Trial Run, by Dick Francis (1978)

Trial Run, by Dick Francis (1978)

TOPICS: Amateur male detective. Location: Moscow, Russia Time: The Present (1978)

How can you say 'no' to a Prince? You can't. Randall Drew found out quite quickly, though the last place he wanted to go was Moscow, even if it was on a missin for the Royal Family. But the Prince's brother-in-law had his heart set on riding in the Olympics, and it seemed some jealous Russian had her heart set on killing him if he did.

So leaving behind his well-bred horses and high-born girlfriend, Randall went to Moscow, little expecting that the sabotage and murder he'd find would pale in comparison to the unspeakable terror that followed...

Dick Francis
TITLE YEAR MAIN CHARACTER OCCUPATION
Dead Cert 1962 Alan York Amateur jockey, Company representative
Nerve 1964 Rob Finn Professional jockey
For Kicks 1965 Daniel Roke Australian horse breeder,
undercover investigator
Odds Against 1965 Sid Halley Investigator, former champion jockey
Flying Finish 1966 Henry Grey Amateur jockey, semi-professional pilot, in-
flight horse-transport supervisor
Blood Sport 1967 Gene Hawkins Civil service screener
Forfeit 1968 James Tyrone Racing journalist
Enquiry 1969 Kelly Hughes Professional jockey
Bonecrack 1971 Neil Griffon Business consultant
Rat Race 1972 Matt Shore Air taxi pilot
Smokescreen 1972 Edward Lincoln Actor
Slay Ride 1973 David Cleveland Jockey Club Director of Security
Knockdown 1974 Jonah Dereham Bloodstock agent
High Stakes 1975 Steven Scott Inventor, racehorse owner
In the Frame 1976 Charles Todd Artist
Risk 1977 Roland Britten Accountant, amateur jockey
Trial Run 1978 Randall Drew Gentleman farmer, former jockey
Whip Hand 1979 Sid Halley Investigator, former champion jockey
Reflex 1980 Philip Nore Professional jockey, amateur photographer
Twice Shy 1981 Jonathan Derry Teacher, Olympic marksman
William Derry Owner’s representative
Banker 1982 Tim Ekaterin Merchant banker
The Danger 1983 Andrew Douglas Kidnapping investigator
Proof 1984 Tony Beach Wine merchant
Break In 1985 Kit Fielding Champion jockey
Bolt 1987 Kit Fielding Champion jockey
Hot Money 1987 Ian Pembroke Amateur jockey
The Edge 1988 Tor Kelsey Jockey Club undercover investigator
Straight 1989 Derek Franklin Professional jockey
Longshot 1990 John Kendall Writer
Comeback 1991 Peter Darwin Diplomat
Driving Force 1992 Freddy Croft Former jockey, owner of horse tranport business
Decider 1993 Lee Morris Architect/builder
Wild Horses 1994 Thomas Lyon Film director
Come to Grief 1995 Sid Halley Investigator, former champion jockey.
To the Hilt 1996 Alexander Kinloch Artist
10-lb. Penalty 1997 Benedict Juliard Student, amateur jockey, insurance
investigator
Second Wind 1999 Perry Stuart TV meteorologist
Shattered 2000 Gerard Logan Glass blower and sculptor
Under Orders 2006 Sid Halley Investigator, former champion jockey
Dead Heat 2007 Max Moreton Chef and restaurateur (written with son Felix)
Silks 2008 Geoffrey Mason Barrister (written with son Felix)
Even Money 2009 Ned Talbot Bookmaker (written with son Felix)

Thus Was Adonis Murdered, by Sarah Caudwell (1981)

Sarah Caudwell (1939 – 2000) was a British barrister and writer of detective stories.

"She is best known for a series of four murder stories written between 1980 and 1999, centred around the lives of a group of young barristers practicing in Lincoln’s Inn and narrated by a Hilary Tamar, a Professor of Medieval Law (gender unknown), who also acts as detective."

For American readers, Sarah Caudwell may be an aquired taste. As her Wikipedia entry states, "The books have a self-consciously literary style, including many references to the classics and other subjects of higher learning."...and "Professor Tamar is frequently physically removed from the action and is kept informed by a series of improbably long letters and telexes."

I don't know if I'd call them "improbably" long...her characters are British, after all, but today's modern readers, who communicate via internet and who on many occasions have said proudly that they can't read more than a paragraph of an email or message board message without becoming bored, may find the style unreadable.

I love it. That is Sarah Caudwell's schtick, that the action takes place via letters, which Hilary (and the other characters not involved in the action) read, and react to.

Of all her books, Thus Was Adonis Murdered is my favorite, The Sybil in her Grave my least favorite, because of the nature of the book, but I'll get to that when I present it here.

Backmatter:
For young barrister Julia Larwood, it was to be a vacation in search of eros, in flight from the tax man... An Art Lover's Holiday to Italy. Reduced to near penury by the Inland Revenue, Julia could hardly afford such a luxury, but she'd be in hock to the Revenue either way, so why not? Poor, hapless, incurably sentimental Julia. How could she know that the ravishing young ARt Lover for whom she conceived a fatal passion was himself an employee of Inland Revenue? Or that her hard-won night of passion would end in murder - with her inscribed copy of this year's Finance Act lying a few feet from the corpse...

Opening paragraphs
Scholarship asks, thank God, no recompense but Truth. It is not for the sake of material reward that she (Scolarship) pursues her (Truth) through the undergrowth of Ignorance, shining on Obscurity the bright torch of Reason and clearing aside the tangled thorns of Error with the keen secaturs of Intellect. Nor is it for the sake of public glory and the applause of the multitude: the scholar is indifferent to vulgar acclain. Nor is it even in the hope that those few intimate friends who have observed art first hand the labor of the chase will mark with a word or two of discerninbg congratulation its eventual achievement. Which is very fortunate, because they don't.

Hilary Tamar Books
Thus Was Adonis Murdered (1981)
The Shortest Way to Hades (1985)
The Sirens Sang of Murder (1989)
The Sibyl in Her Grave (2000)