Dick Francis novels typically have more action than is the norm in most crime fiction, so they can be categorized as adventure stories as well as whodunits. As such, Come to Grief and its predecessors in the Francis canon are related to Ian Fleming's "James Bond" novels, with which Francis has acknowledged a familiarity. Further, because of the fast pace of the action, violence, and presence of quintessential tough guys in almost every book, Francis's work descends indirectly from the American hardboiled tradition of crime fiction and its major innovative practitioners Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Ross Macdonald, an American in the Chandler-Hammett tradition, who wrote complex novels centered on psychological problems and family conflicts, also may be an influence on early Francis. John Welcome's espionage novels, which include horse racing, narrator-heroes, multiple venues, and complex chases, echo in Francis's novels. Welcome, in fact, is both...