Day of the Guns

With a healthy 3.56 stars, and a more 4 star reviews than others, this seems to be a book well received by the reviewers on GR. I didn't think this was Spillane's best work - by some distance. I thought the twist in the story was so obvious that I can't believe there is any reader who didn't see it approaching... It was that and the main character's complete block on seeing the obvious that disturbed my reading of this.

But I have jumped ahead - this is a story of counterespionage, with Tiger Mann (I know, right?) as a agent working for a private counterespionage/espionage company run by an independently wealthy man who has big political sway, meaning they are able to force the assistance of the Feds and other agencies where required.

Published in 1964, the main storyline is that during the war Tiger Mann was in love with a British Agent Rondine Lund, who double crossed him shot him in the stomach and left him for dead, disappearing into the Nazi system. All this time later, Mann sees her in a restaurant, and although she has had some excellent plastic surgery to change her age, he recognises her instantly. She now works for the UN as a translator and the UN has a leak that is providing the Russians with all the inside intel on the deals being done on the UK/US side, allowing them to make good in the political manoeuvring.

Tiger is intent on killing Rondine - or Edith Caine as she is now known, but he won't do it until he has torn apart whatever she is involved in. Edith Caine has passed all the security checks and her background is as faultless as her plastic surgery - Tiger having made an opportunity to check everywhere for scars.

Ian Fleming's James Bond has been around 10 years before Spillane dips into the secret agent genre, and are four books in this series - and yes I have the other three. Hopefully the next one is a bit less obvious, as there is at least some potential in this character and setting.

2.5 stars really, so 3 stars from me.