The church and its influence play central roles in this week’s column, be it a superspy who works for the Vatican, or part of the clergy itself. All are all quick reads. First up is a book from an author who can’t hide behind his pseudonym.
THE INQUISITOR: THE DEVIL IN KANSAS by Simon Quinn — The cover might say Quinn, but it’s all Martin Cruz Smith. He wrote six books in this men’s adventure series. This 1974 entry could easily fall into the category of “forgotten heroes,” with lead Francis Xavier Killy. He works for the church — more specifically, an organization called the Holy Office of Inquisition. That’s right: He is a killer for God.
Here is the kicker: For every person Killy kills, he serves a penance by sitting in a monk cell in complete silence, surviving on bread and water for 15 days. And, boy, do the penances pile up. This is the first of the series, so we get the requisite backstory.
The mission Killy is sent on deals with a war college in Kansas which is training foreign generals, which is fine, except for when they get back to their countries, they go rogue and attempt to kill their superiors. Killy is sent undercover to find out what is going on. To say drugs are involved is an understatement.
Once the main mission is complete, we still have plenty of book left, in which Killy is tested to see if he is still of sound mind, and then it’s off to Russia to stop some crazy plan with a giant laser. The one is fun — nothing too draining. Smith seems to have the spy-genre chops down; he did write a few Nick Carter books.
I’ve actually read four of the other books in this series, and they all come off as grounded Nick Carter books. There’s nothing really special about them, except for the whole church angle. Take that away and all you have is late-period Nick Carter without the over-the-top violence and sex.
BISHOP’S PAWN by Ritchie Perry — Philis is a former smuggler turned secret agent, and this 1979 novel is just another cookie-cutter spy story with a few nice moments. Philis is called upon for a mission well beneath his skills: smuggling a bishop out of Eastern Europe.
That is the whole plot ,and I’m not kidding. But what makes this book stand out a little is the humor — mainly in the opening third, when Philis is captured and gives out false information, knowing full well what is to come. But as soon as that happens, the book takes a drastic turn as Philis is released without a problem by his captors.
That’s a head-scratcher, but it’s explained they, too, want the bishop out of the country. Why? The answer is really simple. The bishop is a prick of massive proportions who does not help Philis in his escape, and also has a hidden cache of Nazi gold. Throw in some pointless sex scenes and a nice little payoff at the end, and there you go.
This is a generic spy tale with nothing to really have readers come back for, and will be forgotten an hour after finishing. I have one other book in the series — let’s see if it ever gets reviewed.
THE CASE OF THE STUTTERING BISHOP by Erle Stanley Gardner — For a Perry Mason book, this 1936 one is both a challenge and bit taxing. It’s definitely one of the better Masons, but complex as it comes to its conclusion.
The bishop of the title has a bit of a stutter, which raises a few red flags for Mason. The bishop has a story to tell of a woman from more than 22 years ago about a case in Australia, and wonders if Perry could help out someone in deep trouble for free. Mason has his doubts, so he sets his team of investigators to find out more.
This leads to a story of an inheritance and a adopted child, plus the bishop skips town after getting knocked out by some unknown person. Throw in a millionaire who winds up dead, and there is a lot going on in this 200-page mystery. It will all become crystal-clear once all the action is switched to the courthouse, where once again, Mason holds all the cards, but with this one, he’s playing a real long shot.
You really can’t go wrong with an early Mason book and this one is a lot of fun. It’s worth looking for, so search for a copy; you won’t be disappointed. —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF ERLE STANLEY GARDNER:
• BATS FLY AT DUSK by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE BIGGER THEY COME by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE CASE OF THE HESITANT HOSTESS by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE CASE OF THE WAYLAID WOLF by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE CASEBOOK OF SIDNEY ZOOM by Erle Stanley Gardner
• CROWS CAN’T COUNT by Erle Stanley Gardner
• THE DANGER ZONE AND OTHER STORIES by Erle Stanley Gardner
• FISH OR CUT BAIT by Erle Stanley Gardner
• FOOLS DIE ON FRIDAY by Erle Stanley Gardner
• GOLD COMES IN BRICKS by Erle Stanley Gardner
• PASS THE GRAVY by Erle Stanley Gardner
• PERRY MASON SOLVES THE CASE OF THE DARING DIVORCEE by Erle Stanley Gardner
• PERRY MASON SOLVES THE CASE OF THE PHANTOM FORTUNE by Erle Stanley Gardner
• SOME SLIPS DON’T SHOW by Erle Stanley Gardner
• SOME WOMEN WON’T WAIT by Erle Stanley Gardner
• TRY ANYTHING ONCE by Erle Stanley Gardner
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF MARTIN CRUZ SMITH:
• CODE NAME: WEREWOLF by Martin Cruz Smith
• STALIN’S GHOST by Martin Cruz Smith
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