HUGH PECKER

Hugh Pecker is an agent with the CIA.

Well, officially maybe, or maybe not, depending on who you talk to, but in reality, not so much. He does work for them, and he is highly trained in his field of "investigation" but to think of him as a cloak-and-dagger operative would be quite wrong. Then again, to think of him working undercover, well, he definitely does that. A lot. And lots of times over the covers.

Pecker (how wrong is it of me to snicker when typing that? I feel like a 10-year-old again) is a professor of Sexology at a major university. Thankfully we are never told the name of the institute. He is also the "Founder and President of the Whango Athletics League" (I refuse to ponder). He is an accredited expert in the field of sex and its ramifications in the area of social behavior, and though he seems to spend most of his time on campus dealing with young co-eds who "clamored to take part in its sporting events", he really does know a lot about sex.

Which is why he became of interest to the CIA. Knowing that the Reds were becoming better and better at using sex to accomplish many of its goals, the High Command, as Pecker refers to those in charge, decided they needed to do the same and so put together a special department. It certainly has an official name but those in the know call it the "Peckerton Unit" (clever lads!).

The men and women chosen for this new position (sorry!) were given all the training possible but someone especially expert in the field of sex and how to use it was needed. They centered in on Hugh Pecker.

Pecker said no. He was not interested. It sounded dangerous and while Pecker is by no means a coward, he is not a willing hero either. Besides, time away from campus on missions meant the young ladies lusting for his tutelage would likely go elsewhere and Pecker did not want that.

Unfortunately for Pecker, when an organization like the CIA wants to "convince" someone to help, they are extremely good at putting together a dossier filled with things that might not be so flattering. In Pecker's case, there were many, many acts that broke one law or another. The Mann act was a big one. And the sort of things that Pecker routinely did in his travels around the country becoming the expert he now is, well, many are illegal in some states. The file on Pecker could put him behind bars for years.

So, when Bear's Breath calls, Pecker reluctantly answers. Who or what is "Bear's Breath" you ask? That is the nickname the agents of the Peckerton Unit calls their leader and it is not given fondly and not without a reason. It seems that the boss is the only member (again, sorry!) of the group not qualified to be a field agent in the department. Apparently there are various reasons but one in particular comes to mind from the name itself.

There we have it. Pecker uses his knowledge of sex again and again in the service (oh boy!) of his nation. And again. And again.

When I first entered the pseudonyms of Stephen Frances into this compendium and then added the books I found had been written under each of those names, I saw the Hugh Pecker books. I grinned my still-immature face at the titles and moved on. I never, never, ever thought I would be coming back to revisit the books, let alone reading them.

My fellow spy-fan from Argentina sent me word that it was a spy series and I decided to get the two books. I also told my wife not to be surprised at what might be coming in the mail. "Research," I told her. Her eyes rolled. She know me.

Now, having read more than I wanted to of other series in the same sub-genre at these, like the Lady from L.U.S.T. and the Man from O.R.G.Y., to name just a couple, I expected very little except sex, sex, and more sex.

And that is what you get in these two books. And more and more.

But (notice just one "t") you also get something I totally did not expect but should have.

You get some really good writing. I mean quality prose that will stun you. Stephen Frances was very, very good at his craft and he crafted these sleazy books with all the skill he possessed. They are truly well written.

They are also without a doubt sleaze. And a lot of it.

Each book is around 200 pages of highly impressive sleaze. Smooth writing, interesting characters, well thought out plots. It's all in there. And so is far more way of describing nipples than I thought possible.

I gave this series a grade of B-. That is for the writing. For the sleaze, I would have gone with C-. I guess it proves that no matter what the topic, skill will show through.