Assignment Burma Girl

Sam Durell #14

by Edward S. Aarons

In the outer region of Burma, a new movement called the Lahpet Hao is plaguing the existing regime, threatening to take over the territory, creating a connection between China and Laos and Cambodia, making subversion and gun trafficking easier.

Genres: Fiction, Espionage

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

AKA Paul Ayres, Edward Ronns.

Edward Sidney Aarons (September 11, 1916 - June 16, 1975) was an American writer, author of more than 80 novels from 1936 until 1962. One of these was under the pseudonym "Paul Ayres" (Dead Heat), and 30 were written using the name "Edward Ronns". He also wrote numerous articles for detective magazines such as Detective Story Magazine and Scarab.

Aarons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and earned a degree in Literature and History from Columbia University. He worked at various jobs to put himself through college, including jobs as a newspaper reporter and fisherman. In 1933, he won a short story contest as a student. In World War II he was in the United States Coast Guard, joining after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He finished his duty in 1945, having obtained the rank of Chief Petty Officer.

Reviews

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1961, this 14th book in the Sam Durell series delves into the pre-Vietnam War days of Burma, connecting subversive elements in China and Laos in gun trafficking, prostitution, etc. Durell is sent to determine what happened to two Americans who have disappeared, one of which was thought to have been dead for twenty years. The second had been sent to find him but has also disappeared. Enter Sam Durell, CIA special agent, who follows a lead of a former prostitute who now has 300 million dollars.

Another interesting entry in this series which even though dated, I have found to be intriguing, mostly due to the exotic locations and fascinating characters that are introduced. In this one we, along with Durell, must sort out who is telling the truth and who is a traitor to their country. It certainly kept my attention and while a fairly short read, packed plenty of intrigue.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

“He was always careful. Durell lived with danger, in a world of peril, and this had made him careful. He had known several men who had not always been careful, who had relaxed briefly, and who had died because of it.” This is precisely what we are told in each and every Sam Durell novel. Serenity and peace are nice in theory, Durell explains, but in the world today you have to be tough, tougher than the next guy.

Paul Hartford disappeared in north Burma where an insurgency was brewing. This was significant because his wife, Eva Clare Hartford, a millionaire, wielded considerable influence. Hartford went out there, chasing a twenty-year old trail for Eva’s brother. This was a mission she forced him into, calling him a coward if he didn’t. Hartford married her, knowing she had been a whore in a coal mining town, a whore due to inherit three hundred million from her estranged uncle who had never set eyes on her.

Durell considers Hartford a rank amateur, not tough enough to handle an assignment in Burma. “You had to be cold, and even cruel, in Durell’s business. Sometimes you had to sacrifice a friend for the sake of the assignment’s success. Men died in sudden and anguished ways to carry out their orders.” Yet, here is Durell doing his duty and chasing after Hartford who by now is starving to death in a dirty cage suspended above the jungle.

Edward Aarons once again offers up an exciting action-driven espionage adventure in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The story features trust, betrayal, and greed. Characters demonstrate weakness and resolve and sometimes grow with the occasion. Durell has no idea what he will find in the terrifying territory held by the Communist rebels or who, if anyone, will walk away. Not even Rangoon is safe for him or the people with him.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is becoming less and less of a surprise to discover that yet another of Edward Aarons' Assignment series is a much better than average book. This one, Assignment Burma Girl, is I think the first of the what are immediately recognizable as four stories set in Southeast Asia, including Assignment White Rajah and Assignment Bangkok, both of which I had read prior to Burma Girl. I'm yet to read Assignment Sumatra, and maybe there are some others whose title might not give their region away. At any rate, Aarons' Southeast Asia is a fairly authentic seeming place. His sense of atmosphere is supberb. It melds right into his action. But there is something extra for readers of Burma Girl. And that is the psychological depth Aarons gives himself over to in this novel. Not just of the CIA hero, Durrell, but the Hartford's, Eva and Paul, and the dislocated expats, Si and Merri. Then, too, the large exploration of just what it takes to drive a man to psychopathy and treason with the study of Col. Mong, aka Emmett Claye. As it happens there is always a lure to go back to Aarons' Durrell novels--at least so far.

[John Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Durell is sent to Burma to try and find a missing American. What he discovers is a web of deceit and betrayal that ends in a small hillside town under siege by a rebel band of pro-Chinese guerillas. As always, an action-packed adventure with plenty of layers. Definitely one of the best Sam Durell stories and, as always, well worth your time.