The Danger by Dick Francis

Does the man never miss? I guess I consider that Russian one a miss, but he is definitely back on the game. The increased depth and character development in these later books is more noticeable as they continue.

This time our hero, Andrew Douglas, works for a firm that handles kidnappings. From the rescue end, of course. It opens as he has been sent to settle the kidnapping of an Italian girl who happens to be the best female jockey in Europe. In spite of a potential disaster created by a carabinieri officer who refuses to follow directions, the girl is rescued after being held for five weeks. And when the next kidnap victim is the small son of the owner of the horse of the year, a pattern of connection to horse racing appears.

The predictable romance between Andrew and the girl jockey is nicely understated. The dramatic relationship is the one that develops between Andrew and the kidnapping mastermind.