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Banker
A classic mystery from Dick Francis, the champion of English storytellers. Tim Ekaterin has a lot of money. Unfortunately, it is other people's, and it is his job to invest it wisely, or get fired. And right now he's taken a big risk: using £5 million to stud a champion racing stallion. When the resulting foals have birth defects, Tim is worried and decides that there may be something else going on at the stables. His suspicions are confirmed when one of those helping with the horses is murdered. Now it's not just about money, but about life and death. Determined to get to the bottom of why anyone would do this, Tim puts himself in danger's path to discover the truth . . . Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror 'Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph 'The narrative is brisk and gripping and the background researched with care . . . the entire story is a pleasure to relish' Scotsman 'Francis writing at his best' Evening Standard 'A regular winner . . . as smooth, swift and lean as ever' Sunday Express 'A super chiller and killer' New York Times Book Review
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
386 people are currently reading
941 people want to read
About the author
Dick Francis
442 books1,207 followersDick Francis, CBE, FRSL (born Richard Stanley Francis) was a popular British horse racing crime writer and retired jockey.
Dick Francis worked on his books with his wife, Mary, before her death. Dick considered his wife to be his co-writer - as he is quoted in the book, "The Dick Francis Companion", released in 2003:
"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together."
Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror '
Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph '
Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National.
On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.
During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.
Series:
* Sid Halley Mystery
* Kit Fielding Mystery
Dick Francis worked on his books with his wife, Mary, before her death. Dick considered his wife to be his co-writer - as he is quoted in the book, "The Dick Francis Companion", released in 2003:
"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together."
Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror '
Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph '
Dick Francis was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National.
On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.
During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three 'best novel' Edgar Allan Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. In 1998 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2000. Dick Francis died in February 2010, at the age of eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.
Series:
* Sid Halley Mystery
* Kit Fielding Mystery
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February 12, 2021
Banker by Dick Francis is a 1982 publication.
A nice change of pace!
Tim Ekaterin is an up- and- coming merchant banker who goes out on a limb to front a huge amount of money to Oliver Knowles, a stud-farmer, to buy a champion horse named Sandcastle.
Tim becomes friends with Oliver and his daughter while learning a great deal about horse breeding, in the process. Tim makes other acquaintances in the horse world, including an ‘animal healer’, a man with a reputation for bringing animals back from the brink of death.
Things are looking good for Tim, career wise, and his office politics are improving along with his success. His personal life could be better, though, as he pines for the wife of one of his colleagues.
Unfortunately, things begin to go awry when a veterinarian is murdered amid Sandcastle’s foals being born with deformities or dying. The race is on to discover who is behind the murder, and to figure out what is going on with Sandcastle’s progeny. The horse is insured to the hilt for everything imaginable- but this- which means Oliver will most likely lose everything…
This book is so different from the ones I’ve been reading recently, I suppose that could be part of why I found it so appealing. The horse world has always harbored a dark underbelly and Francis made a career writing about it. This book is a bit different from other Francis novels, I think, as a merchant banker is the main character, a man who only had a moderate amount of knowledge about the industry, only becoming involved because of the bank’s business dealings. Francis, a former jockey, displays his personal insider view in these books. This novel offers quite an education about the breeding process.
I found Tim likeable and although some of the plot points were a bit far-fetched, I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and am wondering why all my Dick Francis books have been languishing on my shelf collecting dust for so many years.
Because I’m culling through my paperbacks, making a few tough choices about what to keep and what to donate to the library, I was seriously considering letting the Dick Francis collection go. Now, I think I’ll hold onto these books for a little while longer!
4 stars
A nice change of pace!
Tim Ekaterin is an up- and- coming merchant banker who goes out on a limb to front a huge amount of money to Oliver Knowles, a stud-farmer, to buy a champion horse named Sandcastle.
Tim becomes friends with Oliver and his daughter while learning a great deal about horse breeding, in the process. Tim makes other acquaintances in the horse world, including an ‘animal healer’, a man with a reputation for bringing animals back from the brink of death.
Things are looking good for Tim, career wise, and his office politics are improving along with his success. His personal life could be better, though, as he pines for the wife of one of his colleagues.
Unfortunately, things begin to go awry when a veterinarian is murdered amid Sandcastle’s foals being born with deformities or dying. The race is on to discover who is behind the murder, and to figure out what is going on with Sandcastle’s progeny. The horse is insured to the hilt for everything imaginable- but this- which means Oliver will most likely lose everything…
This book is so different from the ones I’ve been reading recently, I suppose that could be part of why I found it so appealing. The horse world has always harbored a dark underbelly and Francis made a career writing about it. This book is a bit different from other Francis novels, I think, as a merchant banker is the main character, a man who only had a moderate amount of knowledge about the industry, only becoming involved because of the bank’s business dealings. Francis, a former jockey, displays his personal insider view in these books. This novel offers quite an education about the breeding process.
I found Tim likeable and although some of the plot points were a bit far-fetched, I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and am wondering why all my Dick Francis books have been languishing on my shelf collecting dust for so many years.
Because I’m culling through my paperbacks, making a few tough choices about what to keep and what to donate to the library, I was seriously considering letting the Dick Francis collection go. Now, I think I’ll hold onto these books for a little while longer!
4 stars
December 16, 2018
This is among the better novels written by Dick Francis. The protagonist, Tim Ekaterin, is an investment banker at a large and venerable firm. The firm is approached by Oliver Knowles who owns a stud farm. Knowles wants to borrow $5 million to buy a racehorse named Sandcastle and put him out to stud. The horse has run brilliantly and, on form, would probably do equally well at stud. This is not the sort of a loan that a staid, conservative bank would normally even consider, but several of the bank's directors, including Tim and his boss, have seen the horse run and are intrigued by the proposition.
Tim is assigned to investigate Knowles, his operation, and his finances and make a recommendation to the board. Tim develops an immediate affinity for Knowles, is impressed with his operation, and recommends that the bank make the loan with all sorts of precautions being taken. The bank agrees with Tim and makes the loan over the strong objections of one director who insists that this will be a very costly mistake. Tim is assigned as the case manager and is to stay in touch with Knowles and monitor the situation.
