Assignment Lili Lamaris

Sam Durell #10: “Assignment Lili Lamaris by Edward S. Aarons. In Europe there is a spy ring and moneyman, supplying funds to train enemy agents. Sam is sent to Rome to find Mitch Martin, and American gangster who has supposedly stolen the heart of a young ballerina, the daughter of a rich shipping magnate. Martin supposedly wants to be connected to Lili Lamaris’ father and his power. Plus, Martin may already be connected to the soy and money ring Durell is trying to find, so he must capture the elusive gangster while protecting Lili Lamaris. Well, this was a typical Sam Durell action novel, but one I had trouble believing. I knew where it was headed, but it didn’t make any sense. Aarons takes a simple plot and tries to twist the ending, but it fell flat on its face, as far as I was concerned. The story and action were good, as was the plot. It’s the twist I didn’t buy.

A.K.A. Jane

Jane Nichols #1: “A.K.A. Jane” by Maureen Tan. Janie Nichols works for MI-5 in Her Majesty’s Secret Service (hoping to capitalize on the James Bond books). During one assignment a red haired man, later identified as Jim O’Neil, kills her partner/lover. The first 100 pages cover her early missions and backstory. At which point she resigns to concentrate on writing a series of P.I. stories featuring her character, Andrew Jax and his secretary Millicent Jones. Her publisher pays her travel and expenses to America to promote her new book (I mean they go all out, paying hotel, Bread & Breakfast, and finally setting her up in a private home. Plus giving her a car rental, fully funded – wow!), and accompanied by her agent, no less. While there she sees the red haired killer and decides to take him out. The following two hundred pages now cover this segment of the story. Curiously, a few years ago I reviewed a Cozy Mystery novel with a similar plot to the final two hundred pages. Though this isn’t a copy of that story I think we can classify it as a Cozy Spy yarn rather than a men’s action novel. The writing is good, and the characters are interesting. However, readers looking for a fast action novel, they won’t find this a page-turner. But it is an interesting novel, and readers of Cozy mysteries will certainly like it.

Secret Mission: Istanbul

Secret Mission #5: “Istanbul” by Don Smith. Bill McKay, from the American State Department in Paris, contacts Phil Sherman requesting he drops what he’s doing and make a trip to Istanbul. There he is to be met by someone who will introduce him to a Russian agent wishing to defect to the US. He meets CIA agent David Conway in Istanbul and taken the Russian, but there is a catch. The Russian wants Sherman to bring his wife out for him. Against his better judgment, he agrees to carry a message to Tania, telling her agents will meet her with a boat. But Russian agents have her room bugged, and kill her contacts and she is arrested. Now Sherman feels obliged to help her escape and carry her back to Istanbul himself. There are a lot of twists, and Tania isn’t what she appears. This is another pretty good story featuring the occasional CIA operative, who only does favors for the agency. Why anyone would put their life at risk for an agency that would let them rot in jail, or be tortured, is anyone’s guess. However, Phil Sherman usually goes into every case knowing the worst could happen to him. The author is a good writer, but I was in Turkey around this period, and nothing sounded like the Turkey I was familiar with. A fun read, however.

Diamonds Are Deadly

Anna Zordan #3: “Diamonds Are Deadly” by James Eastwood. A mystery writer is written a serial for television, 13 episodes detailing the destruction of England by a mysterious terrorist organization. When the network sends the details to the government overseeing such programs, they reject the serial. However, someone steals the manuscripts for the first 12 episodes, and suddenly the program begins in real. Anna is sent to locate the author, and kept him safe until Sarratt can bring him in for interrogation. Unfortunately, the mastermind has his eyes on Anna, and things don’t go as planned. Anna is up against another woman equally as dangerous as she, and things may end badly for our super spy. At first, the plot seems idiotic, but the story really isn’t. This is the final entry in the series, and I think it’s the best. Although the first story reminded me of a play on Femme Nikita, this novel had more similarities to Modesty Blaise (at least a little bit). Maybe, if the series had continued, Anna Zordan would have truly become the super spy the author untended. Following is taken from this book, on Page 138: Names in parentheses are mine.

(Gloria) “You’re supposed to be highly intelligent.”

(Anna) “My IQ is 137.”

(Gloria) “Multilingual.”

(Anna) “Seven languages, including a smattering of Chinese.”

(Gloria) “An expert with weapons.”

(Anna) “Well, shall we say, small arms? I’m no good with the heavy hardware.”

(Gloria) “Unarmed combat.”

(Anna) “Care to try me?”

(Gloria) “You have a knowledge of economics, finance, and politics that enables you to sustain an intelligent conversation in almost any company. You have courage. You drive fast cars.”

(Anna) “A three time winner at Brands Hatch. And a couple of years ago I was within a millimeter of the Ladies Cup in the Monte Carlo Rally.”

(Gloria) “You can fly a plane.”

(Anna) “Simple types. Not jets.”

(Gloria) “And one of your hobbies is parachuting.”

(Anna) “So relaxing.”

(Gloria) “You’ve been an actress.”

(Anna) “Not a very good one. But it paid the rent.”

(Gloria) “You have a good body and an interesting, if not beautiful, face.”

(Anna) “Piquant, perhaps.”

(Gloria) “And sexually you are inventive, uninhibited, and – apparently on occasion – insatiable.”

(Anna) “So they tell me.”

Unfortunately, the one problem with the stories is that they end un-climatically, with a whimper instead of action. That is where the series falls short of ever hoping to compete with Modesty Blaize, and leaves Anna Zordan only moderately a super spy. Still, the stories are a lot of fun, and interesting reading.