The Prefect Plot by Glen Canary

The Prefect Plot by Glen Canary.
Pinnacle Books, Copyright 1974

Looking at the cover, I thought this was going to be something similar to "The Destroyer" or "The Butcher" series. It is not. It's an interesting international suspense story, that starts in a prison in the USA and ends in the Middle East.

After botching a bank robbery, Alan Prefect and his wife Ann are doing twenty years in prison. A secret U.S. agency offers them a deal-help out Uncle Sam and you're free from your prison sentence. They are to infiltrate an extreme Muslim terrorist group in the Middle East and obtain information about a planned detonation of nuclear bombs in L.A. and NYC. The agency makes it looked like they escaped from prison, and are on the run with $500,000 in cash to "buy-in" to the Muslim terrorist group.

It may sound a little far fetch, but it works. Plenty of twists and turns. People are not what they make out to be and groups have other agendas then what you expect. Alan Prefect is by no means a hero-type. In fact he is a mild, unsuccessful writer. He's stuck in the middle between two powerful organizations and even commits adultery while his wife is kidnapped. The secret government characters come off convincing. And, there is a Bin Laden type called Mahdi, leading the terrorist group. Written in 1970's, the terrorists come off a bit soft compared to what is happening in the Middle East today. Also, the ending has a little letdown, mainly because everything works out for Alan Prefect. But, it doesn't take away from the novel.

Glen (Glenn) Canary is a pretty good writer. I know he wrote some short stories in the 60's for Manhunt and AHMM. There are some other novels out there, two are the Monarch Books "The Damned and the Innocent" and "The Sadist" I liked his novel and would like to know whatever happened to him.