In 1970s Chile, superspy Nick Carter is asked to bodyguard a Soviet dignitary against revolutionaries as part of a secret deal in The Inca Death Squad.
I read these Nick Carter novels by the stack during my teen years, and thought I would revisit a few to see how they held up. Although I could tell the quality varied widely, I didn't know they were all written by different people until the internet. I wanted to start with the three Martin Cruz Smith wrote, as his ongoing Arkady Renko series I have steadily enjoyed.
The first I read, Code Name: Werewolf, was a solid second-tier spy novel, but this one I just didn't enjoy as much.
The core plotting just doesn't make a lot of sense, starting with Carter delivering a new style of bulletproof clothing to the oafish Russian for kind of hazy reasons. Later, rather oddly, he has a bolo fight with an Aztec warrior in ancient garb, but still has time to bed all of the Russian's comrade harem, which includes an undercover KGB agent.
But there is plenty of action, including a cavalry charge on a band of outlaws and a jeep versus fighter plane battle.
I have heard that Smith disavowed these early novels, and I can see a better argument for it here. I have one more, The Devil's Dozen, to decide.
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