Longshot - Dick Francis

An omnibus of Dick Francis Novels at a book store made quite a deal. A 2-book omnibus at Rs.199. What a steal! Not that I would have bought any other author just because he was cheap. Dick Francis happened to be one of the favorite authors of my best friend, who himself is a book enthusiast like I never could be. Plus, horse racing is actually quite a fascinating topic and even a mediocre plot around that is interesting because of the so many new things you learn about a very glamorous sport. So I picked up Longshot, and got down to reading it.

The plot of Longshot… well, is a bit weak in the sense of your regular crime novel. It involves the death of a nobody, an investigation that would never have a global repercussion, and even the most radical conspiracy theorist would fail to link up the crime in the book to “higher powers”. But such is the story. Dick Francis himself takes a jab at this fact in the book, when his Police Detective sighs with resignation that the dead body they found turns out to be an ordinary stable girl.

Enough of the spoilers already!

The climax, while it is fitting to the story, is not quite that nail-biting a finish as you would’ve liked. And the end, though logical and humane, with no ridiculous dues-ex-machina coming into play (ok, maybe a slight one), does not give that satisfaction of triumph of good over evil.
But despite the novel being only a regular story, I enjoyed every bit of it because of the protagonist. He is a writer… Ok, I hear you say, one more author chooses to have a writer protagonist. Isn’t that the easiest, you ask. Well, perhaps. But the protagonist here is an adventurer, and has written a series of books on surviving in hostile environs. And a lot of tips that he shares through the book keep you hooked, while the story progresses around that. So maybe I would not rate the plot too highly, but when I combine that with the protagonist and his livelihood, Longshot gets a “Thumbs Up”. So if you are the kinds who want some wholesome reading and are not overly concerned about the adrenalin factor of a story as long as the book keeps you entertained, you will like Longshot. To end with a corny line… do give Longshot a shot, it might just hit the bull’s eye.