Customer Reviews

Maryjane Tonight at Angels Twelve.

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I read this book when I was a pretty
inexperienced pilot....and a lot less experienced
reader than I am now (therefore, more easily
impressed). I'd still recommend it as a light
read. And I think a Twin Bonanza was well described.
It IS a lot bigger than a single Bonanza or Travel Air, more the size of
a Queen Air.

This was one of Caidin's best novels. Set against the backdrop of the pre-developed Florida coast, he writes knowledgeably about law enforcement's efforts to stem illegal drug traffic. The characters are multi-dimensioned, and the senarios are believable. Caidin's hero proves once more that he can out-gun, out-fly, and out-think the bad guys.

This is a combination spy thriller and police procedural, with the catch being that most of the chase and intrigue is in the cockpit. Normally, apart from the technicalities of flying, an aircraft cabin is fairly boring. But Caidin manages to keep the tension and interest up.

With shades of gray among both the good and the bad guys, Caidin manages to draw distinctions between addicts and recreational users, and the criminal rings pushing drugs. The cops range from honest and competent to stupid to crooked to downright insane. There's quite a bit of depth to the characterizations.

While gripping, there's still a relaxed pace to the story, no hurry to rip through it, and the prose is quite vivid. I never visited Florida in the early 70s, but I can see it rather well as painted here.

The downsides are that there are a couple of spots that are too pat--people suddenly hit it off. It's believable in context, but I'd have liked more background. The meetings and barroom tips were just a bit too easy. Then the ending, with all the loose ends being tied up was very typical of the crime drama genre. It went quickly, and a couple of bits brought in came from left field. Again, a bit more foreshadowing would have been good.

Nevertheless, it's highly entertaining, very readable and believable, technically complete without bogging down in babble. Well worth rereading for the scenery.

It's not a bad book, but not a "keeper"; worth getting from the library, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a copy.

Caidin knows more about airplanes than I ever will, but in reading this book I had to wonder whether he has ever seen a Twin Bonanza (the 'plane flown by the book's hero); it's described as being a lot bigger than the aircraft actually is.