Flying Finish (Francis Thriller)

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Francis suffered racing injuries, being first hospitalized from riding at the age of 12 when a pony fell on him and broke his jaw and nose. [21] He drew from this career resulting in broken bones and damaged organs for his novels, in which his characters suffer the same. In 1957, after Francis suffered another serious fall, the Queen Mother's adviser, Lord Abergavenny, advised him that she wanted him to retire from racing for her. He shuns the lecture circuit. He'd prefer to let his novels and his sales volume speak for themselves... And though he doesn't love the act of writing [and] could easily retire, he finds himself planning his new book as each summer ends. Neil Griffon, formerly antique dealer, then business consultant, acting as temporary trainer whilst his father is hospitalised

Clippinger, Don (30 March 1983). "Drive To Save Aintree Nears Goal". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved 28 April 2013. 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. 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. 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.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."

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.We generally try to read at least one chapter per Book Day, and that is what we did this time too. Except that Thursday we read chapters 15 and 16 both, because they were fairly short. And then today we decided we just had to finish both chapters 17 and 18 and get to the end of the story, because let me tell you, these last four chapters were un-put-downable. Definitely the most dramatic and exciting of the whole book! I got carried away: I was reading way too fast. I would never be able to read professionally, I get too caught up in the story! Royal Society of Literature All Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010 . Retrieved 8 August 2010. 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.