Løsesummen

by Dick Francis

Paperback, 1996

Status

Available

Call number

823.914

Library's review

Italien og England, ca 1980
Englænderen Andrew Douglas på 30 år lever af kidnapninger, men helt lovligt for han hjælper de bortførtes familie og arbejdsgivere med at forhandle om løsesum og betingelser for frigivelse. En ung kvindelig stjernejockey Alessia Cenci er blevet kidnappet og i

starten følger vi frigivelsen, som det lokale politi forkludrer. Overdragelsen af løsesummen er aftalt med det lokale politi, men en overivrig underordnet får skyderi og gidseltagning ud af det. Andrew rådgiver faderen Paolo både under og efter bortførelsen. Og tager sig af Alessia fordi han ved hvordan bortførelsesofre tit reagerer når de bliver frigivet. Faderen har næsten ruineret sig selv med løsesummen, men Andrew sørger for at den første løsesum i det mindste kommer tilbage til ham.
Andrew og firmaet Liberty Market han er medejer af hjælper Alessia i tiden efter frigivelsen og stille og roligt bliver Andrew og Alessia tiltrukket af hinanden. Andrew skubber stille Alessia i gang med at ride løb igen og familien kommer sig ovenpå bortførelsen. Den bedste hjælp kommer faktisk fra en anden bortførelse. Andrew har set manden bag Alessias bortførelse og en meget vellignende tegning af "Guiseppe" sørger for at manden føler jorden brænde under sig i Italien. Han tager til England og her står han bag bortførelsen af en treårig dreng, Dominic Nerrity. Forældrene John og Miranda er uenige om hvordan sagen skal takles og faderen fyrer Andrews firma, der så fortsætter med sagen for at støtte moderen. Alessia hjælper med at snakke med forældrene og det hjælper både hende og dem. En af Andrews kollegaer Tony finder drengen og befrier ham på commandovis ved at nappe ham tilbage stille og roligt uden at nogen opdager det. I stedet lægger han en tidsindstillet tåregasbombe og politiet kan stille og roligt samle de grædende bortførere op og putte dem i spjældet.
Bagmanden er stadig på fri fod, men de lokale englændere, han har hyret til opgaven, samarbejder med politiet og i Italien har politimanden Enrico Pucinelli fortsat en stille, men omfattende og vedvarende undersøgelse for at finde ud af hvem "Guiseppe" er.
Andrew har en fornemmelse for at der er en sammenhæng mellem en tidligere bortførelse, Alessia-sagen og Dominique-sagen og at det har noget med heste at gøre. Han snakker med The Jockey Club i England og hans kontakter i Lloyds og politimanden Eagler hjælper meget. Klubben anbefaler sine medlemmer at købe bortførelsesforsikring ved Lloyds og de betinger i deres policer at folk skal kontakte Liberty Market. Klubben selv tegner dog ingen forsikring og på en rejse til USA bliver deres formand Morgan Freemantel for Ordensudvalget bortført. Andrew tager til Washington D. C. for at hjælpe og opdager at det er den samme bagmand, som man nu åbenbart har jaget til USA.
Andrew samarbejder med det lokale politi i skikkelse af en Kent Wagner og begynder standardtaktikken med at få forbindelse til bortføreren. Kort efter melder Pucinelli at "Guiseppe" bærer navnet Pietro Goldoni. Det får det til at løbe koldt ned ad ryggen på Andrew, for Goldonis familie ejer hesten Brunelleschi, som Alessi rider på. Dvs Pietro har sikkert kontakt til sin mor Beatrice og hun er meget snakkesalig, så det ville nærmest være underligt om ikke de har berørt Andrew, hans firma og hvorfor han er i USA for tiden. Pyh!
Andrew når lige at forberede sig på at skifte hotel, men det er for sent og han bliver selv bedøvet og bortført.
Da han kommer til sig selv er han nøgen (standardtaktik for at dominere et bortførelsesoffer fra første time) og lænket til et træ ude i en skov. Over de næste par dage dukker Pietro af og til op for at snakke med ham og for at få ham til at indtale båndbeskeder. Andrew stiller ham i udsigt at Morgan egentlig ikke har nogen nære venner og at klubben ikke selv har penge, så han godt kan indstille sig på kun at få højst 5% af den forlangte løsesum. Det er ikke så populært ved Pietro og Andrew har ingen illusioner om at Pietro vil lade ham leve efter at løsesummen eventuelt er udbetalt.
Det giver sig til at regne og jorden omkring det ret lille træ bliver blødt godt op. Så Andrew lykkes med at grave rødder fri og få væltet træet. Der er en underholdende beretning om hvor svært det er at få hjælp ved naboerne, når man er dækket af mudder, nøgen og ligner en desperat vildmand, men han får da kontaktet politiet.
Pietro's hus bliver stormet og han bliver skudt af politiet og dødeligt såret. Morgan er nøgen og bedøvet af narkotika, men ellers fysisk uskadt. Og Alessia har tænkt meget på Andrew, mens han har været bortført, så det ender sikkert med bryllup og en rejse ud i solnedgangen.

