Charles Todd is a painter, mostly of horses. He goes to visit his cousin only to find that their house has just been burgled and his cousin's wife murdered. Charles stays with his cousin, trying to help him deal with insurance, police, the clean up. But as time passes, it becomes clear that the investigation is stalled and his cousin is falling into a deep depression. Charles decided to take matters into his own hands and follows the clues to Australia.

Like all Dick Francis books, the pace moves pretty quickly, with lots of physical dangers and several horse races. This one features the Melbourne Cup.

I didn't enjoy the audio version as much as I usually do for some reason. I just couldn't seem to concentrate long enough. I'm not sure if it was me or if it was the narrator or what. ( )

This book was interesting, exciting, and unexpected. Charles Todd, a contemporary artist, goes on a trip Down Under to figure out why his cousin's wife was killed, and why his art-loving friend's houses are being burgled. It is most interesting that charles finds himself searching for the true meaning of the events, similar to how a painting captures a scene. The many attempted murder's of Charles and his Australian friends simply make the book that much more hard to put down. ( )

Usual good Francis. This is the other painter one - not the Scot hiding things, but the largely itinerant painter of horses. In this case his involvement is entirely second-hand - he's not a direct target at all, until he involves himself. His cousin is very hard hit, and that's his major motivation, but it's the second victim of the theft ring that he runs into that triggers real action. And of course he suffers considerable injury in the course of his intervention, and keeps going to solve the problem - it is a Francis, after all. I like him, and his painter friend, and the friend's wife - all very well drawn. The real villain - this time I did remember him when we first meet him, but the first time he was a total surprise. The three questions really doesn't foreshadow much, since we don't hear the actual questions. Good story. ( )

Stills holds up pretty well, but boy, don't you realise how much communications have changed! ( )

"A successful painter of horses, Charles Todd, visits his cousin whose wife has just been murdered. Charles flies to Australia on the trail of a gang carrying on a fruitful business in the forged work of artists like Munnings and Stubbs. They don't hesitate to kill if anyone gets in their way." - Pan jacket notes. Interesting description of painter's work, an average Francis thriller. ( )