Proof

By: Dick Francis

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

With this New York Times best seller, Dick Francis creates an intoxicating blend of the good life, fast horses, and nail-biting suspense.

After a shattering accident plunges a society soiree into chaos, an unassuming wine merchant is left with the bitter aftertaste of suspicion and fear. While catering an outdoor party for a prominent horse trainer, Tony Beach hears rumors of inferior whisky being sold under premium labels. All of that is forgotten, however, when a runaway horse trailer suddenly ploughs into the guest-filled tent. Later, after the last victim is pulled from the debris, he begins searching for answers to both the fraudulent spirits and the disaster. As Tony follows up leads, he finds himself pulled deeper and deeper into a treacherous world filled with greed, deception, and unspeakable murder.

Incomparable storyteller Dick Francis grabs your attention on page one and keeps you riveted throughout to the smashing finish. With narrator Simon Prebble’s dramatic timing and superb accents, you’ll find Proof a vintage mystery to be savored.

©1985 Dick Francis (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC

One Of Francis' Best: An Entertaining Story

I like just about all of Dick Francis' stories and have listened to several. I think this is one of his best, if not the best, of his stories. However, I think that you should like British stories and narrators in order to fully enjoy.

This story is well described in the publisher's summary, and it is truly a treacherous story of greed, deception, and murder. Most importantly for me, this story held my attention so well that I couldn't wait to find out who the bad guy(s) were. Dick Francis' suspense stories are unlike stories by authors such as Michael Connelly and John Grisham. These stories are generally, in some way, centered around the horse racing world and were written a long time ago.

Dick Francis' stories are very easy listening and you will know early on whether or not the story has captured your attention. Narrator Simon Prebble always gives an excellent performance.

One of his best!

'One of my most favorite Francis titles - though really, how can I choose?!, there are so many that fit that category ... Banker, Hot Money, For Kicks, Longshot, High Stakes, Rat Race, Blood Sport, Straight, Flying Finish ... heck, I could just list them ALL. And another fine performance by Simon Prebble; his voice fits Mr. Francis' characters so well. I'm in awe at his talent; he's the best Francis narrator. Please, Audible, get ALL his titles (unabridged). Thanks!

Excellent Mystery

This is the best of the many Dick Francis novels that I've listened to.
Complex, flawed main character. Unusual crime. Challenging mystery. Ruthless villain. All this forms an excellent story that is superbly interpreted by Simon Prebble. Just the right voice intonations, emotional expression, balanced emphasis, dramatic development.
He brings the characters and the conflict to life.

simply splendid, a pairing to savor

One of the best author/narrator pairings around. Francis's heroes are full of integrity, rising to meet the challenges before them. Pebble perfectly captures the gritty suspense of the action as well as the earnest emotion of the internal dialogue. In my opinion, they can't go wrong, and Proof provides a fine taste of their talented blend.

Good with riveting turns.

Took some time to develop the collusion and dragged a little but back ground was interesting.

Wine anyone ??

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

if you don't know anything about wine processing or buying you would be quite bored. It goes into a lot of detail on this as the story is being told.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The background of the main character which is revealed a little at a time.

Superb & Enthraling

Would you consider the audio edition of Proof to be better than the print version?

Definitely

What other book might you compare Proof to and why?

Dead Heat. The reason is that the main hero of the book is also unjustly accused of poisoning people with his food.

Which scene was your favorite?

The one where the main hero persuade his companion in accusation that they can walk out of this with honor.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

No

Typical formulaic mystery. I wasn’t pulled in.

I wanted to give this author a try. So now I’ve read two of his books and I’m done. He’s just not for me. He writes straight mystery. I want more interesting characters, relationship development, and dialogue. There was potential for Tony and the private detective Gerard to be unusual or have an interesting relationship, but that wasn’t done.

This is a story about a good guy investigating, being in danger, eventually figuring out the mystery, and catching the bad guys. The liquor store owner Tony is asked to help the cops and a private detective Gerard by taste testing beverages to determine fakes. Yet Tony is the one who figures things out and catches the bad guys using his brain with some bravery. Tony is smarter-and-better-at-detecting than the detectives. Ok I should accept that. This is the hero. But for some reason I wasn’t intrigued. A couple of times I was annoyed with good guys doing something stupid which put them in danger. A couple of times Tony discovered something and tried to call the cops or Gerard, but they weren’t there, so he had to wait before he could pass on information - hmmm more suspense. This just didn’t do it for me. It was written nearly thirty years ago. I believe Francis is/was a popular author. I wonder if it was because there weren’t as many authors back then doing what’s being done today. I’ve been spoiled by current mystery suspense authors such as Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Stieg Larsson, and others. With this author I feel like I’m doing a jigsaw puzzle - find the pieces, put them together, after a few hours you are done - something to do when there’s nothing else to do.

The narrator Simon Prebble has a British accent. He was ok but not great. As far as British accented narrators go, I prefer Eve Matheson.

Ending: good guys win.
Genre: mystery suspense.

classic francis!

a great and scotch soaked story in francis' oft repeated formula. it's narrated brilliantly by the amazing Simon prebble

Terrific Voice Actor

The voice actor has one of the most pleasant narrating voices I've heard yet but really shines in his character interpretations. The mystery alone is interesting, but the background setting involving wine has probably unintentionally left me with a huge appreciation and interest in wine now.