LemonSky reviewed The satan bug by Alistair MacLean
Review of 'The satan bug' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This is the first novel that I have read by Alistar MacLean. My previous exposure to him was the movie, "Ice Station Zebra," which is one of my favorites. My father has a pile of these books that he hasn't read in some time, so I borrowed a couple (this one and [b:Bear Island|149656|Bear Island|Alistair MacLean|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328724071s/149656.jpg|1210775]).
"The Satan Bug" is a great mix of adventure, espionage, and mystery. Pierre Clavell, half-French/half-English, served with the British Army during World War II, joined the police and rose to Inspector, and then worked as the head of security at Mordon Labs, a high security scientific facility that secretly specialized in the development of deadly germ toxins. Fired from this last job, Clavell is trying to make it as a private detective, but there are no takers - until one day the mysterious Henry Martin shows up with a proposition for him. Despite the …
This is the first novel that I have read by Alistar MacLean. My previous exposure to him was the movie, "Ice Station Zebra," which is one of my favorites. My father has a pile of these books that he hasn't read in some time, so I borrowed a couple (this one and [b:Bear Island|149656|Bear Island|Alistair MacLean|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328724071s/149656.jpg|1210775]).
"The Satan Bug" is a great mix of adventure, espionage, and mystery. Pierre Clavell, half-French/half-English, served with the British Army during World War II, joined the police and rose to Inspector, and then worked as the head of security at Mordon Labs, a high security scientific facility that secretly specialized in the development of deadly germ toxins. Fired from this last job, Clavell is trying to make it as a private detective, but there are no takers - until one day the mysterious Henry Martin shows up with a proposition for him. Despite the high security at Mordon, someone has managed to murder Clavell's replacement as security head and the director, Dr Baxter, has mysteriously vanished. Later they discover that deadly botulinus (botulism) and the even deadlier "Satan Bug" have been stolen. The "Satan Bug" has the power to kill a million people very quickly - and someone is threatening to use it.
There are a lot of twists and turns in the plot. Just when you think you know what's going on, it gets turned around and you realize you were wrong. I was surprised by how much detection goes on because I was expecting more of an adventure book. Since I am a mystery fanatic, this is one of the reasons I enjoyed "The Satan Bug" so much. The book is fast-paced and only 256 pages long, so it's a quick read. It took me longer because I was working overtime and didn't have as much free time for reading. A pet peeve of mine is overly long mysteries or thrillers. A lot of the time, they're just padding. "The Satan Bug" is not.
A very enjoyable read.
