156 — The Danger

You’ve all hit the trifecta, because this episode your long shot has finally come in and we take on our first Dick Francis book, the slightly disappointingly not-horse-dense-enough sorta-thriller The Danger. (Still enough horses in the book that one paragraph in the book runs “Horses. So many horses.”)

What should be a cracking good adventure, with exciting locations (Italy! London! the English seaside! where/whatever the heck “Lambourn” is…Washington DC…hmm. Starting to see the problem) and interesting characters (erm) running around and doing fun work (preventing and resolving kidnappings) somehow collapses into a mostly forgettable affair with the occasional pleasant surprise and a whole lot of opportunities for a nice nap. But that’s the bad book business for you: sometimes the books just aren’t very good. The episode, however, is good cranky fun, with plenty of rosé flowing and the next digression never waiting for the starting gun.

So strap on the feed bag of … sound, and enjoy the hooves thrumming ‘pon the turf as the punters in the stands go mad and the only things flying more gaily than the racing silks are the betting slips being torn up and thrown away, because it’s time for the most exciting two gents in podcasts to get into … The Danger. Stay safe, everybody.

Recommendations:

  • Night Moves (2013, Kelly Reichardt)
  • Gravity Falls