Assignment Peking

Sam Durell #28: “Assignment Peking” by Edward S. Aarons. Supposedly K-Section and E-Section of the CIA are at each other’s throats. Someone wants K-Section and General McFee shut down; McFee brings Durell in for assignment to Piking, but he’s under orders to E-Section. Jasmine Jones, a Chinese/American is assigned to keep an eye on Sam, but no one is to be trusted, even Jasmine, McFee, or the general in charge of E-Section. Surgery makes Durell look like Major Shan, a Chinese agent, who is supposed to be dead, but then Shan returns to complicate matters, and we find that there’s a third element playing both sides against each other. Code-named The Six Sentinels, they are an American group wanting China to drop an atomic bomb on Taiwan, bringing a nuclear war between the US and China. Actually, I felt this plot was too complicated for its simplicity. US Intelligence should have been able to uncover the third party with ease, and Durell would have been unnecessary. But being a Sam Durell action novel, we get to watch his cold efficiency in preparing to kill McFee or anyone else involved. A fun read.