A FEW GOOD MEN

The precocious daughter of an American diplomat stumbles into the path of Nicaraguan revolutionary leader Cesar Sandino--and sets off a chase involving the U.S. Marines, a Norwegian prostitute, and some very glamorous automobiles. By the author of Shanghai Tango (1987). You think Oliver North was shocking? How about the Quaker President Herbert Hoover sending Swedish-American Marine sharpshooter Lt. K.L. Magnusson to put a stop to future saint Cesar Sandino, whose revolutionary posturings have been interfering with the right of the United Fruit Company to do as it pleases in Nicaragua? And this is just after Magnusson's successful assassination of a Haitian leader. But a straightforward takeout is not in the books. Upon Magnusson's arrival, before he even unpacks his rifle, chubby 13-year-old Kate Kelly rides her pet donkey into Sandino's hiding place and is promptly kidnapped. American reporter Carlton Wills--who has been following Sandino and covering his progress for The Nation--witnesses the abduction but in an excess of journalistic neutrality does not interfere. Sandino, with Wills taking notes, heads for the interior, chased by Magnusson, General Smedley Butler, Consul Kelly, and a Marine bugle boy, who are all riding in the Consulate's sturdy dual-cowl Packard touring car. Chesty Puller and future president Somoza join the action later. So does the great Managua earthquake. And a Hispano-Suiza turns up in a cameo role. Dashing, action-packed nonsense--made even more enjoyable by the knowledge of today's diplomatic gaucheries.