PETER BARON

Peter Baron is a freelance operative.

By freelance I mean, of course, that he can and does work for whomever he chooses but he invariably has chosen to work for the powers of the West as far as I can tell. American intelligence organizations have used him considerably and he is held in high esteem by them though it would seem several of their key personnel resent his freedom.

Baron is an American by birth and citizenry but he is an expatriate through and through, returning to his homeland only for short visits, at least according to a comment in the first of the three short recorded adventures we have of his. In the third adventure he was indeed just visiting the state of Hawaii but becomes embroiled (almost literally) in a mission there.

We learn early on that Baron is a man of considerable wealth but since no reference is made to work outside the cloak and dagger arena, we must conclude the money came from an inheritance. However he got it, he most definitely has a lot of it as he owns a plush villa on the Riviera and a very pleasant yacht known as the La Bonne Chance. He drives (and rather dotes on) a '64 Lancia which was a vehicle most admired for its luxury (I looked it up).

Chief among the people that Baron is routinely set against is a vast international criminal organization known as I.C.E. According to Mr. Satin, the leader of the group, the acronym stands for International Combine of Entrepreneurs but Baron countered that his people referred to it as the International Combine for Evil and the very nasty Mr. Satin not only did not argue, he seemed to enjoy it.

Aiding Baron on his missions is the Italian nobleman Il Duca (The Duke) who has an air of rascal about him but since he is on the side of the angels, it is forgiven and his many contacts with cousins around Europe prove quite useful.

And then there are the ladies, each one more beautiful and sensuous than the one before and each one waiting anxiously for a chance to woo Peter Baron. He is nice enough to let them. Often.

I could start out asking what is there not to like about Peter Baron. He is rich, superbly athletic, very rich, urbane, sophisticated, lethal to his enemies, fiercely loyal to his friends, and irresistible to the opposite sex. Of course, I might have just answered my own question. Not even the archetype of the super-spy, James Bond, was all this.

So, I am jealous and therefore do not really like the two short stories I found of his (the one in the middle is still unavailable). I can admit that.

But I have to be honest enough to say that the writing is good, the flow of the action spot on, and the bad guys sufficiently bad to make you want them to get pounced and they do.

But everything is too good and that is the biggest flaw. That and some unbelievable coincidences. Case in point, and the one that jumped out at me the strongest: Peter Baron and his friend are just come ashore from the yacht they are staying on. They are expecting no trouble at all but, of course, it happens and Baron is assaulted. Curious as to why the attempt on his life and not believing the would-be assassin to be the brains behind it all, Baron allows the assailant to escape on a scooter. But not before Baron pulls from his pants pocket a magnetic homing beacon and slaps it undetected onto the bike. Now, even in our modern age of super-small and ultra-powerful electronics, I wonder about someone having something like that but to have it in your pocket "just in case".

Still, these are fast and mostly fun so I should not quibble so much.