This is the kind of conspiracy thriller I love, easily compared to James Brady's Six Days of The Condor or The Parallax View by Loren Singer. The late 1970's produced pessimistic novels where an unknown organization manipulates an everyman to upend the political order for their own gain. I've read many of those and was impressed by this (reading it twice).
Roy Tucker has served 5 of his 25 year first degree murder sentence at Hobart Prison. He had an affair with a married woman and was sentenced for killing her husband. He married Thelma just before she served 5 years as accessory. Roy is called to the Warden's office to meet Mr. Tagge, a tight-looking business man who represents a group interested in Roy. They know his history of Army marksmanship in Vietman, and offer him an easy out. If anyone hears about this, everything will be denied. Over several meetings they move him out of maximum security, and offer him a smooth release, a deed to a house, money in the bank, and a new identity. When you need a lost dog with no face, name, or future - look to a prison.
"I can play by anybody's rules if I have to...I'm good at that....whatever I have to exchange for some kind of life outside I won't question it or back down. For Christ's sake, let's get on with it."
Within a week Roy is reunited with Thelma for a few idyllic days in Chile before a trial run of the assignment. Within a month the job will be over and the couple can live under no further obligation. The less Roy knows the better. All the thinking has already been done. Each member plays his hand, knowing only their piece. No target is ever spoken of, but we can guess it is the assassination of an American ex-President.
What no one knows is that with success or failure, everyone involved with the operation will have to be permenantly silenced.
If you are cynical, you can see how easily we are manipulated. Roy realizes they now have complete control, and may have, forever. They say a man is valuable, that he can go far with strength and honesty. They say it is wrong to question, and find ways to punish people who do. Our votes don't mean anything when unknown entities can shut people up, or kill them outright. Getting elected is a license to steal big, and a long time after everything goes down the drain, a bureaucrat will write it all off. It's a more realistic thriller when everything goes south, and the bad guys win.
The plot complex, the characters well drawn, and the bursts of action exciting. This is up there with the best of them, and deserves to be highlighted.
Easily available now in many formats including eBook.
This was made into a film by Stanley Kramer starring Gene Hackman and Candice Bergen, which has been denounced by all of them - however they felt at the time, I enjoyed it (aside from a rushed finale), and it lead me to read this novel. Don't blame Candice's bad wig. Give it a chance.
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1976 / Paperback / 173 pages
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