Hot Money by Dick Francis (1988)

Hot Money
by Dick Francis
Publisher:  G. P. Putnam's Sons
Copyright:  1988
Book Club Edition / First American Edition

Violence rides roughshod over a family's destiny in Dick Francis's most ambitious thriller yet.

It was stupid to be afraid, I thought.  It was home, the house I'd been brought up in.  One couldn't be frightened by home.  One was.

When you are saddled with relatives like those of jockey Ian Pembroke, you've got valid cause for concern.  For starters, there's Ian's father, Malcolm, a gold arbitrageur with a Midas touch in everything but wives (he's had five).  Then there are the ex-wives themselves:  Ian's grudge-bearing mother; a vicious pair called "the witches"; a fourth dead in a tragic accident; and now the last and most detestable, a murder victim.

When, in the wake of her brutal death, Malcolm's own life is threatened, Ian assumes the dual role of bodyguard and sleuth.  Quickly he surmises the perpetrator must be either an ex-wife or one of their generally hapless, chronically greedy offspring.  And what a bunch of step-siblings they are:  a shiftless snob, an anorexic brat, an embittered, henpecked husband, a belligerently bohemian poetess, among others.  Every single one has a motive, few have an alibi, and none, frankly, seems above murdering for wealth.

As Ian perseveres in his search back into the past, trying to unearth the childhood roots of a vengeful madness, the danger to both him and Malcolm escalates.  Before the truth is out, Ian will discover more than he ever wanted to -- about hate that builds silently through the years, about the terrible price we pay for our father's sins, and about a twisted knot of passion compelled to turn love to punishment.

Hot Money is both a profound and moving family drama and an utterly baffling whodunit, with a large and colorful cast of suspects.  It i also as complex as any novel Dick Francis has written.  With Hot Money, Francis has done the virtually impossible:  He has transcended himself.

Condition:  Used.  Hardcover.  Dust cover is lightly discolored and shows shelf wear.  Pages may be tanning from age.  Previous owner's "Library Of" stamp is on the front endpaper.

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