Assignment School for Spies

Sam Durell #22

by Edward S. Aarons

Recovering in Athens from wounds, Durell learns but refuses to believe the astonishing news that his long love, Deirdre Padgett, had met an East German agent, married him, and defected behind the Iron Curtain.

Genres: Thriller, Espionage

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

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

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a couple of years and several books in between, Edward Aarons brings CIA agent Sam Durell's love interest, Deidre Padgett, back into the Assignment series. And he does so in a big way. Deidre has now moved from being a fashion reporter to being a CIA agent herself. Unbelievable, except in the context of these Sam Durell novels. Here, she is the bait for the head of an operation whose school trains East European women to infiltrate American businesses and security agencies. And so Sam treks from Geneva to the part of Silesia in East Germany to save Deidre and uncover the entire spy apparatus. It all works well, with many intricate pieces coming together to make the story one of Aarons' more exciting ones.

Unlike most of Aarons' Assignment novels, however, this one relies upon the background established in two prior books, Girl in the Gondola and The Cairo Dancers. Mike Xenakias, the CIA operative from Athens, Greece, appears in all three. And Mike holds a severe hatred of Franz Bellaus, the villain of Cairo Dancers. All three books intertwine at certain levels. They can be read separately but are more interesting if read one after the other. And there is at least a possibility, at the end of School for Spies, that characters from this work may appear again at a later date.

[Lyndon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pulp '60s spy novel pretending to have a lot of action but with very little substance. The story actually starts about 2/3 of the way through when we finally get to the reason for all the running around (which was just filler). One interesting discovery - the spy school is a training camp for KGB women to fit into 'western society.' This predates the Hannah plot device by 50 years, lol. 2 1/2 stars.

[John Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of his assignments are handed to him by his boss, but this time Durell's ignoring orders and is out on his own. He's ordered home, and refuses, so now he finds himself hunted by both sides. He's not even sure what it is he's stumbled onto - just that his long-time girlfriend, Dierdre, has reportedly gotten married, and to a handsome industrialist that Sam doesn't like the look of... Convinced she's actually in trouble, Sam stirs up a hornet's nest as he moves from Switzerland to behind the Iron Curtain...

Top notch!

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Sam Durell spy novels. The series could fall into the category of cheap paperback, but it's a fun read, and intelligent. As a writer, Aarons has great pacing and in Sam Durell--Cajun--an interesting operative. Trust me, there are worse novels out there.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first of this series I've read, it has an interesting plot and characters. Though at times it seemed clunky in the writing and there was one action scene that even after multiple readings doesn't make sense in real space and time. But was an enjoyable read and if I run across others of the series I will give them a chance.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this is one of the Durell-goes-rogue entries, as his ex-girlfriend appears to defect by marrying a big blond Silesian count who's in thrall to the Eastern bloc. Also, K Section and other agencies are suffering a bleed of information that compromises operations. Durell ends up chasing and chased, and the writing clunks along all the way, especially when the clumsy romantic subplots intrude. Definitely not one of the best.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was one of the better ones in the series.