A British Movie Star Encounters Serious Trouble in South Africa

This novel is a bit unique in that the main character, Edward Lincoln, doesn't fit the usual mold of a Dick Francis protagonist. Almost always these men live alone and within themselves. They are taciturn, but steely and determined. When challenged, they always rise to the occasion. They almost always have a close association with the world of horse racing, and often, they have been in relationships with women that didn't work out. Sometimes a new love interest appears, but it's almost never clear that our hero will at long last find meaningful and lasting love. 

In this case, though, Lincoln is a happily married man with three adorable children. He's also a major movie star, usually filling the role of a death-defying action hero. He's on hiatus between films when an elderly friend named Nerissa announces that she is dying. She owns a string of race horses in South Africa that she will be leaving to her nephew, but for some reason, the horses are suddenly falling well short of their potential and are rapidly declining in value. Nerissa asks Lincoln if he would mind popping over to go to South Africa in an effort to discover what the problem might be.

Lincoln's father was a trainer and Lincoln himself had dreams of becoming a jockey before he grew too tall for the profession. He still owns a horse of his own and so knows something about the animals. Given that his friend is dying, he can't refuse the request and so gins up a reason to go to South Africa, allegedly to promote his new film. While there, he will discreetly look into the problem of the underperforming horses.

One he arrives in South Africa, though, Lincoln suddenly seems to become accident-prone and narrowly escapes two potentially fatal mishaps. Could something sinister be at work here? Well, of course it is, and Lincoln can only hope that his experience in making action movies will serve him in good stead when he really needs it. This is also a bit different than most Dick Francis novels in that the majority of the book takes place out of the UK, but it's a solid piece of work and an enjoyable read.