What do you think?
Rate this book
President’s Agent
His name is Bart Gould. The President’s private spy. And he’s plunging into Caribbean waters raging with desire, treachery, and death.
Bart Gould answers only to the President. No badge. No cover. Just a quiet summons to slip into the Caribbean republic of San Barrios and find out who’s lighting the fuse on riots, kidnappings, and anti-American chaos.
What he walks into is a hot-blooded tangle of student firebrands, a nightclub singer who knows too much, and a grotesque hired killer guarding a secret financier with eyes on a twelve-mile strip that could outdo the Panama Canal.
Gould moves fast—through palaces, cantinas, back-country coffee plantations —dodging ambushes, shaking loose allies, and working his way to the hand holding the match to the unrest. Every step pulls him deeper into a plot that could tilt the hemisphere. And if he blows it, the President can deny he was ever there.
"Do NOT pass up Bart Gould. It is just too much fun watching him save the world. Over and over. What a guy!" Spy Guys and Gals
This was the first book in what would become the "Bart Gould" series of spy novels, thereafter written by Hiltonand other under the house name "Joseph Milton."
Bart Gould answers only to the President. No badge. No cover. Just a quiet summons to slip into the Caribbean republic of San Barrios and find out who’s lighting the fuse on riots, kidnappings, and anti-American chaos.
What he walks into is a hot-blooded tangle of student firebrands, a nightclub singer who knows too much, and a grotesque hired killer guarding a secret financier with eyes on a twelve-mile strip that could outdo the Panama Canal.
Gould moves fast—through palaces, cantinas, back-country coffee plantations —dodging ambushes, shaking loose allies, and working his way to the hand holding the match to the unrest. Every step pulls him deeper into a plot that could tilt the hemisphere. And if he blows it, the President can deny he was ever there.
"Do NOT pass up Bart Gould. It is just too much fun watching him save the world. Over and over. What a guy!" Spy Guys and Gals
This was the first book in what would become the "Bart Gould" series of spy novels, thereafter written by Hiltonand other under the house name "Joseph Milton."
148 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 2, 2025
1 person want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 11, 2026
Joseph Hilton Smyth is most well-known apparently for “convicted in 1942 for acting as agents for the Japanese Government in 1940 (a year before we were at war with Japan) without registering with the State Department. He and two others had an agreement for what was once a princely sum of $125,000 to publish pro-Japan stories. Smyth had a minor career in writing, publishing Angels in the Gutter in 1955, I, Mobster in 1958, espionage novel President’s Agent in 1963, and Baron Sinister (1965) (which continued the espionage stories of Gould). He also penned an autobiography in 1940 (To Nowhere and Return: The Autobiography of a Puritan in 1940).
Bart Gould has the resume of the most interesting man in the world, having lived every adventure imaginable and fought every battle. He is independently wealthy with a family estate in the made-up Central American country of San Barrios. He has a townhome in D.C. and will serve his country when asked. At a time when every writer around offered his own version of Bond, Hilton gave us Gould, an agent who lived a Bruce Wayne life of luxury.
The thing is an American diplomat dies in San Barrios under mysterious circumstances. It, on the surface, was a drunken accident with the chauffeur-driven car into Lago de Cristobal. But there are suspicions that it was not so innocent. The powers that be believe they can send Gould down there to investigate on the excuse he is looking at his family estate.
A subplot involves the early 1900’s idea of putting a canal through Nicaragua instead of Panama. The U.S. has been developing plans to go forward with such plans in San Barrios in case something goes wrong with the existing Panama Canal. So, to put it simply, there’s a lot at stake here.
Gould quickly realizes he’s being followed and shot at and his only clue is a possible connection with nightclub singer Paquita who disappears when contacted.
Hilton’s espionage novel is interesting and a worthwhile read,although nothing exceptional.
Bart Gould has the resume of the most interesting man in the world, having lived every adventure imaginable and fought every battle. He is independently wealthy with a family estate in the made-up Central American country of San Barrios. He has a townhome in D.C. and will serve his country when asked. At a time when every writer around offered his own version of Bond, Hilton gave us Gould, an agent who lived a Bruce Wayne life of luxury.
The thing is an American diplomat dies in San Barrios under mysterious circumstances. It, on the surface, was a drunken accident with the chauffeur-driven car into Lago de Cristobal. But there are suspicions that it was not so innocent. The powers that be believe they can send Gould down there to investigate on the excuse he is looking at his family estate.
A subplot involves the early 1900’s idea of putting a canal through Nicaragua instead of Panama. The U.S. has been developing plans to go forward with such plans in San Barrios in case something goes wrong with the existing Panama Canal. So, to put it simply, there’s a lot at stake here.
Gould quickly realizes he’s being followed and shot at and his only clue is a possible connection with nightclub singer Paquita who disappears when contacted.
Hilton’s espionage novel is interesting and a worthwhile read,although nothing exceptional.
Displaying 1 of 1 review