Book Review: “PROOF” by Dick Francis

Posted on January 10, 2022 by Richard H. McBee Jr.

Proof by Dick Francis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love an author who can write well about horses, horseracing and wines. This book has an unlikely hero in Tony, the small wineshop owner, ner-do-well son of a horse tradition family, who has the proper training to be a wine taster and shipper in a tale that leads us through a tangled world of murder and intrigue surrounding wine and whisky thievery and all the pecadillos of upper crust British heritage and horseracing.
When an Arab sheik and other afficianados of horse racing are killed by a runaway horse trailer during one of Tony’s annual catering jobs for the horse crowd, a search for any motive behind the mishap leads to a gang of swindlers substituting poor wine and whiskey for the real McCoy across the whole of Britain. Tony’s French trained nose and tastebuds are commandeered by the police to get to the bottom of the scam while gruesome murders of suspects take place whenever a lead pops up through Tony’s investigative pub crawls.
Readers will enjoy the tidbits of wine information that author Dick Francis brings to light, including the original reason and methodology for determining “Proof” is alcoholic beverages. As always, the author takes you to the final pages to reveal the full details of the crimes and the apprehension of those responsible.

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