Book Review: Murder in Blue by Paul Petersen
Eric Saveman, the man codenamed The Smuggler, has come a long way from his career bringing marijuana into California. Nowadays he works for ZED, a secret branch of the CIA that also works domestically. His current assignment is to infiltrate a Soviet computer facility and steal a copy of the programming instructions for their latest device. Along the way, he picks up a manuscript by a dissident Russian novelist, which brings Eric to the attention of the KGB. His escape involves hiding in the landing gear of an international jet.
Back in the States, Eric checks in with his boss and requests a vacation. Which would probably be more relaxing if Eric hadn’t gone to Los Angeles, which is having a spate of murders where the victims are stripped naked and painted blue. By apparent coincidence, he learns that these murders are connected to a heroin ring.
After checking in with hot social worker and occultist Amy Gazer, Eric learns that the murders may have something to do with the ancient Mayan religion. So it’s time for Eric, Amy and a professor who’s the closest thing to an expert on the Maya that the United States has available to head to the Yucatan to stop the death cult of Halach Uinic, the True Man.
This is the third published of The Smuggler men’s adventure paperback series, though internal evidence suggests it should be the fourth. Author Paul Petersen was better known as an actor and singer, and later a children’s rights advocate, and it’s not clear how much of the writing is him and how much collaborator David Oliphant.
Despite being a bit more counter-culture than most men’s adventure heroes of the period, what with having used recreational drugs in the past, and being just under thirty, scratch the surface, and Eric Saveman’s not so groovy. He takes orders from a multimillionaire who basically runs a private espionage agency, is filthy rich himself, and has no issues working with narcs as long as they understand he’s in charge. Even his distaste for killing is more about being uncomfortable looking at dead bodies than any kind of ethical consideration. Also, his outfits in the book are not nearly as Seventies as the one on the cover.
He is, of course, multicompetent, having been a star Berkeley student, Vietnam veteran and a top smuggler before choosing to become a government agent, and a super special one that doesn’t have to play by the rules.
The book doesn’t hang together well, with a government agent having to be spectacularly incompetent to make Eric look awesome and draw him into the case. One the action moves to the Yucatan, the story bogs down in exposition from the professor (the author did his research, honest) before suddenly taking a widdershins turn into the apparently supernatural.
Admittedly, a lot of men’s adventure heroes of the time had some sort of weirdness going on, like a sixth sense for danger or the ability to access ki, but this moment is truly out of the spy action genre and into “what just happened here, am I on drugs again?” territory. Even Eric Saveman doesn’t entirely buy it, and is reluctant to discuss it with his boss. That discussion also tries to tie everything back into the original mission and it just doesn’t fit.
If I understand correctly, The Smuggler was sold as a package, and all the books were published in a very short amount of time. This may explain the rushed and uneven feel here.
Content note: rape, extramarital sex, all major female characters are dead or worse than dead by the end of the book. Mayans may object to the depiction of their culture.
Overall: Not really worth it. Novelty value only.
And now, let’s look at something else much better Paul Petersen did:
