’s equestrian wealth. Derek also uncovers Greville’s romantic liaisons with a married woman, his mistress. Struggling to strike a balance, his life is overtaken by the decisions his brother took when alive.

Uncovering layers of greed, evil and ambition, triggering a vicious cycle of events leading to murder and mayhem - Dick Francis delves deep into the cesspool of human emotions. The writer has his pulse on the underbelly of horse racing - the drugging of innocent animals to sate the avarice of men, commerce infiltrates the sporting arena, threatening to rip apart the moral fabric of the men and women involved.

Francis’s clear and clean approach to the protagonists in his stories stems from his own inability to do anything that compromises his morals in real life. Thirty four year old Derek Franklin is one such character and he shares the same squeaky clean conscience with his creator. The theme is typical of most of Francis’s novels - the transition of society towards materialistic pursuits for remaining happy; drug dealing, racing, gambling, against a commercial backdrop, pitted against the selfless honesty and integrity of the hero Derek Franklin. He takes on his brother’s woes and enemies with the refinement of a monk, accepting of his fate without outward fuss.

To his advantage, there exist, thankfully, others in the story who are similar, if not equally clean in character as Derek. Straight is a first person account, lending propinquity to the story, keeping readers close to the plot. An interesting story, different in the sense that it uses commerce as a backdrop. Interesting read.

Longshot - Authored by Dick Francis - Published in 1990

John Kendall ‘accepted a commission’ that four writers before him had declined. The travel agent-turned- adventure-guide writer is in dire straits, who is asked to vacate the attic apartment he lives in, and from these circumstances, you can make out that he is desperately in need of a source of income. The first book he wrote was accepted by a publishing house - he took the advance and chose to write a second one – Long Way Home. Not easy, as the creative juices run dry, and writer’s block looms like an ugly cloud over his head. The money is all gone, so when his agent Ronnie Curzon offers him the opportunity to ghost write the memoir of a former horse trainer Tremayne Vickers, he jumps at it, tempted by the prospect of having a roof over his head and food in his belly.

Although he has the limited experience of a survival guide writer (Return Safe From The Wilderness  - six hardcover guides to help the traveler through jungles, deserts, at sea, on ice, or on a safari) - he is determined to take up the project, even though Ronnie advises him otherwise, with a dire warning ‘Impulse will kill you one of these days’ - he looks forward to earning a better living.

On arrival at Shellerton, Berkshire, he is received by Mackie Vickers, Tremayne’s daughter-in-law. In the jeep, he meets the rest of the four connected to the estate - Bob Watson and his wife Ingrid, Fiona and Harry Goodhaven. The air in the vehicle is laden with silence, this changes when suddenly the jeep lands up in a ditch, after skidding. The four travelers were thrown into the freezing water, as Mackie sits at the wheel in a semi conscious state, dazed. The hero saves the hour by transporting all five people back safely to the Estate.



Kendall settles into his new life, cooking meals, hobnobbing with the kids, socializing with the guests-enjoying his stay and turn of fortune. He is introduced to Fiona’s cousin, a jockey with a strange, violent streak - Nolan, who has in the been in deep trouble for strangling a girl in the past year, takes a dislike to John, threatening and publicly attacking the writer. To make things murkier, local Inspector – Doone-  discovers the remains of a stable girl with a colorful past - Angela Brickell, who was strangled.

Soon, John Kendall is drawn into the web of intrigue and corrupt practices, there are attempts made to harm the family - and from the above example, him not being one to be found wanting when danger calls - Kendall wards off the evil eye by fighting to keep the Vickers from unforeseen harm. Why read Dick Francis? Is it for the horses, the stoic heroes who ride off into the sunset…alone or the villains who meet their just desserts? Maybe it is out of a sense of loyalty and admiration for the honest appeal of Francis’s own charm and quiet manner, or even for pretty phrases like still mornings "as rare as honest beggars"!

Knowing his connection with horses, it is somewhat difficult to envision a novel without the beloved equestrians. The narrative, though interesting, is long winded towards the end, and yes, the end is a little maudlin and sad.