Glimrende krimi, der giver indblik i bortførelser og mekanikken bag. Fx råder Andrews firma folk til at trække løsesumsforhandlinger i langdrag og få forhandlet løsesummen kraftigt ned, så den er til at betale og også til at betale uden helt at ruinere familien. Effekten af en bortførelse på både offer og familie er også indgående beskrevet.

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Genres

Mystery

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

[Kbh.] : Forum, 1996.

Description

When a string of kidnappings rocks the horse racing world, Andrew Douglas is brought in to recover the missing-without becoming the next victim.

User reviews

LibraryThing member katekf

In this gripping book, the main character works for a company that helps families and businesses deal with kidnappings. The story covers three kidnappings in the horse world and how its solved. As with all of Francis' books, the setting and plot is gripping, the writing pulls you along and the

characters have depth. For readers who enjoys a fast paced thriller and are less interested in the horse racing specific aspects of Francis' works, this is a good one to start with.

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12 more

LibraryThing member tripleblessings

Andrew Douglas is an international expert on kidnapping. He is called to Italy, where Alessia Cenci, a young Italian lady jockey, a small English boy, and the Senior Steward of the Jockey Club have been kidnapped one after the other. Intense, one of Francis' best.

LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey

OK book, not very satisfactory. It's a little too - abstract? The fight is too vague and distant (until right at the end, but even then it's not a direct fight, just surviving and escaping).

LibraryThing member wyvernfriend

Dick Francis is good at writing a cracker of a thriller and this is no exception. As usual there's horses involved but this time it's almost as a peripheral idea. The story revolves around a man, Andrew Douglas, who helps rescue kidnap victims and a couple of the people he helps rescue. It not only

deals with the kidnapping itself but also the aftereffects of the kidnapping on Alessia Cenci.

It's interesting and engaging but pretty predictable.

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LibraryThing member nov1514

this is my favorite book of all time!!!

LibraryThing member SalemAthenaeum

When a string of kidnappings rocks the horse racing world, Andrew Douglas is brought in to recover the missing-without becoming the next victim.

LibraryThing member Abhishek23

Here is not much difference between a kidnapper and Mr. Andrew Douglas, they are almost synonymous except for the part that they are each others adversary. One does it and the other prevents it.
Most of us get hysterical by mere mentioned by the word kidnap forget about actually tackling it but you

see, for Andrew it’s a piece of cake, it’s his bread and butter it’s what he does for a living . So if you deal with something on a daily basis then you become exceptionally good at it and so is Andrew, in dealing with kidnappings. So when this case in Italy pops up, it doesn’t get more than its share of attention. This case involved a female jockey named Alessia who also daughter of a millionaire being abducted. And then there were complexities , the ransom job was bungled by the Italian carabenerie.
But alas Alessia was rescued with the payment of the ransom money behind the police ‘s back. Victim rescued , kidnappers nabbed, therefore case closed.
But then there were two more kidnappings of similar types in London and Washington and both related to the racing world, this made Andrew sceptical about all these cases being related. Is it a job of single mastermind, then what about the kidnappers who were caught in Italy??? Were they a deceit to allow the original kidnapper to flee??? With all these questions Andrew embarks on the journey to unveil an intriguing tale of money, fame and deceit.
This is my chance encounter with Mr. Dick Francis, in the absence of my regular mystery writers I gave Mr Francis a chance. And to my surprise I was quite taken aback with his novelty and style.The story is terse yet elaborate,simple yet complex . The story is able to catch and hold your attention at the exact precise time as a suspense should do.
The only shortcoming which I felt was the story lack a central plot to stick to , like a liaison which can connect all the aspect of the story other than that I think Mr. Francis did just fine.

