Kidnapping Specialist Andrew Douglas Gets More Than He Bargained for in THE DANGER, by Dick Francis

To my mind, The Danger is among the best of the novels by Dick Francis. While most of the others are set firmly in the world of horseracing, this is one of his books where the world of horseracing is somewhat tangential to the rest of the book.

The protagonist is Andrew Douglas, a partner in a firm called Liberty Market, Ltd. The firm specializes in handling high-stakes kidnapping cases. They attempt to ensure that the kidnapped victim is safely recovered. With that accomplished, they also work to recover the ransom and see that the kidnappers are captured and punished. Andrew and the other partners in the firm prefer to keep a low profile and work behind the scenes in concert with the police and the victim's family, and often the kidnappers don't even realize that Liberty Market or a firm like it has been involved in the case.

When a hugely popular Italian jockey named Alessia Cenci is kidnapped, her family immediately calls upon Liberty Market, and Andrew races to Bologna to take charge of the situation on behalf of the family. It's a very delicate and demanding task. In a case like this, Andrew must keep the family focused on taking the proper steps to ensure the safe return of their loved one. Even more delicate is the relationship with the local police. Sometimes the police welcome the assistance of Liberty Market, but in other cases, they are driven by ego and view the Liberty Market representatives as interlopers and competitors. Naturally, this will always complicate the situation.

Watching Andre Douglas at work is fascinating, and the dance he conducts between the family, the kidnappers and the police is very entertaining. Apparently there really are firms like Liberty Market that specialize in this sort of thing, and reading the book, one learns a great deal about the subject of kidnapping and the responses the crime elicits.

As Andrew works the case, things become increasingly complicated, but it's hard to say much more about the book without giving too much away, and to my mind, the blurb on the cover gives away way too much. Suffice it to say that the villain in this book is also something of a departure of the usual stock villain that Francis almost always gives us. That too makes this book stand out above many of his others. All in all, a very fun read.