Brannan's Run

Brannan’s Run by Stephen Cord. Joe Brannan, ex-pat now living in Thailand had served with 1^st Battalion British Parachute Regiment, but now operates a dive boat in the sea around Pattaya, Thailand. When he learns about a sunken Khmer Rouge boat loaded with gems in Cambodia water, the promise of wealth is too good to pass up. But others want the treasure too, including Cambodian Navy/pirates and the Russians, and either is willing to kill for them. Then throw in a beautiful rich Russian woman with long legs and flaming red hair, and Joe just might take the chance after all. This was an exciting action adventure in the mold of those paperback originals of the 1950s, when tough men operated around the Java Sea and Asian Ports, looking for that one strike to make it rich, if they don’t get killed in the process. Then throw in some Muay Thai martial arts for fun. Except for the mature language, this would have fit easily into those early ARGOSY and ADVENTURE pulp magazines of a bygone era. We could use more of this genre today, reminiscent of the past when bold adventure created living legends of action heroes and dangerous dames. It’s also fun returning to the streets of Bangkok and the mysterious East, where beautiful women and death wait hand in hand for an unwary stranger. Highly recommended for the action and adventure lovers everywhere. OK

A Friendly Place To Die

“A Friendly Place To Die” by Michael P. Faur, Jr.  In this 1966 thriller from Signet, we meet Cord, a young soldier captured during the Korean War and sentenced to die in China. He escapes with the help of a Chinese major, but wounded by farmer later. Monks from a monastery find him and nurse him back to health, then over the next 12 years educates and trains him in Gung Fu. During this time he has vowed vengeance on the Chinese officer who murdered his buddies captured with him during the war. With the death of his Master also comes news of Mao Ling’s presence in America. He is there to assassinate Fidel Castro at the U.N. General Assembly. He helped to escape from China, and given an address of people who can help him locate the assassin, and fulfill his vow. But nothing is as it seems. The Chinese agents have infiltrated deeper than suspected, and perhaps Cord was supposed to fail from the beginning. Will he figure it out in time, before he is killed? There is even a suspicion that he may be the infiltrator. There is a lot of good action, and plenty of twists in this action thriller. Cord makes a good spy, and capable in escapes and fights. I was not able to discover any information about the author, or find other books by him, which makes me wonder if this is a pseudonym? 

 

A Dangerous Stage

Protection For Hire #2: "A Dangerous Stage" by Camy Tang.

Tessa Lancaster has a history. Half Japanese, she was an enforcer for her uncle’s yakuza until she went to prison for someone else’s crime. There she was led to the Lord, and wants to change her life when she’s released. Working part time for a women’s abuse shelter, she takes on jobs as bodyguard when they come available. She is highly trained in martial arts and MMA. In the second novel in the Protection For Hire series, a contestant on a singing contest hires her when his daughter mistakenly discovers the contest is rigged. Gangsters want their secret back, and her dead. When they discover Tessa is their bodyguard, they hire a female Thai assassin to take her out. Who – or what – is the Double Zodiac?

Protection For Hire by Camy Tang

Protection For Hire

After finding the Lord, Tessa is trying to build a new life after serving seven years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit. Once an enforcer for her yakuza mob boss uncle, as a Christian she knows she must turn away from that life. But finding a job, as an ex-con isn’t happening, and the police still want to harass her for her past. While volunteering at Wings Shelter for abused women, she meets Elizabeth St. Amant who is running from her abusive husband. Elizabeth hires Tessa as her bodyguard, and things get rough when it appears that her husband now wants her dead, and Tessa will defend Elizabeth with all her martial arts skills. But why does he want her dead? The answer may be bigger than Tessa can imagine, and reach into the very past she’s trying so hard to forget.

The Girl Factory #3

The Girl Factory #3: “The Man-Made Woman” by Robert Franklin Murphy. Wu Cho knows the secret of cloning, and Li’ Kahn wants the knowledge, for she is a clone herself, and the half-sister of Su Lin Kelly, and also trained at Shan Tal. In order to obtain the information, Wu Cho hires Li’ Kahn to capture Dham D’hab, the Holy Lama of a Tibetan village. But Su-Lin Kelly is determined to stop her, knowing that one of them must die. This was the final story in the series, and again had a neat plot, and good action. However, all the crazy sex came at distracting moments, and wasn’t necessary to the story. I still think this would have been a better series, if written straight, instead of aimed at young boys just reaching their puberty. As it was, the series is a fun read.

Assignment: Burma Girl

Sam Durell #14: “Assignment Burma Girl” by Edward S. Aarons. Emmett Claye and Paul Hartford had fought side by side against the Japanese in the jungle of Burma twenty years before, but it was always thought that Emmett had died there. Emmett and his sister, Eva, came from the hills of coal miners, and were poor, but eventually Eva inherited a hundred million dollars from their uncle, now she wants to find the grave of Emmett. She forces her husband Paul Hartford to go into the jungle to find the grave, though she really believes her brother is still alive. When Paul disappears in the jungle, General McFee send Durell to find him, and if possible kill Major Mong, the rebel terror controlling the jungle of Burma. This was another great assignment for Durell, and one of torture and killing, and traitors. A fun read.