Good afternoon, my friends,
Yes, to the disappointment of my son, Kris, and our grandchildren, Lauren and Austin, rain is falling on their plans to spend the day over at Port Aransas on the beach with the other dispirited spring breakers. But, that’s life, into which a little rain must fall.
Following is the great review I received for “The Cyrus Caper” by David W. Tschanz, who lives in Saudi Arabia. You will soon realize that David REALLY enjoyed the novel - you will too. But, here’s what he has to say about it.
Review of “The Cyrus Caper” by Karl Boyd:
We’ve all experienced it. Some books are just plain too fun to read. They’re like a frolic through a fictional world shaped by word images. A book where every sentence grabs you and holds onto you and won’t let go and you don’t mind in the least.
The reason is; you don’t want to stop until you’ve finished them, and will forego sleep, food, your favorite TV show and other things to keep reading. Heck you’ll even call in sick and tell your spouse you have a headache to keep your eyes glued to the pages.
When you’re done with a book like that a stab of disappointment races through you and you immediately set out looking for other books by the same author and hope he’s been as prolific as Isaac Asimov.
That’s the best description I can come up with for Karl Boyd’s latest “The Cyrus Caper.”
The second part of his “Yes, We Con” trilogy; (thank you Karl for providing more), this novel continues the adventures of gangster Roger Booth and his partner in crime Carl James on another one of their more unlikely – but who cares, Boyd makes you want to willingly suspend your disbelief – criminal enterprises.
During the two years following the events of the first novel The Nearly Perfect Plan Roger and Carl, along with their lovely, seductive and insatiable wives Maria and Julie, have been laying low in the sleepy Italian village of Reggio de Calabria — one of those places where watching the grass grow is considered the apex of excitement.
Tired of having nothing more to do than work on their tans with and without their Brazilian style bikinis, the ladies decide to seduce, I mean persuade, their husbands into taking a cruise on the Cyrus Lines’ flagship, the Mediterranean Miss.
The boys, who are going stir crazy polishing bocce balls and practicing their really bad Italian, readily agree. So off the frolicking foursome goes, with visions of “Love Boat” dancing in their heads.
What they get made steerage class aboard the Titanic look like pure luxury, the only difference being the Mediterranean Miss didn’t have the good grace to slam into an iceberg and put the passengers and crew out of their misery as it made its way to the floor of the ocean.
Disappointed Roger and Carl hatch a plot, as only they can, to return to this floating hell, hijack the ship and relieve ship and passengers of their valuables. Maria and Julie spend several enjoyable pages cougarizing a young assistant deputy purser to gather critical breaking and entering intelligence.
Once back in Italy, the master thieves reassemble most of the gang from the previous novel and head out in search of a World War II era submarine to make good their escape. They find one in the hands of the world’s most wanted terrorist (no, not Bin Laden) through a go-between in Spain
While there the pair is ID’d by Interpol agents who let the FBI know where the pair is residing. Enter Roger and Carl’s arch-nemesis, Agent Jake Polk, and things don’t look good for spouses of the Julie and the finally pregnant Maria.
Surprise! Polk comes bearing gifts and offers them all a chance to get off the hook and live normal lives, as long as they’ll do Uncle Sam and the FBI the little favor of helping capture Mustafa Abdullah Zaire.
What follows next, and I dare not say more, is a rollicking amalgamation of double, triple and quadruple crosses that makes a meeting of the College of Cardinals look downright secular; and enough subterfuge and intrigue to satisfy even the most jaded Bondophile.
You want to read this book!
I, for one, can’t wait for the next one.
David W. Tschanz
And, so, my friends, if you haven’t already ordered a copy of this novel, or the first in the trilogy, “The Nearly Perfect Plan”, you really are missing out on two great stories that will keep you entertained and guessing what happens next.
Check my home page for ordering instructions.
And, at the same time, take time to check out the Military Writers’ Association of America’s website. There are a myriad of books available there for you to enjoy while supporting the writing of our veterans and those still serving in the military.
We hope the rain clears up so our visitors can go swimming; but the water temps are only in the 60’s, so it might be a little chilly.
Until next time,
Vaya con Dias, my friends,
Karl
