In The Frame

Art, horses, crime, and the worrying discovery that a picture can be worth rather more than a thousand words, especially if someone is prepared to kill for it.

In the Frame is Dick Francis in fine form, taking the respectable world of paintings and politely dragging it through danger, deceit, and the racing-adjacent undergrowth. It begins with loss and suspicion, then moves into that familiar Francis territory where ordinary competence becomes the hero’s best defence against people with very unpleasant plans.

There is a pleasing irony here. Art is supposed to elevate the soul, civilise the mind, and make people murmur thoughtfully in galleries. In this world, it also attracts fraud, violence, greed, and the kind of villainy that suggests some collectors should perhaps stick to postcards.

Francis writes with his usual clean, controlled pace. No fuss, no flab, just danger steadily tightening its grip while the narrator tries to work out who is lying, who is dangerous, and who has mistaken culture for a criminal opportunity.

This fair copy, as sold by Crappy Old Books, has the right sort of lived-in charm for a thriller that knows all about hidden value. Ideal for readers who like Dick Francis, racing-world mysteries, art crime, and the comforting knowledge that even a battered paperback can still frame a very sharp story.

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