Since this is a Dick Francis novel, something will go horribly wrong, of course. (A word to the wise, don't read the teaser on the book cover which gives way too much away in this regard.) Tim will have to try to sort it out in an effort to save both Knowles and the bank's investment. Naturally, there will be some very sinister people involved and things will ultimately get very dicey for virtually everyone, but mostly for Tim Ekaterin.
This novel is a bit unique in that it takes place over a period of three years. Ekaterin is a fairly typical Francis protagonist who has fallen in love with the wrong woman, but it's very interesting to watch him work. He is forced to learn a great deal about how champion horses are bought, sold and protected, and about the business of putting a champion like Sandcastle out to stud. He also has to learn a great deal about pharmaceuticals, and as he learns all of this, the reader learns it all too.
Some of it is really fascinating but, as in the book before this one, Reflex, Francis lays it on a bit too thick. Again, having done all of the research for the book, he apparently didn't want to leave any of it in his file drawer. As a result, this is a fairly long novel that could have been trimmed a bit and still have been every bit as entertaining and informative. But that's a small complaint in this case, and this book should appeal to anyone who enjoys the novels of this former jockey.
Tim is assigned to investigate Knowles, his operation, and his finances and make a recommendation to the board. Tim develops an immediate affinity for Knowles, is impressed with his operation, and recommends that the bank make the loan with all sorts of precautions being taken. The bank agrees with Tim and makes the loan over the strong objections of one director who insists that this will be a very costly mistake. Tim is assigned as the case manager and is to stay in touch with Knowles and monitor the situation.
Since this is a Dick Francis novel, something will go horribly wrong, of course. (A word to the wise, don't read the teaser on the book cover which gives way too much away in this regard.) Tim will have to try to sort it out in an effort to save both Knowles and the bank's investment. Naturally, there will be some very sinister people involved and things will ultimately get very dicey for virtually everyone, but mostly for Tim Ekaterin.
This novel is a bit unique in that it takes place over a period of three years. Ekaterin is a fairly typical Francis protagonist who has fallen in love with the wrong woman, but it's very interesting to watch him work. He is forced to learn a great deal about how champion horses are bought, sold and protected, and about the business of putting a champion like Sandcastle out to stud. He also has to learn a great deal about pharmaceuticals, and as he learns all of this, the reader learns it all too.
Some of it is really fascinating but, as in the book before this one, Reflex, Francis lays it on a bit too thick. Again, having done all of the research for the book, he apparently didn't want to leave any of it in his file drawer. As a result, this is a fairly long novel that could have been trimmed a bit and still have been every bit as entertaining and informative. But that's a small complaint in this case, and this book should appeal to anyone who enjoys the novels of this former jockey.
January 30, 2018
The ground trembled from the thud of the hooves, the air rang with the curses of jockeys, the half-ton equine bodies brushed through the birch, the sweat and the effort and the speed filled eyes and ears and mind with pounding wonder and then they were gone, flying away, leaving the silence. I had walked down several times before to watch from the fences, both there and on other tracks, and the fierce fast excitement had never grown stale.
Racing makes even the blood of a cautious naturally born banker boil with enthusiasm, enough to convince Tim Ekaterin - the young partner in a private London bank - that a multi-million investment in a racing horse is a sound business decision. When the horse in question starts to display signs of genetic malfunctions, Tim is forced to intervene an protect the investment, landing him in the middle of a thick plot to defraud owners of valuable horses and culminating in bloody murder.
—«»—«»—«»—
chagrin : here's a word I always wanted to include in one of my reviews. Such as writing up my end of 2017 recap, when I noticed to my chagrin that I didn't pick up even one Dick Francis novel, one of my all time favorite writers. Hence one of the few New Year resolutions that I followed through in January with this "Banker" business, which proved to me Dick Francis never gets stale, no matter how often he recycles plot twists and character types. His secret I believe is his passion, mostly about horses, but really about any other side issues that he makes central to the plot. In this case investment banking, alternative medicine and stud farm management.
The art of money management now held me as addicted as any junkie, and my working life was as fulfilling as any mortal could expect.
Tim Ekaterin is a typical Francis protagonist and first person narrator: modest to the point of self-effacement, reliable, quick witted, principled, courageous to the point of recklessness when the situation demands it ... and a hopeless romantic when it comes to women. In this particular novel there's a very interesting deviation from the standard Francis wooing since Tim is in love with the wife of one of his bank supervisors.
The banking details were well integrated into the plot, although I feel sometimes that Francis was on a sort of kickback scheme, since he is usually very complimentary towards the industries that gave him the underlying information for his thrillers. The benevolent banker is something that I find hard to swallow today, in view of recent scandals. More appealing but also a little ambivalent was the angle about faith healers, with Tim taking a very long time to decide on the practice:
I felt the same reservations about the healing touch as I had at Ascot. I was a doubter, I supposed.
Personally, I'm in the James Randi camp and am convinced right from the start they are all crooks . Tim gives them the benefit of the doubt and starts by crediting their good faith, until proven otherwise.
In conclusion: another solid addition to my Dick Francis Library, and I hope I will be able to add a couple more before the year is over. I will let one of the directors of the bank have the last word:
"But let's not," Henry said, smiling one day over roast lamb, "let's not make a habit of going to the races."
January 12, 2021
Dick Francis explored different facets of the horse racing industry in his thrillers.
This time,he looks at the working of stud farms through the eyes of a merchant banker.A champion horse Sandcastle,is put to stud and a client asks Tim Ekaterine's bank for a loan of £5 million to buy him.
But despite the hefty price tag,and the impeccable pedigree of the horse,the foals being born are deformed.
Tim Ekaterine has to look into the matter,to save his bank's massive investment.The action is spread over a period of three years.It is also a very good look at the world of merchant banking.
Frances and his wife Mary would write one book a year,and in each one,a new profession and its intricacies would be presented.
A cracking good read,one of his best.
This time,he looks at the working of stud farms through the eyes of a merchant banker.A champion horse Sandcastle,is put to stud and a client asks Tim Ekaterine's bank for a loan of £5 million to buy him.
But despite the hefty price tag,and the impeccable pedigree of the horse,the foals being born are deformed.
Tim Ekaterine has to look into the matter,to save his bank's massive investment.The action is spread over a period of three years.It is also a very good look at the world of merchant banking.
Frances and his wife Mary would write one book a year,and in each one,a new profession and its intricacies would be presented.
