Mysteries at the Horse Races: Dick Francis

Categories: Sports , Mystery & Suspense , Fiction

When it comes to concocting mysteries about fast horses and fast tracks, Dick Francis is the undisputed king.  Although I can't track down the source, it seems that I recently read something about his unfortunate demise.  You can imagine my suprise when, on a beautiful day during Keeneland's spring meet, I saw Mr. Francis himself autographing copies of his most recent book!    That was a mystery I just had to solve.

As it turns out, he is quite alive at the age of 86, and he has personally seen adventure enough for two lifetimes.  Born in England in 1920, he has been a bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force, a champion Steeplechase jockey, and a racing writer for a London newspaper.  His first book was an autobiography, The Sport of Queens, and once he got a taste of the writing life, he was off and running.  After his first mystery came out in 1962, he published 38 new books during the next 38 years.  That leads up to the year 2000, when his dear wife Mary passed on.  His loss was so great that it completely took the wind out of his sails and he stopped writing - hence, those rumors of his demise.  Then, 2006, he published Under Orders, which he indeed was signing for fans at Keeneland last week.  Mystery solved!

If you are an old fan of Dick Francis or if you have not yet discovered his horsey mysteries, the 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby on May 5 might be a good time to crack open some of his books, which are widely available at the Library in print, audio, and large print versions.