Risk

By: Dick Francis

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Roland Britten, accountant and amateur jockey, awakens one morning to find he can’t move his hands—because he is tied up with netting, held captive where no light penetrates and no amount of yelling will get any attention. But why?

He knew that this was the latest in a series of events that had begun when he decided to ride in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, a race second only to the Grand National in the lives of British steeplechase riders. As an amateur jockey, Roland had pleased no one when he took Tapestry past the finish line first in what turned out to be the worst Gold Cup in history. As an accountant whose clientele included horse owners and jockeys alike, he also knew more about the private financial affairs of the racing world than any other person on the racecourse. Was winning the Gold Cup cause enough for his kidnapping? Or was it his knowledge of the books?

©1977 Dick Francis (P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Few match Francis for dangerous flights of fancy and pure, inventive menace." ( Boston Herald)

risk ny dick Francis

it was the typical from Francis and I love them all. I wish I didn't have to do 20 words.

Dick Francis- mystery, intriguing and horse racing!

I always fully enjoy the Dick Francis’s many audio books back from the 1970s to present!

Very entertaining and well narrated

The story moved along quickly and the characters were interesting and believable. It was a unique mystery/thriller.

Poor narration

Flat affect! This narration was just Boring. Cannot not get through the first five minutes!!

Not one of Francis’s best, but still interesting.

He does make even accountancy interesting. Too much straining for pain and endurance, so the plot creaks a bit. Narrator mostly strong and clear, but hurries the end of sentences.

Good story

Not one of my Dick Francis favs, but still good. Haven’t head it in awhile. Not as good as I remembered. Still recommend it.

Fantastic

I’ve never heard this author before, I’ve listened to 100’s of books and this one nears the top 25 of all time.

Captivating Story

As a lifelong horse owner, loved and laughed at the race with the dysfunctional mount. Enjoyed how all threads came together at the end.

Confusing

Who is the narrator? You have two different narrators listed. Check out the picture. Whoever the narrator is - he is stilted. Not smooth flowing at all.

One of Dick Francis' Best

This is one of the best titles for a Dick Francis mystery. We’re all familiar with the normal risk in his adventures—the racing related risks and the mystery-solving risks. But this time, the whole thing revolves around accountant risks. Didn’t think that accountants take a lot of risks? Read this book and you may just change your mind.

Roland Britten, our accountant hero, wakes up to find he’s a captive with no clue in the world as to why anyone would want to take him prisoner. This is a tense and scary way to start the novel and it only gets more so as we learn more about Roland’s predicament. True to Francis’ heroes, Roland is clever and brave and he figures out a way to escape his captors, but things only get worse from there. They keep coming after him and he has no idea why.

We the reader are also perplexed by Roland’s troubles, but Francis plays fair with us just like we were reading an Ellery Queen mystery. The clues are all there, but when he finally figures out what’s going on, Roland doesn’t handle the situation the way that most of us would. And that leads to another thing Dick Francis does better than anyone else on the market—write about pain.

This is one of the better Dick Francis novels. I’ve read it at least three times now over 25 years and I would not be the least surprised if I read it again someday.