A cracking good read,one of his best.
May 7, 2021
Another Dick Francis winner
The worlds of investment banking and horse racing meet and collide with greed and evil. A well written volume heavy on character development and information. This will not be to every mystery fan's taste but I really enjoyed it. A classic Dick Francis mystery delving into the mysteries of stud farming and merchant banking while his characters deal with evil and murder which is really most foul.
The worlds of investment banking and horse racing meet and collide with greed and evil. A well written volume heavy on character development and information. This will not be to every mystery fan's taste but I really enjoyed it. A classic Dick Francis mystery delving into the mysteries of stud farming and merchant banking while his characters deal with evil and murder which is really most foul.
January 14, 2021
A Rousing Success! A Fast Paced Read That Will Leave You Breathless!
In a buzz that rose to a roar the runners covered their mile-and-a-half journey; longer than the 2,000 Guineas, the same length as the Derby. Sandcastle, in scarlet and white, was making no show at all to universal groans and lay only fifth as the field swept around the last bend, and Dissdale looked as if he might have a heart attack.
Alas for my shirt, I thought. Alas for Lorna's forecasts. Bang goes the banker that can't lose.
Dissdale, unable to watch, collapsed weakly onto one of the small chairs that dotted the balcony, and in the next door boxes people were standing on top of theirs jumping up and down screaming.
"Sandcastle making his move... " the commentator's voice warbled over the loudspeakers, but the yells of the croud drowned out the rest.
The scarlet and white colors moved to the outside. The daisy-cutter action was there for the world to see. The superb horse, the big rangy colt full of courage and eating up the ground. Our box in the grandstand was almost a furlong down the coast from the winning post, and when he reached us Sandcastle still had three horses ahead. He was flying, though, like a streak, and I found the sight of this fluid valour, this all out striving, immensely moving and exciting. I grabbed Dissdale by his disparing shoulder and hauled him to his feet.
"Look," I shouted in his ear. "Watch, your banker's going to win. He's a marvel. He's a dream."
He turned with a gaping mouth to stare in the direction of the winning post and he saw... he saw Sandcastle among the tumult going like a javelin, free now of all the others, aiming straight for the prize.
"He's won, Dissdale's mouth said slackley, though amid the noise I could hardly hear him. "He's bloody won."
*******
Banker by Dick Francis, a former champion steeplechase jockey who rode for the Queen Mother. After he retired from racing, he began writing mystery novels set in and around the horse racing industry.
Dick Francis is my all-time favorite authors and this is one of my favorite stories.
His first-hand knowledge of the horse racing world allows him to give his readers a unique view point into the inner workings and intricate details that take place throughout thoroughbred racing. The detail adds authenticity and depth to the storylines and brings out the life and emotions to the characters. This book left it's mark on my heart long after I closed the back cover!
In a buzz that rose to a roar the runners covered their mile-and-a-half journey; longer than the 2,000 Guineas, the same length as the Derby. Sandcastle, in scarlet and white, was making no show at all to universal groans and lay only fifth as the field swept around the last bend, and Dissdale looked as if he might have a heart attack.
Alas for my shirt, I thought. Alas for Lorna's forecasts. Bang goes the banker that can't lose.
Dissdale, unable to watch, collapsed weakly onto one of the small chairs that dotted the balcony, and in the next door boxes people were standing on top of theirs jumping up and down screaming.
"Sandcastle making his move... " the commentator's voice warbled over the loudspeakers, but the yells of the croud drowned out the rest.
The scarlet and white colors moved to the outside. The daisy-cutter action was there for the world to see. The superb horse, the big rangy colt full of courage and eating up the ground. Our box in the grandstand was almost a furlong down the coast from the winning post, and when he reached us Sandcastle still had three horses ahead. He was flying, though, like a streak, and I found the sight of this fluid valour, this all out striving, immensely moving and exciting. I grabbed Dissdale by his disparing shoulder and hauled him to his feet.
"Look," I shouted in his ear. "Watch, your banker's going to win. He's a marvel. He's a dream."
He turned with a gaping mouth to stare in the direction of the winning post and he saw... he saw Sandcastle among the tumult going like a javelin, free now of all the others, aiming straight for the prize.
"He's won, Dissdale's mouth said slackley, though amid the noise I could hardly hear him. "He's bloody won."
*******
Banker by Dick Francis, a former champion steeplechase jockey who rode for the Queen Mother. After he retired from racing, he began writing mystery novels set in and around the horse racing industry.
Dick Francis is my all-time favorite authors and this is one of my favorite stories.
His first-hand knowledge of the horse racing world allows him to give his readers a unique view point into the inner workings and intricate details that take place throughout thoroughbred racing. The detail adds authenticity and depth to the storylines and brings out the life and emotions to the characters. This book left it's mark on my heart long after I closed the back cover!
September 11, 2016
1 Jan 1995
1 Jan 1998
12 Mar 1998
Background: I picked up my first Dick-and-Mary Francis* in the early-80s. Read all the backlist at least once, but the early ones weren't so much my cuppa. They were a little too self-consciously hard boiled, but it always felt awkward. The last twenty or thirty were much more about the psychology of the bad guy; they weren't so much about motive, means, and opportunity as they were about why this person might commit this kind of murder, but other people, with just as much anger, or fear, or whatever, wouldn't. That's very appealing.
There are plenty of other reasons why I love the Dick Francis books. There's the horse racing setting where despite the bad events of the story, people find real joy in riding, or training, or owning, a winner; there's almost always a sweet older owner with twinkling eyes and good grace when their horse loses. There's a time when the hero endures some really horrible physical pain and is able to do it, not because of willpower or focus or anything like that: it's just that the guy heals quickly and doesn't seem to suffer nearly as much pain as others with the same injuries would do. It makes sense that any who does anything really painful on a regular basis would have to be less susceptible to pain or they'd never repeat it (I believe somewhere there's speculation that a professional jump jockey has one fall for every four races). There's always a woman, but most of the time she's unavailable, often married and not interested in leaving her husband, even after divorce became commonplace. I refuse to speculate why this pops up so often. Maybe the Francises (Franci?) just don't like their endings to be too happy. There is justice in the end and it pretty much never involves jail, but often requires some very clever blackmail-for-good. And finally, there's the other thing: in addition to racing something else is introduced, and it is something richly satisfying: photography, or creating toys, or competitive target shooting, even merchant banking which I would have thought was deadly dull.
