Flying Finish

M. Joseph, 1966; Harper, 1967

• Henry Grey - 26, viscount, amateur jockey, quit his job at Anglia Bloodstock Agency to work for Yardman Transport
• Christopher & Maggie - worked with Henry at Anglia Bloodstock Agency
• Simon Searle - works for Yardman Transport
• Yardman - owner of Yardman Transport
• Timmie & Conker - Yardman's traveling grooms
• Billy Watkins - 19, substitute traveling groom for Yardman
• Alf - deaf, substitute traveling groom for Yardman
• Tom Wells - owns & runs a small airplane charter firm
• Julian Thackery's father - farmer, trains horses as a hobby, Henry rides for him
• Patrick - pilot, Henry's friend, introduces him to Gabriella
• Mike - engineer on Patrick's crew
• Bob - copilot on Patrick's crew
• Gabriella Barzini - Italian birth control smuggler, works at the Milan airport gift shop
• Edna - Simon's aunt
• John Kyle - pilot who flew when Simon disappeared. Crew: G.L. Rawlings, copilot; V.N. Brede, engineer
• Vittorio & Giuseppe - work for Yardman
• Rous-Wheeler - Treasury civil servant, tried to defect to Russia

My choice for a favorite quote: "Air is curious stuff. One tends to think that because it is invisible it isn't there. What you can't see doesn't exist, sort of thing. But air is tough, elastic and resistant; and the harder you dig into it the more solid it becomes. Air has currents stronger than tides and turbulences that would make Charybdis look like bath water running away."

Other book titles in the text: Risk, Nerve.

We discussed Flying Finish on April 7, 1997 and again on October 5, 1998. Members can find the meeting log in our reading group folder on AOL or at our Internet Members area.