You could be forgiven for thinking the front of Robert Dietrich’s, aka E. Howard Hunt’s, 1961 novel Steve Bentley’s Calypso Caper was painted by Robert McGinnis, but it’s actually the work of Tom Miller. So sayeth the rear cover, otherwise we’d have guessed McGinnis and had little doubt.
What’s truly doubtless, though, is that Hunt rescued the Steve Bentley adventures from an ignoble death by toning down the invective. In this episode, the seventh Hunt wrote and the third we’ve read, Bentley is sent down to the steamy island of St. Thomas to help with a tricky tax case and arrives in time to see his client jailed on suspicion of murder. What’s an accountant to do at that point? He launches his own investigation.
It’s all very unlikely, but it works this time around, and Hunt manages to do well with island flavor (though he’s not particularly kind to island inhabitants). There’s plenty of action, drinking, sexual intrigue, and repartee. This is well above average work from Mr. Watergate. So, after a success, a failure, and today’s success, what next? We’ll leave on a high note. E. Howard, we barely knew ye.