So it's been nearly twenty years since I last read most of them, but as I read through my collection I'm loving them just as much as ever before. Two thousand sixteen: the year of rereading old mysteries.
Anyway, I'm not going to bother to write reviews of each of them. There's already a little synopsis available, and my opinion would just be gush, gush, gush, over and over again.
*"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together" from Swanson, Jean; Dean James (2003). "An Interview with Dick Francis". The Dick Francis Companion. New York: Berkeley Prime Crime. pp. 1–10. ISBN 0-425-18187-1.
PS 11 September, 2016
I forgot to mention something that amused me. Our protagonist is explaining the set-up of the merchant bank, telling us what the departments are, and who works there and cetera. He mentions that there aren't any women on the board or in the best jobs, although there are plenty working as secretaries. He offers up a couple of possible theories as to why this might be, but he doesn't ask any of the women working there, nor does it occur to him that the simple answer "sexism" is the most likely. Everyone seems to be white, but the lack of minorities isn't even noticed. It's funny, the things we just don't see. On first reading this thirtysome years ago, I didn't notice the racism, nor did I consider the sexism.
1 Jan 1998
12 Mar 1998
Background: I picked up my first Dick-and-Mary Francis* in the early-80s. Read all the backlist at least once, but the early ones weren't so much my cuppa. They were a little too self-consciously hard boiled, but it always felt awkward. The last twenty or thirty were much more about the psychology of the bad guy; they weren't so much about motive, means, and opportunity as they were about why this person might commit this kind of murder, but other people, with just as much anger, or fear, or whatever, wouldn't. That's very appealing.
There are plenty of other reasons why I love the Dick Francis books. There's the horse racing setting where despite the bad events of the story, people find real joy in riding, or training, or owning, a winner; there's almost always a sweet older owner with twinkling eyes and good grace when their horse loses. There's a time when the hero endures some really horrible physical pain and is able to do it, not because of willpower or focus or anything like that: it's just that the guy heals quickly and doesn't seem to suffer nearly as much pain as others with the same injuries would do. It makes sense that any who does anything really painful on a regular basis would have to be less susceptible to pain or they'd never repeat it (I believe somewhere there's speculation that a professional jump jockey has one fall for every four races). There's always a woman, but most of the time she's unavailable, often married and not interested in leaving her husband, even after divorce became commonplace. I refuse to speculate why this pops up so often. Maybe the Francises (Franci?) just don't like their endings to be too happy. There is justice in the end and it pretty much never involves jail, but often requires some very clever blackmail-for-good. And finally, there's the other thing: in addition to racing something else is introduced, and it is something richly satisfying: photography, or creating toys, or competitive target shooting, even merchant banking which I would have thought was deadly dull.
So it's been nearly twenty years since I last read most of them, but as I read through my collection I'm loving them just as much as ever before. Two thousand sixteen: the year of rereading old mysteries.
Anyway, I'm not going to bother to write reviews of each of them. There's already a little synopsis available, and my opinion would just be gush, gush, gush, over and over again.
*"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together" from Swanson, Jean; Dean James (2003). "An Interview with Dick Francis". The Dick Francis Companion. New York: Berkeley Prime Crime. pp. 1–10. ISBN 0-425-18187-1.
PS 11 September, 2016
I forgot to mention something that amused me. Our protagonist is explaining the set-up of the merchant bank, telling us what the departments are, and who works there and cetera. He mentions that there aren't any women on the board or in the best jobs, although there are plenty working as secretaries. He offers up a couple of possible theories as to why this might be, but he doesn't ask any of the women working there, nor does it occur to him that the simple answer "sexism" is the most likely. Everyone seems to be white, but the lack of minorities isn't even noticed. It's funny, the things we just don't see. On first reading this thirtysome years ago, I didn't notice the racism, nor did I consider the sexism.
December 9, 2018
I have read several Dick Francis novels over the years. As I recall the protagonist is usually a jockey or retired jockey. Banker is a slight departure from the norm. Tim Ekaterin is an investment banker. When the story opens there is no hint of horse racing. No jockey. No race horse. No race track. Not even a murder. The entire story is rather slow at the beginning and I was wondering where it was headed. Eventually the pace picks up and there is plenty of murder and mayhem.
After Ekaterin and some colleagues attend a horse race they learn that one of the horses, Sandcastle, is up for sale and he arranges raising millions for the purchase of Sandcastle for breeding ... not racing. At first it appears to be a wise investment but then a large number of Sandcastle's foals are born with birth defects. The breeder that Tim arranged the loan for, Oliver Knowles, is in danger of going bankrupt. Tim has gotten to know Oliver and his daughter, Ginnie, and begins investigating. Things really pick up when Ginnie is found dead.
If you thought the world of finance was full of corruption and greed it doesn't come close to horse racing. There are those who have no morals, no compassion and care nothing about others or the horses. All they care about is making a fortune and they have no compunction about how they do it.
This story starts out slowly but once you get to know all of the characters it gets interesting. There are some distractions such as Tim's feelings for the wife of his boss. I am not sure what this had to with the story. Other than this it was an enjoyable read. It is not the best Dick Francis novel but it is not bad.
After Ekaterin and some colleagues attend a horse race they learn that one of the horses, Sandcastle, is up for sale and he arranges raising millions for the purchase of Sandcastle for breeding ... not racing. At first it appears to be a wise investment but then a large number of Sandcastle's foals are born with birth defects. The breeder that Tim arranged the loan for, Oliver Knowles, is in danger of going bankrupt. Tim has gotten to know Oliver and his daughter, Ginnie, and begins investigating. Things really pick up when Ginnie is found dead.
If you thought the world of finance was full of corruption and greed it doesn't come close to horse racing. There are those who have no morals, no compassion and care nothing about others or the horses. All they care about is making a fortune and they have no compunction about how they do it.
This story starts out slowly but once you get to know all of the characters it gets interesting. There are some distractions such as Tim's feelings for the wife of his boss. I am not sure what this had to with the story. Other than this it was an enjoyable read. It is not the best Dick Francis novel but it is not bad.
