- Audio Cassette
- Publisher: Chivers Audio Books (July 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0754000044
- ISBN-13: 978-0754000044
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Twenty-nine year old Alexander Kinloch is an unusual chap. With a fervor for the bagpipes and a talent for painting "the passions of golf ... the conflict within the self," he's not what you'd expect as the fourth son of a Scottish earl. When his ailing stepfather seeks Alexander's help in reviving his bankrupt brewery, Alexander begrudgingly leaves his secluded highland cabin and enters a "race" to save his family's honor. The King Alfred Gold Cup, a two mile steeplechase that exemplifies the pride of the brewery, is his challenge, and his assignment is to secure the cup trophy, a valuable medieval chalice. As he emerges from his life as a near recluse, Alexander begins to understand the benefits and the costs of becoming a hero.
From Publishers Weekly
The "hilt" of Francis's delightful 35th thriller refers to the jewel-encrusted, solid gold handle of the ceremonial sword of Scotland's would-be king, Bonnie Prince Charlie. A descendant of the Scottish earl to whom the prince gave the hilt, narrator Alexander Kinloch lives in an unelectrified bothy in the Scottish mountains, supporting himself through his paintings. Al's keen visual sense allows him to draw the faces of the four thugs who beat him and tear apart his home in the opening chapter. "Where is it?" they demand, establishing the leitmotif of concealed objects that Francis weaves through the plot. Hard on the beating, Al must rush to London to comfort his mother in the aftermath of her husband's heart attack. Al learns that his stepfather's brewery is about to collapse because the finance director has absconded with millions of pounds. In desperation, the business affairs of the brewery are turned over to Al, though he pines for solitude, his easel and the mountains. A Francis novel wouldn't be complete without thoroughbred racing; in fact, Al's estranged wife is a race trainer, and one of the many things Al has to hide is Golden Malt, his stepfather's steeplechaser, slated to run in the King Alfred Gold Cup?unless Al's spiteful stepsister can steal the horse first. The diverse plot threads tie up neatly, but not before Al achieves an understated emotional breakthrough with his wife and with his undemonstrative mother, endures gruesome torture with hardly a murmur and wins his stepsister's trust. Likable characters abound: a PI who's a master of disguise; the earl, "Himself," who trusts Al to hide the ancestral hilt; a solvency practioner whose flowered dresses and soft hair help persuade bankers to give the brewery a second chance. Earlier this year, the Mystery Writers of America honored Francis as a Grand Master; this novel again shows why. BOMC featured alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Always dependable, always enjoyable,
By hrladyship (Las Cruces, NM United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: To the Hilt (School & Library Binding)
Usually if one said that an author and his novels were dependable that would be synonymous with dull and boring. Not so with Dick Francis. He always manages to create stories and characters that grab the reader and hold on until the end.In "To the Hilt," we have Alexander Kinloch, a painter whose specialty is golf and the places and people that involves. He lives in a bothy in the Scottish highlands where the solitude makes his work not only possible, but extraordinarily wonderful. However, the world intrudes in the shape of four burly men who beat the pulp out of him. They want to know where "it" is, and when they realize he has no idea what they mean they throw him down the mountain to his fate. Over the next few weeks, he finds out what they were seeking and why. When Ivan, his step-father, has a heart attack, the authority to protect the older man's empire is given to him, a responsibility he is both willing and loath to accept. His step-sister, who resents his interference, begins intruding on his life and that of their parents. As she struggles to wrest power from him her father dies, leaving Alexander with total authority. Part of that responsibility is a string of race horses, bringing into the story the one absolute certainty of a Francis story. However, he really shines in this tale when describing the artist's passion and obsession. Alexander meets an older woman, an antiquities expert, bent on "saving" a precious heirloom, and becomes haunted by her face, to the point that he feels compelled to paint her portrait. The reader gets the brush strokes and the feelings as the work forms under his hands. Even a non-artist has to say, "Yes, that's how it is." When she sees the finished work, she says, "You have made me immortal." Anyone who likes mysteries will enjoy the clean writing in a Dick Francis novel. For the most part both story and characters are unambiguous. This is a quick read and totally enjoyable.
5.0 out of 5 stars
How to improve this book: Making the pages of chocolate,
By Marion Ravenwood (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: To the Hilt (Paperback)
All of Dick Francis' stuff is great, and here's no exception. It's a quick read and nobody at a university is going to assign it as fine literature. Yet, Francis deftly involves issues of personal character in the presence of money and titles, not unlike Shakespeare's greatest hits.Continually underscoring the two human races: the decent and the indecent (good and evil are too pure of terms for true-to-life characters), the author always emphasizes through his first-person account the stiff-upper-lip culture and maturity of England's ideal man. Inventing tasteful ways to present sex and gore both, Dick Francis shows off good writing skills for even a jaded modern audience. This tale combines all of the above and spices it with Scottish landscape, royal jewels, treachery, jealousy, castles, a National Trust busy-body, and of course...horses.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good read for all,
By The Lizard Queen (Topeka, KS United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: To the Hilt (Paperback)
This is only the second Dick Francis book I've read, but I think I'm hooked. To the Hilt had just the right combination of suspense, intrigue, familial strife, and general pathos to keep me engrossed from start to finish. The plot centers less around who did what than *why* they did it, and what the results will be. I identified with and rather liked the main character, Alexander, and I appreciated the humanity Francis gave to all the characters, even the antagonists. I particularly appreciated the eccentric relationship between Al and Emily. Even if you're not a huge Dick Francis fan, or a mystery buff, I think you would enjoy this book.
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