Scoundrel

Rating:
Summary: Something different for Cornwell
Review: I bought this because I have enjoyed Cornwell's Sharpe series. However, seeing that it had been published in the early 90's, I didn't have great hopes for it. I assumed it was one of Cornwell's lesser efforts that hadn't gotten wide distribution.

The story takes place during the Gulf War and concerns an American born (sometime) IRA member who is asked to transport gold to the US by boat so that the IRA can buy Stinger missles. However, there are some inconsistencies and seeming Arab connections that don't seem to fit into this story. The protagonist tries to figure out the true motives of all involved, plus he would like to double cross his employers and keep the gold.

This story reminded me of one of Jack Higgins' better stories. The characters are fairly well drawn and the story is an exciting one. Sure, there are a couple of parts in the story that one may question, but this is not meant to be great art. It is a darn good yarn, however.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling Page Turner with Surprise Ending
Review: The book is just over 325 pages and I was able to read it in two sittings. It is by any measure a fast and entertaining read.

Like many current mystery books it ties together Palestinian middle east terrorists with the CIA and various forms of potential terrorist attacks on the US. Here we have a variation that involves and undercover CIA agent who is working as a boat transporter - a sort of captain for hire who will sail your 45 foot (12 meter) boat from say Spain to Sweden while you fly in comfort - but works secretly for the for the IRA on a part time basis, so he is a double agent. In that job the agent and fictional Cape Cod resident Paul Shanahan is running his boat business out of Belgium. He is hired by the IRA to ferry a boat from Libya to Miami purportedly to transfer gold to pay for Stinger missiles headed for Ulster.

It is all very entertaining and compelling stuff. It has a surprise ending, but that is also the weakness in the book. The "mystery intensity" slackens slightly as we near the end and we start to anticipate what is a possible ending for the book starting around 25 to 50 pages before the end.

So this is a great mystery read, that entertains the reader and keeps the reader glued to the pages: 4 or 5 stars.