Proof

( 13 )

Overview

Wine merchant Tony Beach has expertly catered his latest society soiree, but the fun's over when a team of hit men crash the party…literally. The event leaves Tony with a bitter aftertaste of suspicion—and sets off a mystery that's an intoxicating blend of deception, intrigue, and murder.

Read More Show Less
... See more details below
Paperback (Mass Market Paperback)    
A small-format, low-cost paperback -- usually 4 1/4" x 6 3/4" -- most often used for genres such as mystery, romance, and sci-fi, as well as bestsellers with broad commercial appeal.
$8.99
BN.com price
Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (10) from $1.99   
  • New (3) from $5.64   
  • Used (7) from $1.99   
Proof

Available on NOOK devices and apps  
  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet
  • NOOK for iOS
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK for Windows 8
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for Web

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

NOOK Book (eBook)
$8.99
BN.com price

Overview

Wine merchant Tony Beach has expertly catered his latest society soiree, but the fun's over when a team of hit men crash the party…literally. The event leaves Tony with a bitter aftertaste of suspicion—and sets off a mystery that's an intoxicating blend of deception, intrigue, and murder.

Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
The narrator of Francis's 26th mystery is Tony Beach, a young widower who fights his grief by keeping busy at his wine shop and by socializing. Eventually he teams up with private detective Gerard McGregor to find the hijackers of several trucks of spirits; the pair then take on a case involving the adulteration of whiskey and wine at a cafe. In rapid order the cafe's steward is brutally murdered, and Tony and Gerard just miss being killed. Tony's severest test occurs at the ``stunning climax of what may be judged the best of Francis's bestsellers so far; it's a corker,'' PW commented. April
Larry King
"The best writer in the mystery genre...you will be involved from page one." -- U.S.A. Today
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780425203934
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 7/28/2005
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Pages: 368
  • Sales rank: 301146
  • Product dimensions: 6.64 (w) x 4.34 (h) x 0.99 (d)

Meet the Author

Dick Francis

Dick Francis (pictured with his son Felix Francis) was born in South Wales in 1920. He was a young rider of distinction winning awards and trophies at horse shows throughout the United Kingdom. At the outbreak of World War II he joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot, flying fighter and bomber aircraft including the Spitfire and Lancaster.

He became one of the most successful postwar steeplechase jockeys, winning more than 350 races and riding for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. After his retirement from the saddle in 1957, he published an autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write more than forty acclaimed books, including the New York Times bestsellers Even Money and Silks.

A three-time Edgar Award winner, he also received the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association’s Cartier Diamond Dagger, was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2000. He died in February 2010, at age eighty-nine, and remains among the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Biography

Dick Francis was born in Lawrenny, South Wales in 1920. He served in the Royal Air Force for six years during World War II, piloting fighter and bomber aircraft including the Spitfire and Lancaster between 1943 and 1946.

Following the war, Francis, the son of a jockey, became a celebrity in the world of British National Hunt racing. He won more than 350 races, was Champion Jockey in 1953-1954, and was retained as jockey to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother for four seasons, 1953 through 1957. Francis rode eight times in the world famous Grand National Steeplechase, and nearly won in 1956 when his horse, the Queen Mother's Devon Loch, a few strides away from victory with a clear field, suddenly collapsed. This incident, which Francis calls "both the high point and low point of my career as a jockey," was the impetus for him to begin a second career as a writer. Shortly after the incident, a literary agent approached Francis about writing an autobiography.

In 1957, Francis suffered another serious fall and was advised to retire from race riding. He completed his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, which was published later that year, and accepted an invitation to write six features for the London Sunday Express. He stayed on as the newspaper's racing correspondent for 16 years.

Sports writing soon led to fiction writing, which in turn led to a string of bestselling novels. His first, Dead Cert, was published in 1962. His 36th novel, 10 Lb. Penalty, was published in the U. S. by G. P. Putnam's Sons in September 1997. In addition to his novels and autobiography, Francis has also published a biography of Lester Piggott, A Jockey's Life, and eight short stories. He has edited (with John Welcome) four collections of racing stories, and has contributed to anthologies and periodicals.

Francis's books have been bestsellers in a number of countries, and have been translated into more than 30 languages, including all European languages, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Bantu, and several dialects of Chinese. Each of his novels has also been recorded on audio in both Britain and the United States.

Francis was made an Officer of the most noble Order of the British Empire in 1984, and was awarded the British Crime Writers Association silver dagger in 1965, gold dagger in 1980 and Cartier diamond dagger for his life's work in 1990. The recipient of three Edgar Allen Poe Awards for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America, most recently for 1995's Come to Grief, Francis is the only person to have been awarded the prestigious award more than once. The Mystery Writers of America named Francis Grand Master for his life's work in 1996, and he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Tufts University in 1991.

Author biography courtesy of Penguin Group (USA).

Read More Show Less
    1. Also Known As:
      Sir Richard Stanley Francis (full name)
    2. Hometown:
      Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies
    1. Date of Birth:
      Sun Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 1920
    2. Place of Birth:
      Tenby, Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales
    1. Date of Death:
      Sun Feb 14 00:00:00 EST 2010
    2. Place of Death:
      Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 13 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(10)

4 Star

(3)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)
Sort by: Showing all of 14 Customer Reviews
  • Anonymous

    Posted Tue Apr 11 00:00:00 EDT 2000

    Couldn't put it down and learned about wines...

    This is vintage Dick Francis. The hero is a widower wine merchant, who teaches us about whiskey and wine-making. The characters were well-sketched, their motivations clear. The story was intriguing. The hero is not physically tortured as much as usual in Dick Francis' novels, a welcome change.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted Wed Nov 16 00:00:00 EST 2011

    Engaging and Informative

    I recently discovered Dick Francis and have read a handful of his books, including one co-authored with his son, Felix. Opening one of his books is like putting on a favorite pair of comfortable slippers. The stories are not overly long so the reader is spared excessive details. Plot lines move along and interest is maintained. There is no undue profanity or sex, which is a welcome change. This story¿s protagonist is a widower still coming to grips with the untimely loss of his wife. He takes refuge by immersing himself in the running of his small wine shop and catering service. When a tragedy occurs at one of the events he is catering, his expertise in wine and spirits is sought out by both police and private investigators, not without endangerment to his personal life and limb. The reader sympathizes with this quiet man and marvels at how his unique knowledge ultimately leads to the solution of the crime. This book provides a very satisfying reading experience and is highly recommended.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Nov 05 00:00:00 EST 2012

    One of Dick Francis' best.

    Dick Francis' books are always uplifting but this portrayal of loss and depression is moving, touching and ultimately, again, uplifting. For those who have doubted themselves, lost a loved one and moved beyond the dark places, this book will resonate.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted Thu Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2012

    Highly recommend

    A very easy and fun read but complex enough to be interesting.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted Tue Feb 22 00:00:00 EST 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Thu Mar 14 00:00:00 EDT 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Mar 12 00:00:00 EDT 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Wed Dec 29 00:00:00 EST 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Tue Feb 08 00:00:00 EST 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Thu Oct 21 00:00:00 EDT 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Sun Mar 27 00:00:00 EDT 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Oct 17 00:00:00 EDT 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Fri Sep 02 00:00:00 EDT 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Nov 05 00:00:00 EST 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 14 Customer Reviews

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)