SOURCE: "Reverse Lear," in Time, Vol. 131, No. 12, March 21, 1988, p. 78.

In the following review, Skow praises Francis's Hot Money for its believable characterizations and whodunit puzzle.

Psychology is kept decently out of sight in most of the 25 horsey thrillers listed on the op-title page of Dick Francis' new entertainment. It is what goes on—wheels turning in the murky unconscious, and all that—when one of his characters, caught in some awkwardness, says "er …" That unmistakable Francis "er …" has got author and readers past many a potentially mushy spot and on to the good part, where the hero is gonked by hired gorillas or injected with horse tranquilizer, and then wakes up, aware that something is wrong, inside a locked steamer trunk.

The author's formula has become too predictable, however, and Hot Money is especially welcome because it offers a variation. No steamer trunks this trip, though as usual...