Atlee wrote twenty-three Joe Gall spy thrillers between 1951 and 1976. It should be noted that there was a twelve-year gap between the first book, Pagoda, and the second book. It seems that Pagoda was not a true spy thriller but when Atlee decided to write a spy thriller series he revived the hero of that first novel.
Philip Atlee was actually Texas-born James Atlee Phillips (1915-1991). Fascinatingly his brother was a senior CIA operative responsible for a number of CIA fiascos and played a major part in bringing about the Bay of Pigs disaster. This might explain why Joe Gall has a slightly cynical attitude towards the CIA and is exceptionally bitter about the Bay of Pigs. Joe Gall had been a CIA agent until he was fired for suggesting that the Bay of Pigs operation was going to end in humiliating failure. Which might explain why he has little respect for anyone in the U.S. intelligence establishment.
He now does a few jobs for the CIA as a freelancer. He is an assassin. Essentially he is a hitman for the US Government.
Joe is in the tiny South American republic of New Granada. His job is to keep a close watch on an American named Bonner, but not to kill him. There is a great deal of concern about a shipment of explosives which may be intended for South American revolutionaries.
Joe is having an affair with a married woman. Kathleen is a fabulously rich Irish noblewoman.
There are disturbances in New Granada, there is a mysterious American named Stripling who may be involved in nefarious activities and there is more to Bonner than meets the eye. Bonner and Stripling may or may not have some connection with that shipment of explosives. There’s also a guy named Macedo who seems to have his own private principality within New Granada. Whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy depends on your point of view. He’s a bandit chieftain on a large scale. He is however a powerful man who cannot be ignored.
Very early on Joe manages to get himself shot twice and knifed twice. For a crack intelligence agent he seems to be a bit accident-prone.
The part of the story dealing with Macedo’s private kingdom is quite interesting. There’s quite a bit of political intrigue in New Granada with several strongmen whose real agendas are not always clear.
The setting for the action finale is good but the action scenes themselves are rather uninspired.
The final revelation is very silly and also incorporates a plot device that was ludicrously overused in spy fiction of this era.
Joe Gall acts as first-person narrator and right from the start he possesses crucial information which he conceals from the reader. How you feel about such a narrative technique is a matter of taste. It can be used effectively. Alistair MacLean used it more than once, but MacLean was a far better writer than Atlee and used that technique with a lot more finesse.
The Irish Beauty Contract never really develops a huge amount of energy or excitement.
Overall it’s a routine spy thriller.
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