HART MULDOON

Full Name:	Hart Muldoon
Nationality:	American
Organization:	None
Occupation	Freelance Agent

Creator:	John Flagg
Time Span:	1953 - 1961

ABOUT THE SERIES

Hart Muldoon is a freelance agent.

The period of time of his activities is the late 40's throughout the 50's. The location of his activities is largely centered in and round the Riviera, at least when he is not working. When he is on the job, he could be found anywhere in Europe and the Middle East, and during the final adventure we have of him, the Caribbean.

All of these locales are warm (or hot) and sunny climes so it is amusing to hear him wax nostalgically numerous times for his long desire to head back to the States and take up retirement residence on a farm in Maine.

While one reference indicated that he thought of himself as Irish, Muldoon is that only in his ancestry as he is clearly American in origin and still considers the U.S. his home. And apparently so does the IRS because he is informed a time or two that they would like to discuss with him his earnings over the past decade while living abroad.

Muldoon's activities can best be summed up by three statements from various adventures.

The first is from a female who claimed to be a reporter and who revealed she knew him to be a "boy hero in the O.S.S. during the Second World War. Gone bitter with the sight of the business-as-usual boys. Stayed in Europe as a free lance. Handled some dangerous assignments for various individuals and governments - some of them odd jobs for odd individuals and odd governments."

The next is from his own lips when he admits, "since the end of World War Two I'd stayed on in Europe watching - with what I told myself was cynical indifference - the world falling apart. I'd been wrapped up in dirty deals for dirty squares and shaky governments, out for hire to anything this side of the Iron Curtain and to anyone who could come up with a reasonable price."

And finally from a British spymaster who has used him several times, "sad that at your age and with your experience you should still carry with you the delusion that you can return to decent society ... You and I - we belong outside. We belong to the hunters and the hunted. We belong to a world of violence and deception, a world that makes its own laws. We lie and we steal and we kill because it is our job to do it. And you can't go back, Hart, you simply can't go back."

Muldoon would very much love to prove that last one wrong, despite how much he knows it to be true.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	5
First Appearance:	1953
Last Appearance:	1961


1			Woman Of Cairo Written by John Flagg Copyright: 1953 Having found that croupiers and women are a great way to stay poor, Hart Muldoon is need of income when he is approached outside a casino in Nice by an old War buddy from British Intelligence. A bomber flying from the Sudan to Suez has disappeared and they need someone not in the loop to look into it.

2			Dear, Deadly Beloved Written by John Flagg Copyright: 1954 "When I kill a man, I make a point to be sober." So thought a slightly inebriated Hart Muldoon when he finds a murdered man in his dive of a hotel room on a small island off Naples. Learning the deceased had been asking about him shortly before dying, Muldoon knew the killer wanted something kept deadly quiet.

3			Murder In Monaco Written by John Flagg Copyright: 1957 Hart Muldoon was not exactly swimming in funds in Monaco so when two different people approached him with an offer of work, he was open to listen. Unfortunately both were after a particular letter that a very powerful person was holding. They did not seem to care how many people died trying to get it and the one holding it was not reluctant either. Muldoon should have walked away but the money was good.

4			Death's Lovely Mask Written by John Flagg Copyright: 1958 A handler for American Intelligence (likely CIA but unspoken), a man for whom Hart Muldoon has done a job or three over the years, asks him for another one. A young Arab prince is nearing the time to head home to take the reins but his dalliances are worrisome to the U.S. and Muldoon is asked to stay close which he is willing to do because he is interested in one of the ladies himself.

5			The Paradise Gun Written by John Flagg Copyright: 1961 Hart Muldoon had finally made to the small farm in Maine he had been hoping for a lot of years - and found it was too boring and too cold. When a prestigious law firm offered a good deal of money for him to travel to a small Caribbean island to locate a famous movie star, he jumped at the job. He should have checked on how volatile the government was there.

MY COMMENTS

The same year that Ian Fleming was introducing James Bond to the world, John Flagg was bringing out his own world travelling troubleshooter, Hart Muldoon. Both would face lots of danger with a good number of people trying regularly to kill him and would bed a beautiful woman, or two, in the process of staying alive.

Both authors would come out with new novels over the next few years but while Fleming would eventually hit the big time with movies galore adding to the fame of his literary creation, Flagg would not have a similar success with Muldoon. Reading any of the books, it is not hard to see why.

The Muldoon books are entertaining - don't get me wrong. They just lack something.

GRADE

My Grade: B-

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