June 23, 2023
Tim Ekaterin is the great grandson of Ekaterin Banking's founder. But he didn't get the job through nepotism, or not exactly. In fact, Tim had found other work, eschewing banking altogether. That is, until his father drank himself to death and his mother bankrupted herself losing large bets on horse racing. But Uncle Freddie had seen Tim's natural banking talent when -
at age 8
- he was able to compute a Pound's compound interest at various rates over a 40 year timespan. Uncle Freddie promised financial support to the bankrupt family if Tim would promise 3 months at the bank. The story opens 8 years later.
It's Dick Francis. Was I supposed to think banking was going to be the story? Nope. It's horses. Horses, always horses. And horses I got. I'm not sure I ever thought about - nor wanted to know - about what it takes to run a stud farm. And there is also a decent mystery, because, well, why else do you read Dick Francis?
This was all plot, but was exactly what I was ready to read. I most certainly wouldn't want this as a steady diet, but I see my last Dick Francis was 5 years ago. I probably would be happy reading him a tad more frequently. I have another on hand and will try to remember to find another to have in the paddock. This is probably only 3 stars, but I enjoyed myself so much I've found an extra star.
It's Dick Francis. Was I supposed to think banking was going to be the story? Nope. It's horses. Horses, always horses. And horses I got. I'm not sure I ever thought about - nor wanted to know - about what it takes to run a stud farm. And there is also a decent mystery, because, well, why else do you read Dick Francis?
This was all plot, but was exactly what I was ready to read. I most certainly wouldn't want this as a steady diet, but I see my last Dick Francis was 5 years ago. I probably would be happy reading him a tad more frequently. I have another on hand and will try to remember to find another to have in the paddock. This is probably only 3 stars, but I enjoyed myself so much I've found an extra star.
June 18, 2022
A banker as a hero is such a contradiction it seems bizarre. This is one of Francis’s better stories. The plot is diabolical and the villain truly an evil person. Tim is a banker who makes investment decisions on who to back. After seeing Sandcastle a horse win spectacularly he convinces his colleagues to back Oliver in buying the stallion for stud. Who knew 40 was the magic number for the mares to be put in foal.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The villain of the piece is a herbalist who miraculously cures horses with herbs and the laying of hands. Obviously unlikely. What he does is via a vet he infects the horses then cures them with drugs of stopping them taking the drugs that caused the illness. The diabolical Calder then decides to cause deformation of the foals by giving mares poison that deforms the foal so he can get Sandcastle cheaply and claim to have cured him.
Calder murders his friendly vet and the daughter of the stud owner who overheard what he was doing with his accomplice. Tim discovers this and survives a mad horse when locked in a stable. Reveals to the police what Calder has done who then takes the easy way out. The love affair or longed for love affair is a bit farfetched.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The villain of the piece is a herbalist who miraculously cures horses with herbs and the laying of hands. Obviously unlikely. What he does is via a vet he infects the horses then cures them with drugs of stopping them taking the drugs that caused the illness. The diabolical Calder then decides to cause deformation of the foals by giving mares poison that deforms the foal so he can get Sandcastle cheaply and claim to have cured him.
Calder murders his friendly vet and the daughter of the stud owner who overheard what he was doing with his accomplice. Tim discovers this and survives a mad horse when locked in a stable. Reveals to the police what Calder has done who then takes the easy way out. The love affair or longed for love affair is a bit farfetched.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2023
This quote from the book - "You always take sunshine with you. Everything brightens when people like you walk in" gives the perfect character sketch of all Dick Francis Heroes.
The Hero in this book, Tim Ekaterin is a Banker. He has to work extra hard to fight the accusations of being promoted due to nepotism. You see, his grandfather was one of the founders of the Bank.
I wonder where Dick Francis gets his ideas from. The plot is unique, even when centered around horse-racing, like all his other books. And this had so much information about stud farms, horse diseases and pharmacology and insuring investments. And also, about Banking! Just read the sub-plot where he takes the risk of investing in a young cartoonist, and you will know what I mean.
For a change, the Hero doesn't ride horses and hence probably saved from repeatedly getting injured. He does get almost killed in the end, but what fun is it if the Hero doesn't break a few bones (his own) and save the day!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I have already started reading the next Dick Francis🙂
The Hero in this book, Tim Ekaterin is a Banker. He has to work extra hard to fight the accusations of being promoted due to nepotism. You see, his grandfather was one of the founders of the Bank.
I wonder where Dick Francis gets his ideas from. The plot is unique, even when centered around horse-racing, like all his other books. And this had so much information about stud farms, horse diseases and pharmacology and insuring investments. And also, about Banking! Just read the sub-plot where he takes the risk of investing in a young cartoonist, and you will know what I mean.
For a change, the Hero doesn't ride horses and hence probably saved from repeatedly getting injured. He does get almost killed in the end, but what fun is it if the Hero doesn't break a few bones (his own) and save the day!
I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I have already started reading the next Dick Francis🙂
November 9, 2024
One of his best books, lovable characters, great plot...
We have read every Dick Francis novel, some forty (!) in all. We marvel at the author's ability to endear the lead characters to the reader within just a few pages. While our hero is always a man, it is always a man men would like to be like, and women would like to find! Tim Ekaterin is no exception -- while he works in an investment bank, making daily decisions on big business loans, he is all of humble, courteous and pleasant, sensitive, caring, personable and smart. No wonder he is successful, even if his family founded the institution in question.
One of Tim's loans is to syndicate a champion racehorse getting ready to perform at stud. From this development we learn not only a good deal about investment banking but the inside of the horse breeding business, especially from a financial viewpoint. When the offspring start to show birth defects, irregularly, our hero is suspicious enough to practically start living at the stables to unravel what is going on. When the horse owner's daughter, with whom Tim has developed an affectionate plutonic relationship, is murdered, the mystery gets really serious. Are the TV celebrity horse "healer" and herbal remedy specialist and his "cooperative" veterinarian bad guys or victims? Can Tim's pharmacist "girlfriend" help trace some important clues? Will the horse farm and Tim's reputation survive?
An interesting sub-plot, one presented in poignant prose, concerns Tim's boss Gordon, who is slowly losing the war with Parkinson's disease, and Gordon's wife Judith. While it's not clear how it got started, Tim and Judith find themselves in love, but are too honorable to ever act on their feelings. Toward the end of the book, when Gordon's health is in serious jeopardy, will Tim and Judith get the chance to unite?
