Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Straight  By  cover art

Straight

By: Dick Francis
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

“I inherited my brother’s life. Inherited his desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies, his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother’s life, and it nearly killed me.”

Thirty-four-year-old Derek Franklin, recovering from a race injury and facing an uncertain future, is thrown into familial chaos when his older brother Greville dies from a bizarre, seemingly random accident.

Filled with regret over the brother he never really knew, Derek must take over Greville’s complex gemstone business, a business of which much seems to have been left unfinished.

With little more to go on than his brother’s expensive toys and a few vague diary entries, Derek becomes more and more convinced that his very straight brother was brought down by some very crooked men.

Dick Francis is a bestselling writer who mixes mystery with horse racing for satisfying, clean well-plotted whodunits.

©1989 Dick Francis (P)1994 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Straight

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    211
  • 4 Stars
    39
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    211
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    193
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Duck Francis Classic

A great story read by one of the top narrators - not to be missed. A classic modern English hero - intelligent, thoughtful, caring, tough, cultured but not snobbish who lives a “simple” life of high stakes racing only to be catapulted into the turmoil of a new life through the death of his brother. What a great ride for the reader/listener.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Listen and well narrated!

Full of well organized drama and suspense. Overall great book if you’re wanting a balanced story filled with exciting details.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story teller!

Simon Prebble is so good! Love the way he delivers the story. Dick Francis weaves a story that always makes you think that you’ll never find the solution but bit by bit, with well-placed dead-ends, the solution appears. Fun read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

classic Dick Francis

Jockey finds himself dealing with his dead brothers estate and all the complications of semi precious gems, horses, mistress and corruption.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorite Dick Francis novels

I think this one is my new favorite. Great listen, didn't want the book to end! A must for any Dick Francis fan.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • EJ
  • 12-16-23

Classic Dick Francis

I love every book I read from Dick Francis. He has a way of drawing you into the story that not every author can do. I seldom can figure out who the bad guy is before he reveals the person.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Story Bad Editing

The awful editing, telling the listener to turn the tape over at the end of the side and tape noise in the background.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another hit

I really enjoyed this Dick Francis book, great set up and lots of twists amounting to an exciting conclusion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book

This is one of Francis’ best and that’s saying something. I just need Prebble to read Hot Money and my life on Audible would be complete.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of Dick Francis' Best

This is my second most-favorite Dick Francis novel coming in behind Hot Money. I have read it several times. It starts with one of the best opening lines in all of literature.

“I inherited my brother’s life. Inherited his desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies, his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother’s life, and it nearly killed me.”

Derek Franklin doesn't know his significantly older brother very well. They had a friendly relationship, but it was not a close one as Greville was out of the house and in school before Derek was even born. But he is still terribly concerned when he learns his brother has been in an accident and is dying in the hospital. And then strange things start happening to Derek as well. He’s mugged (a crime made easier by the fact that he has a broken leg). His brother’s business and home are broken into. The trainer of his brother’s horses is inexplicably hostile to Derek. And there are one and a half million pounds worth of diamonds missing from his brother’s business.

To unravel what happened to the diamonds and stop a series of increasingly serious physical attacks on him, Derek is forced to learn all about his brother and his life. In doing so, he comes to love the older sibling much more deeply than he had before even as he also struggles to stay alive.

Dick Francis has wrapped a handful of very interesting mysteries around each other to create a thoughtful, emotional, and fascinating novel about the brother Derek didn’t really know.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!