From 1955, this is one of the John D. MacDonald books I
hadn't read until now. It's full of things that were already
in the process of becoming cliches when it came out: the hunt
for hidden loot, the hero who's been psychologically and
emotionally wounded by war (in this case, being a POW in a
North Korean prison camp), the innocent-appearing small town
that really has all sorts of dark secrets lurking under the
surface.
In MacDonald's hands, the familiarity of these elements
doesn't really matter. He's such a good storyteller that he
pulls them all together into a very readable whole. There's a
little philosophizing, but not to the extent that it slows
down the action. I don't think this is a great JDM novel, but
it's certainly a good one.
James
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