SNOWTRAP

In the opening pages of this farfetched quickie (by the author of Flameout, Nightdive, etc.), narrator-hero John Vega steals a Mirage strike aircraft from an Australian military airbase, bombs a uranium mine, sinks two off-shore freighters, and is seized by Aussie authorities after a wet crash-landing. Why has Vega done all this? Well, as he now reveals, he was on a secret mission for NATO--pretending to be a mad fanatic, but really part of a plan to cut off uranium shipments to Iran (which might go nuclear). Then, however, it becomes clear that Vega has been duped: the NATO agents who gave him the mission were actually East German agents, tricking Vega into destroying US Navy spy ships! But then one of those German agents, lovely Lynne Morrow, manages to free Vega, revealing her true motive for spying: her family is held hostage behind the Iron Curtain. And Lynne even persuades Vega to help rescue her family--which involves a money-trip to Switzerland, pursuing Aussies, and the foiling of a nasty Communist operation up in the fjords of Norway. Flatly written, wildly plotted: marginal entertainment for action-adventure fans.