Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 9/30/2018 + 1032 more book reviews

Not one of my favorite Dick Francis novels. I don't think the shift in POV in the middle of the book worked that well, but what the heck he tried something different. Francis usually gave his protagonist some sort of interesting job, so he could work that information into the story. This one tries to jam together shooting and computers in the first half of the story. I don't feel like the guns provided a really necessary part of the plot; maybe it was to illustrate how he can be calm under stress? Jonathan is a teacher and I did like the parts where he treats the villain like a volatile adolescent. The computer programs on the cassette tapes and the technical descriptions are of course totally dated, but nothing wrong with that, it's just past history. However, there's a 14-year gap between the two halves of the story and they are still able to use the same cassette tapes! Tech moves a lot faster than that. Second half, I liked William but really...he ought to know that the guy is not going to just take the stuff and then leave them alone. Why would you think that?
But being Dick Francis, it's still a nice fast readable story with likeable heroes who discover their capabilities under stress, plus bad guys with no redeeming virtues.

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