Review: A Unique Setting for a WWII Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 21, 2014
I doubt if I've read another WWII thriller taking place in Panama, so this was a fun read from that aspect.  The plot-line, involving spies, counterspies, and atomic secrets was interesting and rather engrossing.  Initially, I was rather caught up in the story.  That flagged for reasons I will describe, but it picked up again in the end.The author presents us with a wide variety of characters, some quite different in thought and actions to the others.  My one complaint is that the baddies are rather one-dimensional and even cartoonish.  There is no depth to them despite the author's attempt to flesh them out.  The protagonist, Rollie, is rather complex with both good and bad sides, even if his reactions to his scarring was rather overwrought, in my opinion, with one scene in Panama way over-the-top.  I still liked him and was invested in his story.Bringing in the Chaco War was something very unique.  The author took some literary license with it (there were no real numbers of US mercenaries, and with the US oil company, Standard Oil, backing the losing side and the Royal Dutch Shell backing the winning side, things would not have unfolded as they did in the story), it was still appreciated that the author wove in such a forgotten piece of history (not forgotten in Paraguay and Bolivia, though.)The action scenes were well written, and given the genre where derring do is expected, while not exactly realistic in total, each scene could have transpired as they did.  There was a nicely written scene at the end where literary tension was high.My biggest issue with the book was the sex.  I thought it was unrealistic, there was way too much of it, and worst of all, it was boring.  The middle of the book was more of a poorly written erotica novel than a thriller.  In almost every case, the sex was misogynistic, with uncaring men forcing themselves on prostitutes and eager young women, caring only about their prowess.  And all the men were quite skilled, able to bring the prostitutes to ecstasy. The first time this occurred, I laughed, thinking that the man had been sucked in by a prostitute's acting, but after so many times, I think the author intending that to be true, not just a figment in each man's mind.  Each man was a stud who was rough and ready with the pliant and grateful woman, and when finished, rolled over an lit a cigarette, ignoring her.  There was just way too much gratuitous sex, and that interfered with the plot.A minor point was the smoking and drinking.  During the 1940's, about 40% of the population smoked, but in this book, just about every character pointedly smoked, the smoking being a large part of the descriptions. Along with the sex and drinking, it was as if each character was a poor caricature of a  film noir character.Normally, those points would have resulted in a lower rating, but towards the end, the book righted itself and got back to the style in the beginning, leaving the chest-pounding of the middle to get back to the spy thriller.  I read the last 20% in one sitting late at night, anxious to see how the author pulled everything together.  While much of it was expected, there were a few surprises, and even the expected parts were a fun ride.I do have to question the title, though.  At the end of the book, I discovered the relevance, but that relevance was a very minor point, and I think a better, more descriptive title might better reach the intended target audience for the book.Overall, this was a fun read, and I would like to try more of the author's books.