Banker or Such a Prosaic Title for a Thriller

I finished Dick Francis' Banker last month. I remember this book well. Not because I read it and liked it, not because of it's well written prose, or thrilling plot. Nope, I remember Banker cause it was perhaps the first "adult" novel I came in contact with as it was always positioned within eyesight in my parent's library. It had a bright yellow cover and picture of horse intermixed with a dollar sign. I never read it as a child and remember thinking how horrible a book on banking must be. I would have been wrong. It's just as good as all of his other works. A bit odd, the relationship the main character has with the love interest, but that's par for the course for Francis. Still in all I loved reading it and it got me into a fine fettle for National Novel Writing Month.

A few quotes are listed below.

At one point the main character is describing a scene at a dinner party as:
"Henry Shipton and his wife were standing in the doorway to the balcony, alternately facing out and in, like a couple of Januses. Henry across the room lifted his glass to me in a gesture of acknowledgement, and Lorna as ever look as if faults were being found."

I like the way he uses the line about Janus to show that they were looking all about them.

Then later, the main character finds that he is falling more and more in love with the wife of his friend. He has to continually remind himself to quit falling for her.
"We went down to the paddock, saw the horses walk at close quarters round the ring and watched the jockeys mount ready to ride out onto the course. Judith smelled nice. Stop it, I told myself. Stop it."

What guy hasn't had to remind himself of certain things in his life, maybe not as tragic as unrequited love, but I like the way Francis makes his main characters human through this.

Finally, one that made me think of my own wife.
"Mind you," Judith said forgivingly, "his second wife was the most gorgeous thing on earth, but without tow thoughts to rub together. Even Dissdale got tired of the total vacancy behind the sensational violet eyes. It's all very well to get a buzz when all men light up on meeting your wife, but it rather kicks the stilts away when the same men diagnose total dimness within five minutes and start pitying you instead."

I can say with all honesty I've never been pitied by my friends.