This is the fourth work completed by Dick Francis and his son, and it certainly lives up the standards the late author set in a long and distinguished career until his death last February. As did the more than 40 novels Dick Francis wrote, it takes as its milieu the British horse-racing scene.
Captain Tom Forsyth, who left his mother’s home (and horse-training stables) at the age of 17 to join the army, returns after losing his foot to an IED in Afghanistan, only to find that his mother is in some kind of trouble. She is being blackmailed to the tune of 2,000 pounds a week and is also being forced to make sure that her horses lose important races. It falls to Tom to sort out the culprits, solve his mother’s business problems, and find his way into the future despite his physical condition.
“Crossfire” is a tale with the trademark Francis touch, carefully constructed, poignantly written and sensitive, especially with regard to observations of the trials and difficulties of being a soldier (demonstrated throughout by references to Tom’s past posts as well as the skills he learned as applied to his present endeavors), and it is highly recommended.
