Flying Finish (Francis Thriller)

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Much to his snobbish family's horror, Henry Grey takes on the dirty and demanding job of transporting racehorses by air (He had worked initially in the office of a company handling the paperwork and agents for transporting). And when he discovers that he is transporting something altogether different, he has to fight to land with his life intact.

Francis was elected in 1999 a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. [34] Adaptations [ edit ] Film and television [ edit ] a b Cantwell, Robert (25 March 1968). "Mystery Makes A Writer". Sports Illustrated Vault. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012 . Retrieved 12 September 2012. Henry Grey is an earl's son,but he doesn't want a title.He'd rather take a dirty and dangerous job as a groom,transporting horses by air,much to the chagrin of his family.

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During the Second World War, Francis volunteered, hoping to join the cavalry. Instead, he served in the Royal Air Force, initially as a member of ground crew and later piloting fighter and bomber aircraft, including the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters, [8] and the Wellington and Lancaster bombers. [18] He received an emergency commission as a pilot officer on 29 July 1944, [19] and was promoted war-substantive flying officer on 29 January 1945. [20] Much of his six-year service career was spent in Africa. [2] Horse racing career [ edit ] Francis collaborated extensively in his fiction with his wife, Mary, until her death. Learning this was a surprise to some readers and reviewers. [30] [31] He credited her with being a great researcher for the novels. In 1981, Don Clippinger interviewed the Francises for The Philadelphia Inquirer and wrote, According to a columnist for the Houston Chronicle, Francis "writes believable fairy tales for adults—ones in which the actors are better than we are but are believable enough to make us wonder if indeed we could not one day manage to emulate them." [28] Writing routine [ edit ]

His first novel, Dead Cert, was adapted as a film under the same title in 1974. Directed by Tony Richardson, it starred Scott Antony, Judi Dench and Michael Williams. [35] It was adapted again as Favorit (a Soviet made-for-television movie) in 1976. [36] Various employees of transporting company that Henry Grey worked for had gone missing as they were murdered by Billy. The boss was transporting communist and other contraband with the horses. Also, one of the senior emplyees had got involved in a scheme to export horses twice to get extra retirement money as at that time the UK was giving 1.75% of export value as an incentive. Like many of Britain's noble families, Henry's has fallen on hard times financially. The massive family home is ancient and falling into disrepair. His parents and elder sisters expect Henry to do the right thing and marry some wealthy heiress who will bail out the family, but Henry wants no part of it and constantly avoids the young women that his mother keeps throwing at him. The book's publication takes place in England in September. American publication in past years has been in February, although his next book, Straight, is set to be published in November. Once the manuscript is out of his hands, he takes the summer off, while percolating the plot of his next book. Research on the next book begins in late summer and continues through the autumn, while he's gearing up for his promotional tour for the just-published book. Come January, he sits down to write again. On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.

Philip, Robert (5 April 2002). "Grand National: Devon Loch's place in history". The Telegraph . Retrieved 18 October 2009. Royal Society of Literature All Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010 . Retrieved 8 August 2010. In January, he sits down to write, staring down the barrel of a deadline. "My publisher comes over in mid-May to collect the manuscript," he says, "and it's got to be done." Francis combines his passions for horses and flying in this book (he was a flyer in World War II).Grey manages to fly and land a DC 4,with which he is not familiar.Scarcely believable,but makes for good entertainment. Neil Griffon, formerly antique dealer, then business consultant, acting as temporary trainer whilst his father is hospitalisedThe book builds to a thrilling,violent and dark climax.While generally,most Francis books include a fair bit of torture,this one has multiple murders. He says, "Each one, you think to yourself, 'This is the last one,' but then, by September, you're starting again. If you've got money, and you're just having fun, people think you're a useless character." Mott, Sue (20 November 2004). "It was terrible to be told that the Queen Mother wanted me to retire". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 12 September 2012. Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society. But,matters don't end here.Something even more sinister is going on,which makes the earlier swindle look positively tame by comparison.