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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Flight and intrigueBy Richard AubreyMazzeo dips into the well of the mysterious South Pacific. The South Pacific has been the location of innumerable stories of adventure and action. It's so far away that readers will buy all but the most absurd premise of what could happen. There are islands we know of and those which don't exist--but could--and we don't know for sure. And as the characters move from exotic mainland city to some equally exotic island amid friendly or unfriendly natives, pursued by or pursuing somebody for some reason, the empires sniffing around the areas could be counted upon to have a British, French, American, Russian, German, Japanese, or Dutch cruiser heave over the horizon either in the nick of time or as an additional complication.The more or less expatriates from some European or American background have the qualities necessary to sustain action and adventure. Pulp writers of the Thirties took advantage of all the unknowns of the South Pacific. Mazzeo does the same thing, but he ladles on a second layer. It is just after WW II. An independent airline is just getting started. Part of their income is military contracts from one installation to another with people, equipment and oddments. Just the size of what's left over on various installations the military hasn't yet demobilized--the leftovers--provides some scope to understand the vastness of the war. For example, they can count on fuel anywhere because the Pacific was awash in fuel and now that the war''s over, it's still there. With troops and equipment.The actual plot involves Vinegar Joe Stillwell, Chiang Kai Shek, and certain other big movers during the war. Or, rather, it refers to them and anybody with a reasonable view of history could say, yeah, I bet somebody did try to buy Peanut with gold. In fact, did I hear once....? Like any other South Pacific story, it's perfectly plausible, due to the exotic nature of the origins--the confused fighting in China--and legendary characters.Thirty years ago, ABC had a short-lived series called "Tales of The Gold Monkey" in which a courageous but expat American with his own plane, the usual sidekicks and love interests roamed the South Pacific lin the Thirties ooking for...the Gold Monkey. He had a leather jacket and a crush-brim officer's cap.This is a well which has not run dry, and Mazzeo draws from it with mastery.His flight descriptions are sufficiently detailed to be interesting without being padding.What is interesting and what made me wonder about the copyright date was his characters' language. There were no words inappropriate for kindergarten. Even the angriest outburst would have passed the editors of Saturday Evening Post sixty years ago. It would take a better writer than Mazzeo to make that realistic.A couple of editing errors. "hard scrapple" is some kind of southern recipe. "hard scrabble" is the term for a hard life on a difficult farm. And somebody knew something "full well", which probably escaped Mazzeo's fingers as he went to the next sentence. A good read which required expertise to write. I liked it.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Some Good Insights Into Aviation, Flying and Aircraft Performance.By Gerald R. TaftI enjoyed this aviation based mystery/detective story. The technical details about flying, aircraft characteristics, aviation protocol made this books interesting and authentic. The story line of stolen WWII treasure was a little fantastic but plausible enough to get the job done. Not a literary masterpiece but fun, light reading to pass a summer afternoon.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. "The vast Pacific had swallowed the two great passions of her life, her idol and her lover..."By Don KidwellEngaging WW2 era mystery with several well-developed characters including a strong female protagonist that I really liked, realistic dialogue and a story line that moved along at a brisk clip. Had the requisite humor that makes or breaks a book for me such as this exchange ' "Tell you what. When I get back to the states I'll marry your sister." "Got three of 'em." "I'll take the one that looks the least like you." "Deal," and if you've a passion for aviation then you've come to the right place as this author clearly knows his stuff. Very good mystery/adventure book and I did enjoy!