Frank J. Kenmore

Colin Smallpiece, a university professor, U. S. Naval Reserve fighter pilot, and occasional intelligence operative at twenty-seven, comes from a long line of British navy men, but feels “unstratified and out of the social hierarchy.” That may be due to his being raised by “crazy” relatives in Maine after his parent’s death when he was six months old.

Although Smallpiece performs the most dangerous tasks imaginable, women can still turn him to mush. In The Wire Window he is loaned to the British to retrieve and advanced weapon system that has been purloined by the Soviets (This is the 1980s). Of course he’s partnered with a woman to retrieve the weapon. A woman whose beauty is not readily apparent – except to Smallpiece.

This story, as are the others in the Colin Smallpiece series, is well-told, definitely well-researched, and has a compelling plot. Not literature, but a good adventure book.… (mais)

Colin Smallpiece is almost Bond-like. He pilots fighters (Soviet and U.S.), speaks Russian and Arabic well enough to fool native speakers, excels in both hand-to-hand combat and with the ladies, and has the added value of being a university professor (try that James). His sole flaws appear to be his name and tendency to blush when people praise him to his face.

In The Frankincense Trail, Smallpiece relies on all his skills to extract the President’s stunning college-student niece from Dhofar after she’s been kidnapped. It’s over-the-top at times but has some suspenseful scenes of air-to-air combat and general fighting and escape. I believe this is the third Smallpiece novel. It’s too bad they never really caught on because he’s a pretty good character to build a series around.… (mais)

A good old-fashioned action-adventure novel set mainly in the former Burma, now Myanmar. During the Vietnam War a disaffected American officer deserted with 12 million dollars and three nuclear warheads. Twenty years later he turns up in a plot with North Korea to launch the rockets into Rangoon. Colin Smallpiece, a college professor, former U.S. Navy pilot, and sometimes intelligence officer is sent to Burma to find the warheads, with the secondary mission of recovering the ex-officer's college-aged twin children, who have gone there to search for their father. A well-paced, compelling story with distinctive characters.… (mais)