Francis is known for relatively non-violent mysteries, with pleasant leading characters, and enough suspense to entertain, even if at a level less than the thrills and chills of writers like Patterson or Sandford. Nonetheless, we love his characters, and never fail to enjoy his stories. "Banker" is indeed one of our favorite books of all time.
----------
We recently decided as a way to "downsize" our hardback collection to re-read some of our favorites of all time, starting with this one. Second time around (admittedly a long-time after the first time) it was just as compelling, although now much later in life ourselves, we were a little disappointed at the ending that left us wondering where the "love affair" would go -- although we certainly can use our imagination!
We have read every Dick Francis novel, some forty (!) in all. We marvel at the author's ability to endear the lead characters to the reader within just a few pages. While our hero is always a man, it is always a man men would like to be like, and women would like to find! Tim Ekaterin is no exception -- while he works in an investment bank, making daily decisions on big business loans, he is all of humble, courteous and pleasant, sensitive, caring, personable and smart. No wonder he is successful, even if his family founded the institution in question.
One of Tim's loans is to syndicate a champion racehorse getting ready to perform at stud. From this development we learn not only a good deal about investment banking but the inside of the horse breeding business, especially from a financial viewpoint. When the offspring start to show birth defects, irregularly, our hero is suspicious enough to practically start living at the stables to unravel what is going on. When the horse owner's daughter, with whom Tim has developed an affectionate plutonic relationship, is murdered, the mystery gets really serious. Are the TV celebrity horse "healer" and herbal remedy specialist and his "cooperative" veterinarian bad guys or victims? Can Tim's pharmacist "girlfriend" help trace some important clues? Will the horse farm and Tim's reputation survive?
An interesting sub-plot, one presented in poignant prose, concerns Tim's boss Gordon, who is slowly losing the war with Parkinson's disease, and Gordon's wife Judith. While it's not clear how it got started, Tim and Judith find themselves in love, but are too honorable to ever act on their feelings. Toward the end of the book, when Gordon's health is in serious jeopardy, will Tim and Judith get the chance to unite?
Francis is known for relatively non-violent mysteries, with pleasant leading characters, and enough suspense to entertain, even if at a level less than the thrills and chills of writers like Patterson or Sandford. Nonetheless, we love his characters, and never fail to enjoy his stories. "Banker" is indeed one of our favorite books of all time.
----------
We recently decided as a way to "downsize" our hardback collection to re-read some of our favorites of all time, starting with this one. Second time around (admittedly a long-time after the first time) it was just as compelling, although now much later in life ourselves, we were a little disappointed at the ending that left us wondering where the "love affair" would go -- although we certainly can use our imagination!
August 4, 2012
What is there to say about Dick Francis? As I think about all of his books (yes, this review covers all of his books, and yes I've read them all) I think about a moral ethical hero, steeped in intelligence and goodness embroiled in evil machinations within British horse racing society - either directly or indirectly. The heroes aren't always horse jockies, they can be film producers, or involve heroes engaged in peripheral professions that somehow always touch the horse racing world.
But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.
Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.
You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).
There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.
Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.
But more than that, Francis's heroes are rational human beings. The choices made are rational choices directed by a firm objective philosophy that belies all of Francis's novels. The dialogue is clear and touched with humor no matter the intensity of evil that the hero faces. The hero's thoughts reveal a vulnerability that is touching, while his actions are always based on doing the right thing to achieve justice.
Causing the reader to deeply care about the characters in a novel is a difficult thing to do. No such worries in a Francis novel. The point of view is first person, you are the main character as you read the story (usually the character of Mr. Douglas). The hero is personable, like able, non-violent but delivering swift justice with his mind rather than through physical means. This is not to say that violence is a stranger to our hero. Some of it staggering and often delivered by what we would think of normal persons living in British society.
You will come to love the world of Steeple Chase racing, you will grow a fondness for horses, stables, trainers and the people who live in that world. You will read the books, devouring one after the other and trust me Dick Francis has a lot of novels (over 40 by my last count).
There are several series woven into the fabric of Francis's work: notably the Sid Halley and Kit Fielding series.
Assessment: Dick Francis is one of my favorite writers. I read his books with a fierce hunger that remains insatiable and I mourn his death.
August 29, 2019
Partway through I really wondered why I'd read that this book is reputed to be Mr. Francis' best. It's an interesting story with likeable characters, but it didn't really seem to be going anywhere. But then things changed. When I got to the end I saw how all the rest of the story contributed to the conclusion and how the time spent on character development caused it to have more impact.
March 22, 2012
It seems to me that I am, slowly but surely, becoming a Dick Francis fan. After "Reflex", "Banker" came next on my list. Here are my thoughts after reading the novel.
The composition of this novel mirrors that one of "Reflex", in terms of slowly unfolding plot. However, unlike "Reflex", "Banker" spans over the time period of three years. But thanks to Mr. Francis' polished writing, the transitions between the years are smooth, and the final product is a well-paced novel. The events at the beginning of the novel might seem random at first, but as the book progresses, it becomes obvious fairly quickly that things are not as benevolent as they might seem at first glance. The deviousness and foul-play seethe under the surface, almost like in "Rosemary's baby", but on a minuscule level - here we haven't got any satanists, but there are certainly mysterious conspiracies. The latter were very well thought of; I predicted a thing or two, perhaps, but that's because I love to propose outrageous theories during the reading of a novel (at times they turn out to be correct), and not because the novel is predictable.
Then there's the protagonist. Tim Ekaterin is... well, what to say? The kind of guy you want to have around, in any kind of function. He's determined to make a name for himself and prove himself worthy of a responsible position at the bank, he contemplates every candidate for financing with much care and forethought. He's honorable and trustworthy - the type that always does the right thing, no matter what. Tim goes to extreme lengths to save his bank's money, and while that may sound as if though he's cold and calculative, it's not so. He often reacts on instinct, which in the end always proves to be a good thing to do. Although one can hardly find a fault in Tim's character, I just can't help but like him. Francis made his character believable, and that's good enough for me!