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LibraryThing member themulhern

Obligatory cheesy romance involving phlegmatic, courageous, compassionate, gentlemanly Englishman. Lots of people tell him how great he his, and he is impressed by their perceptiveness. On the other hand, the details of the different kidnappings are generally well-thought out, and the book actually

provokes some thought about the vulnerability of people to kidnap.

When the protagonist is acting as his employer's chauffeur he plays dumb, pretending he doesn't know what is going on. The kidnapper falls for this, inexplicably; I would have stabbed him on the spot. Ending is cliche.

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LibraryThing member TromboneAl

I read this book again because of the kidnapping scenes. I'll have a kidnapping in my next book, and I wanted to review how Francis handled it.

I'm not a super-big fan of Dick Francis, despite having read most of his books, but this one is much better than the others. It's less of a who-done-it and

more a book showing the behind-the-scenes action of kidnapping.

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LibraryThing member Ameise1

This was a very exciting read. It's about kidnapping in the horse scene, where these kidnappings take place in different countries and yet all are interconnected. Andrew Douglas has his hands full to reduce the ransom demands, but also to liberate the victims.
The story is fast-paced, you can hardly

catch your breath.

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LibraryThing member quondame

The professional narrating this mystery is a kidnap councilor who helps the family of the victim negotiate with kidnappers, interact with police and deal with the aftermath. The characters are real, the action deliberate until it becomes frantic, and the subject matter inherently interesting. This

is at least the 3rd time I have read this, and thanks to a poor memory, I still found it exciting.

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LibraryThing member cbl_tn

Andrew Douglas works for a firm that negotiates the release of kidnapping victims. As the book opens, he is on the case of kidnapped Italian jockey Alessia Cenci at the request of her father. After that case is resolved, Andrew is called on to work the case of a 3-year-old boy who had been

kidnapped on an English beach. When he learns that Alessia knows the boy’s father from racing circles, he suspects that the same person is behind both kidnappings. Andrew doesn’t know who the kidnapper is, but he knows what he looks like. Unfortunately, the kidnapper also knows what Andrew looks like. A third kidnapping takes Andrew to Washington, D.C., where he hopes to catch the kidnapper before the kidnapper catches him.

Most Francis novels are page-turners, and this is no exception. It’s not without its flaws, though. The connection to racing circles seems more contrived to fit the Francis formula than a necessary element of the crime. The pacing is also off. It starts and ends with a bang, but it leaves things unresolved for the hero. Can Andrew go back to work after his experience of being kidnapped, and will he and Alessia become a couple?

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LibraryThing member HeatherLINC

"The Danger" was definitely my favourite Dick Francis novel so far. I liked that the protagonist was not tied to the racing industry. Instead, Andrew Douglas was a partner in a firm called Liberty Market which specialised in kidnappings - how to prevent them and how to respond when they do, and

their main goal was to return victims back to their families.

As usual, the hero was calm, capable and intelligent, and I really liked Andrew and the other characters he interacted with to find the kidnapper.

I also liked that the action moved from Italy, England and then America. The novel started well and the tension continued to the end. Overall, "The Danger" was a terrific page-turner which I thoroughly enjoyed.

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Fewer

Original language

English

Original publication date

1983

Physical description

247 p.; 17.6 cm

ISBN

8755324606 / 9788755324602

Local notes

Omslag: Axel Surland
Omslagstoto: Jørgen Johansen
Omslaget viser en pistol i en kasse og to bundter af udenlandske pengesedler
Oversat fra engelsk "The Danger" af Ib Christiansen
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Side 30: Hun havde en vane med at hæve øjenbrynene og se ned langs sin næse, sådan som hun nu gjorde mod sin kaffekop. Den gestus afspejlede formodentlig hele hendes livsholdning og ville utvivlsomt sætte sig som rynker, før hun blev fyrre.
Look down your nose at something - er en fast vending på engelsk og betyder at man misbiliiger noget