It’s too damn cold here in Massachusetts, to where I just want to snuggle under a blankie and veg out with the TV on. So my reading has been suffering a bit. But to get back on the horse, here’s some simple, fun reading of authors we know and characters we love.
THE DESIRED by Carter Brown — Nothing says comfort more than the novels of Carter Brown. They are fun and breezy and can be devoured like a plate of just-baked cookies. This time out, it’s not the far-world-traveling set, but Brown’s straight-ahead detective, Al Wheeler, who literally crashes into his newest case — that of a runaway car with a barley dressed woman inside and a dead body in the trunk.
It turns out the woman is the daughter of the local labor boss, who is under the watchful eye of a Senate committee, and the dead man in the trunk is none other than the union treasurer. Uh-oh. The Wheeler novels are a little more based in reality, with no globetrotting adventures — just some straight-up detective work with just a touch of Shell Scott libido to go around, which comes in handy as Wheeler tries to find some witnesses who can prove some innocence, only for those witnesses to wind up dead. Wheeler himself becomes a target in this web of deceit.
A Brown book like this 1959 one is easily digested in one sitting, in no time flat. It’s a joyous ride into the world of some light crime, even though there is a bit of a body count. But it’s also the perfect material to get my reading juices going like an energy drink that some people rely on.
DEATH MESSAGE: OIL 74-2 by Nick Carter — There are two types of Nick Carter books: the ones that make the movie MOONRAKER seem plausible, and the others, which are more grounded. This 1976 one falls into the latter category, and it could be called NICK CARTER: ECO FIGHTER.
Nick is called into action once one of his fellow agents winds up dead, with a bizarre message written in the sand next to his body: “OIL 74-2.” The “OIL” we speak of is both the black stuff from the ground and the Organization for Industrial Limitation, which is about to have some sort of unveiling in Trinidad; Nick is sent to find out what’s going on, under the cover of a reporter.
Even though he is supposed to be undercover, everyone knows he is some sort of superspy. But these aren’t John le Carré or Robert Ludlum tales — they’re just pure men’s adventure with enough blood and guts and sex to make a reader happy. I mean, once Nick starts poking his head into a room he should not be in, he is jumped by two Russian men whom he disposes of in quick fashion, while the local police cover it all up for him, even returning his weapons that were taken in the fight. See what I mean by everyone knows who he really is?
It all leads to Nick finding a tanker that has one of his fellow agents onboard who is to help him out. But even on the ship, people are out to get our trusted Killmaster. When the meaning of the strange last words are finally revealed, Nick only has a short time frame to stop this mad plot. I’ll just say it would make the Exxon Valdez look like someone dropped a can of oil in a puddle.
Again, Nick Carter books are in no way what you would call taxing on the mind, but they provide enough action to keep readers riveted to the very end. And isn’t that the whole point of reading in the first place? Next time I pick another one up, I’ll try for the more fantastical, since those are just mind-blowing in how over-the-top they are.
THE DESTROYER #45: SPOILS OF WAR by Molly Cochran — Remo Williams is probably some of the easiest reading to get done, for the simple reason that it never disappoints. (Well, not until those dark days towards the tail end of the Gold Eagle run.) This 1981 book also has the distinction of being the first DESTROYER with no involvement from Warren Murphy or Richard Sapir, but you never could tell, since Cochran nails down the series perfectly with her own little twists along the way.
On some Army bases, chaplains have just disappeared, with no rhyme or reason. We’re talking just up and vanished, and Remo and Chiun are sent to investigate. Seems simple enough, until they arrive at the first base, and things from the outset are just weird: soldiers looking as though they are stoned and then even killing one another in broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of superior officer. What is driving these men to such extremes can be explained by the appearance of a revival preacher who has sprung up at the bases where the men flock for some of that ol’ time religion.
This new religion is run by a man named Artemis Thwill, who has a habit of getting his jollies by killing people off. He just enjoys the feel of snapping necks or pushing guys off bridges. How this man could have become some sort of new messiah to all these Army men is the question. Then there is the discovery of a new Army base that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, with the added problem of it being staffed by men from the Middle East. It’s up to Remo and Chiun to figure it all out, even when they try to enlist in this man’s army.
DESTROYER novels are like potato chips: You can’t have just one. I know I’d just love to read through another three or four of them in a clip, but that won’t happen … this week. There is plenty of humor that DESTROYER fans have come to love in this book, with just enough political satire thrown in — but nothing that leans that far to the right, so don’t panic.
Next time: Periodical purchases. —Bruce Grossman
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF CARTER BROWN:
• AND THE UNDEAD SING by Carter Brown
• BLONDE ON A BROOMSTICK by Carter Brown
• THE CLOWN by Carter Brown
• THE EVER-LOVING BLUES by Carter Brown
• THE HONG KONG CAPER by Carter Brown
• THE LADY IS TRANSPARENT by Carter Brown
• MURDER IS A PACKAGE DEAL by Carter Brown
• THE NEVER-WAS GIRL by Carter Brown
• THE WANTON by Carter Brown
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF NICK CARTER:
• CODE NAME: WEREWOLF by Nick Carter
• DEADLY DOUBLES by Nick Carter
• DEEP SEA DEATH by Nick Carter
• THE GOLDEN BULL by Nick Carter
• HIDE AND GO DIE by Nick Carter
• ICE TRAP TERROR by Nick Carter
• THE KOREAN KILL by Nick Carter
• MACAO by Nick Carter
• THE OMEGA TERROR by Nick Carter
• STRIKE FORCE TERROR by Nick Carter
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF MOLLY COCHRAN:
• GRANDMASTER by Warren Murphy and Molly Cochran
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THE DESTROYER SERIES:
• THE BEST OF THE DESTROYER by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir
• THE DESTROYER #5: DR. QUAKE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #6: DEATH THERAPY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #9: MURDER’S SHIELD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #10: TERROR SQUAD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #11: KILL OR CURE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #13: ACID ROCK by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #14: JUDGMENT DAY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #15: MURDER WARD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #17: LAST WAR DANCE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #18: FUNNY MONEY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #19: HOLY TERROR by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #22: BRAIN DRAIN by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #23: CHILD’S PLAY by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #24: KING’S CURSE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #30: MUGGER BLOOD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #32: KILLER CHROMOSOMES by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #38: BAY CITY BLAST by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #39: MISSING LINK by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #46: NEXT OF KIN by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #48: PROFIT MOTIVE by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #49: SKIN DEEP by Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #52: FOOL’S GOLD by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #55: MASTER’S CHALLENGE by Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #67: LOOK INTO MY EYES by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy
• THE DESTROYER #78: BLUE SMOKE AND MIRRORS by Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #89: DARK HORSE by Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #104: ANGRY WHITE MAILMEN by Will Murray
• THE DESTROYER #145: DRAGON BONES by Tim Somheil
• THE NEW DESTROYER: CHOKE HOLD by Warren Murphy and James Mullaney
• THE NEW DESTROYER: DEAD RECKONING by Warren Murphy and James Mullaney
• THE NEW DESTROYER: GUARDIAN ANGEL by Warren Murphy and James Mullaney
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