Harry Whittington wrote in every genre except science fiction. Versatility was his strong suit. That skill comes into play in The Devil Wears Wings. The Devil Wears Wings is a caper novel. Buz Johnson was an ace pilot in World War II and Korea. But once he leaves the military, Johnson spirals down, down, down. The cause of most of Johnson’s problems is alcohol. When the story opens, Buz Johnson has been reduced to giving flying lessons in a small Florida town. Johnson is approached by creepy Sid Coates who has a scheme to make both of them rich. Coates needs a pilot to fly a plane to make his bank robbery plan work. Reluctantly, Buz Johnson agrees to fly the get-away-plane. Whittington, as always, throws in plenty of plot twists and turns. If you haven’t read Harry Whittington, The Devil Wears Wings is a good place to start.
You usually can’t go wrong with Whittington!
You’re right, Bill. I’ve enjoyed all the Whittington’s I’ve read. And I really like that Black Lizard introduction he wrote where he thanks you.
I haven’t read this one, but what Bill says is undoubtedly true.
I found THE DEVIL WEARS WINGS at a library book sale, Jeff. I probably had the original, but it’s living at SUNY at Buffalo now.
There’s a name I hadn’t bumped into for a quarter of a century – I read some of his books decades ago in translation but I donlt think I’ve ever read any of his in the original (bows head in shame) – shall aim to remedy this soon …
Let me know if you’d like some Whittington’s, Sergio. I may be in Toronto next month and I could bring up a box of books.
Whittington is one of the authors, among so many others, whose work was a bit before my time. I first became aware of him with the U.N.C.L.E. novel, The Doomsday Affair, not to mention his novellas in the magazine. I’ve begun the trek of catching up with him and those other writers. It’s a slow process.
Whittington wrote a ton of books, Randy. But if you look around, you can find the originals and the reprints.