As I've gathered, the common denominator of all Dick Francis novels is the tie with the late writer's former occupation. "Banker" is indirectly connected with the world of horses and racing. It primarily deals with the goings on in a London merchant bank, but as the novel progresses, certain aspects of the racing world emerge and take the steering wheel, so to speak. However, Tim's job at Ekaterin's is described very persuasively, and the reader can get a fairly good idea about what being a director in a merchant bank is about. As Tim examines an unusual case which requires his stamp of approval for financing, both he and the reader get enlightened about running a horse farm, and the proper care and feeding of race horses, which make the novel more interesting and give it that special Francis flare.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this book, and I can recommend it to everyone looking for an entertaining mystery read. Suitable for youngsters.
P.S. I also like the ambiguous title of the novel! Such wordplay is always bound to get extra points from me.
The composition of this novel mirrors that one of "Reflex", in terms of slowly unfolding plot. However, unlike "Reflex", "Banker" spans over the time period of three years. But thanks to Mr. Francis' polished writing, the transitions between the years are smooth, and the final product is a well-paced novel. The events at the beginning of the novel might seem random at first, but as the book progresses, it becomes obvious fairly quickly that things are not as benevolent as they might seem at first glance. The deviousness and foul-play seethe under the surface, almost like in "Rosemary's baby", but on a minuscule level - here we haven't got any satanists, but there are certainly mysterious conspiracies. The latter were very well thought of; I predicted a thing or two, perhaps, but that's because I love to propose outrageous theories during the reading of a novel (at times they turn out to be correct), and not because the novel is predictable.
Then there's the protagonist. Tim Ekaterin is... well, what to say? The kind of guy you want to have around, in any kind of function. He's determined to make a name for himself and prove himself worthy of a responsible position at the bank, he contemplates every candidate for financing with much care and forethought. He's honorable and trustworthy - the type that always does the right thing, no matter what. Tim goes to extreme lengths to save his bank's money, and while that may sound as if though he's cold and calculative, it's not so. He often reacts on instinct, which in the end always proves to be a good thing to do. Although one can hardly find a fault in Tim's character, I just can't help but like him. Francis made his character believable, and that's good enough for me!
As I've gathered, the common denominator of all Dick Francis novels is the tie with the late writer's former occupation. "Banker" is indirectly connected with the world of horses and racing. It primarily deals with the goings on in a London merchant bank, but as the novel progresses, certain aspects of the racing world emerge and take the steering wheel, so to speak. However, Tim's job at Ekaterin's is described very persuasively, and the reader can get a fairly good idea about what being a director in a merchant bank is about. As Tim examines an unusual case which requires his stamp of approval for financing, both he and the reader get enlightened about running a horse farm, and the proper care and feeding of race horses, which make the novel more interesting and give it that special Francis flare.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this book, and I can recommend it to everyone looking for an entertaining mystery read. Suitable for youngsters.
P.S. I also like the ambiguous title of the novel! Such wordplay is always bound to get extra points from me.
July 11, 2016
In Banker, Dick Francis is able to take two things I know very little about — merchant banking and thoroughbred breeding — and twist them together in such a way that I can’t put the book down. I always find reading Francis to be effortless. He pulls me in from the start with an unusual situation. Young banker Tim Ekaterin finds his boss standing in the fountain in front of the bank with his clothes on. This situation is what leads to Tim being responsible for deciding whether or not the finance the purchase of Sandcastle, a star racehorse. He becomes quite close to Sandcastle’s owner and his young daughter after birth defects begin to appear in the horse’s progeny — they all have too much to lose. Francis tends to set his main characters up in almost-but-not-quite inappropriate relationships with young (17, in this case) girls, which is a little weird, but things never cross the line. Regardless, I know when I pick up a Dick Francis book that I’m going to be sucked in until the last page.
June 5, 2021
This is not my favorite of Francis’ novels that he has written. It seemed to take forever for anything to happen besides banking stuff, like lending money to people/businesses that wants to start up, or expand. And while I do usually enjoy a good lead up to the action and some back story, this banking stuff had me quite bored.
Once things got more interesting (for me alone, it seems), the novel got a lot better. I’m glad to see that it finally also started being centered around horses and racing, as that’s what I come to Francis’s novels for.
The sudden ending was a bit startling, as Francis never usually ends his novels like that. There is at least some tying up of lose ends, unlike this. But oh well, it’s not difficult to imagine what happened next.
Simon Prebble narrated the audiobook version of this novel, and he is, as usual, very good at his job. His acting abilities are wonderful.
3.5 stars, but still recommended
October 8, 2012
I just re-read (probably for the fourth or fifth time) BANKER by Dick Francis and was struck again by what a terrific book it is. Tim Ekaterin is a merchant banker who approves a large loan to a stud farm to purchase a high-priced stallion. Of course, bad things happen and he discovers what they are and who perpetrated them. The book is set less in the horse world than in the world of British banking and yet I still loved it.
Tim is one of Francis' most intriguing characters: the grandson of the bank's founder, yet his family was destitute; madly in love with his boss's wife, yet refusing to act on it; genuinely passionate about his job, yet self-deprecating about his talents; fearless, yet a buttoned-up banker.
Francis also does an incredible job of making a story which stretches over three years into a compelling page turner. That's genius!
Tim is one of Francis' most intriguing characters: the grandson of the bank's founder, yet his family was destitute; madly in love with his boss's wife, yet refusing to act on it; genuinely passionate about his job, yet self-deprecating about his talents; fearless, yet a buttoned-up banker.
Francis also does an incredible job of making a story which stretches over three years into a compelling page turner. That's genius!
September 12, 2008
BANKER - Ex
Francis, Dick - 21st book
Tim Ekaterin's merchant bank, like all banks, invests only in sure things. Now he is about to involve it in a £5 million stallion. Top breeders reckon it's the safest bet in racing, but racing is riddled with dubious dealmakers - people to whom no bet is safe until it's paid in blood.
What I remember most is flying kites. I so enjoyed this book.
Francis, Dick - 21st book
Tim Ekaterin's merchant bank, like all banks, invests only in sure things. Now he is about to involve it in a £5 million stallion. Top breeders reckon it's the safest bet in racing, but racing is riddled with dubious dealmakers - people to whom no bet is safe until it's paid in blood.
What I remember most is flying kites. I so enjoyed this book.
May 28, 2019
Love it. All the very British repressed emotion!
