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The setting, December, 1951, harks back to the beginning of the grand old Gold Medal days, and the subject matter is something that might have appealed to Lionel White a bit later in the decade: an armored car robbery. As in most stories of armored car robberies, even the most carefully planned ones, things go wrong. It's not necessarily the fault of the robbers, who turn out to be fairly likable guys. It's the weather. The big snowstorm becomes almost like another character in the book because Boyd does the weather so well.
There are complications aplenty aside from the weather, and Boyd guides the reader smoothly through all of them. He led me down the garden path once, but maybe he won't fool you. Ms. Nixon, a park ranger who's related to a more famous Nixon, isn't fooled.
If found myself wanting things to work out for most of the characters, except for one particularly despicable one, and I suspect you will, too. It's the Christmas season, after all.
Knowing the author, I'd have been disappointed if there hadn't been a Hamlet allusion or two. There's also some social commentary, some humor, and plenty of action. Far be it from me to reveal more. Read the book, and you may find yourself thinking of what a fine movie it would make or how it might become a Christmas perennial. It's good stuff.
5 comments:
Hey! I'm reading that book!
Ya know? If I finish the book tonight I'll have to come back and read the post. I skipped over reading the post in case of any - even the vaguest - spoilers.
These new 'captcha' things are so much better.
Only one vague spoiler.
I enjoyed EASY DEATH, too!
Have not read either one, don't know what the other name of the author is, but I do know that robbing an armored car never works out.
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