THE SPOILS OF WAR

by Douglas Scott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1977

Sergeant Quilley is the American G.I. king of the black market in Algiers. He's also something of a maniac killer. When we meet him he's shooting a Frenchman who shorted him in a payoff, and killing the man's bodyguard as well, then burning them up in their car and sending it over a cliff. Back at camp Quilley has everyone under his thumb, blackmail being one of his lesser but most useful specialities. He keeps his cash (over $100,000) stashed under the floor of his jeep. When the jeep is commandeered to be sent to Salerno for D-day, the distraught sergeant has himself transferred to the division on board the ship carrying his jeep. He thinks he's off to some cushy paradise--and finds himself paralyzed with fear on a horrendously shelled Italian beach during the Invasion. His cowardice flares; his money lust is relentless; he deserts. After being tried for desertion and cowardice, he finds himself under irons on the very ship where his cash is hidden. So he engineers a mutiny. . . . And so the tale goes, chapter locking into action chapter, Quilley himself having some of the evil charm of Edward G. Robinson's Wolf Larsen-Little Caesar paranoia roles. Tight as a new jeep.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1977

Categories: FICTION