July 19, 2011
Banker is another fine entry in the Francis series. This one is a bit longer than many other Francis books -- 10 hours in audio format, rather than the average 7 or 8 -- and the first half of the book (a full 5 hours in audio) has very little mystery in it at all. Banker takes its own sweet time building the background and wandering through the life of the main character. In fact, this slow buildup should tell the reader that the mystery may not actually be the most important part of the book at all. It seems to me that Banker is more about things like ambition, growth, potential, and loss -- and how different people deal with them -- than about identifying or thwarting the culprit.
I've always been a big fan of the way Francis writes about his characters' internal lives in that spare, understated, yet still intense style of his -- and there's a lot of that in this book. If you can just sit back and enjoy the slow buildup during the first half of the book, I think you'll find a worthwhile payoff by the end.
I've always been a big fan of the way Francis writes about his characters' internal lives in that spare, understated, yet still intense style of his -- and there's a lot of that in this book. If you can just sit back and enjoy the slow buildup during the first half of the book, I think you'll find a worthwhile payoff by the end.
April 27, 2024
Dick Francis finds yet another angle of the horse racing business to fascinate his readers with—this time the stud industry. To give this novel an even more unique feel, he tells the story through the eyes of a merchant banker and brings all the tribulations of high stakes investment into the novel. It’s a fascinating and exciting tale made more touching through some of Francis’ best character development. Like so many of his heroes, Banker’s protagonist falls in love with the wrong woman—not a bad woman, just someone who is not free to love him back. It adds a very touching subplot to a great mystery.
February 23, 2018
One of my favorite multiple re-reads by Dick Francis, both in print and audio. Tony Britton is one of my favorite readers.
May 13, 2019
Very interesting. I have always loved how Francis was able to find some of the more obscure aspects of the horse business and make them the center of an engaging mystery. I grew up on a large horse farm, so in many ways this took me back to that time period. It also reminded me how many nuts are attracted to the horse business. Fortunately I never ran across a murderous nut like Calder, but his oddball healing remedies certainly reminded me of some of the truly strange people that operate on the periphery of the horse business.
December 30, 2010
Tim Ekaterin is a young, rising, merchant banker. His days are spent deciding which business ventures to lend money to. Doesn't that sound dull? After careful consideration and research, he crafts a very large loan enabling a stud farmer to purchase a champion race horse for breeding. As the introduction begins, "It's difficult to say where disaster begins..." and all great novels deal in disasters. Tim finds himself working desperately to save the bank's money and learns a great deal more about horses, procreation, and genetic-altering drugs than he ever imagined. Sandcastle, the champion, fathers foals of hideous deformity. There is nothing in his background to account for it.
Meanwhile, a serial rapist and murderer is killing young women in the neighborhood of the stud farm. The owner's young daughter is found murdered right by their fence late one night. Except, she hasn't been raped and she has a small bottle of dog shampoo hidden in her clothing.
Dick Francis paced this novel beautifully. As each new drama unfolds, we watch Tim struggle to understand. We see him mature from a man who understands money to a man who understands more about human emotions, about the desire for fame, about greed, and the seemingly infinite capacity humans have to make mistakes. The supporting cast are all artfully drawn, and the subplots are engrossing. It's the ending that lost this book a 5th star. The main story finishes, but the secondary story of Tim's love life comes to an abrupt end. It needed at least one more sentence to complete the book, but we are left to imagine our own ending and wonder what the author was thinking.
Meanwhile, a serial rapist and murderer is killing young women in the neighborhood of the stud farm. The owner's young daughter is found murdered right by their fence late one night. Except, she hasn't been raped and she has a small bottle of dog shampoo hidden in her clothing.
Dick Francis paced this novel beautifully. As each new drama unfolds, we watch Tim struggle to understand. We see him mature from a man who understands money to a man who understands more about human emotions, about the desire for fame, about greed, and the seemingly infinite capacity humans have to make mistakes. The supporting cast are all artfully drawn, and the subplots are engrossing. It's the ending that lost this book a 5th star. The main story finishes, but the secondary story of Tim's love life comes to an abrupt end. It needed at least one more sentence to complete the book, but we are left to imagine our own ending and wonder what the author was thinking.
March 31, 2011
Tim Ekaterin is a banker who finances the purchase of Sandcastle, a champion stud racehorse. Sandcastle’s new owner, Oliver Knowles, makes a fortune breeding the stallion. When Sandcastle’s offspring are born, they are discovered to have severe abnormalities. This dramatically decreases the value of Oliver’s investment, and puts him in danger of losing everything. Things go from bad to worse when Ginnie, Oliver’s daughter is found dead under suspicious circumstances. Dick Francis adds mystery when he includes multiple murders, and develops shady dispositions for other characters. Francis even works in a romance and ends with a cliff hanger. “Banker” is only the second book I have read by this author and I was pleased to note that the story revolved around a different character. I’m not much for series, although Francis does follow the same theme in his books – racehorses.
I learned a lot about veterinary medicine and treatments with this book.
I learned a lot about veterinary medicine and treatments with this book.
January 30, 2023
This isn't necessarily a bad book but not a lot happens for the first two thirds of the book. Tim is a partner in an investment bank and encourages the partners to give a loan to a stable for a winning racehorse that they will put out to stud. All seems to go fine until the foals of the horse are born with birth defects. This will ruin the stud farm. To make matters worse, the daughter of the farm owner dies after being hit on the head. It turns out that she discovered that the mares were being poisoned when they were pregnant, causing the defects. The culprit was a famous horse whisperer who was really nothing more than a fraud. He and the vet were in cahoots with the vet giving drugs that made the horses sick and then the horse whisperer would charge heavy fees to "cure" the horse. A long book for very little plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2007
This is DF's second best book, to date (Proof is arguably the best). Certainly, it is the one most different from his previous books although, like all the rest, horse racing figures prominently. The basic plot is that a man with a whole lot of ex-wives is murdered. Which ex-wife did it? Read and find out.
May 26, 2013
Banker is a strange Francis novel for it seems, it feels, as if it lacks originality, at least in the character of Tom. The scenes with Tom and Judith are well written, and there are some wonderful lines. The ending, however, seems too pat.
January 9, 2009
I love this book! Good story, good writing, and comfortable.
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