River of Death by Alistair MacLean

This is another good book by Alistair MacLean. This one is a little different from the other books as it is not set in any war. The prologue shows that the seeds of this story re sown in during the World War II. The looting of a Greek Monastery by the Nazis and the betrayal between the officers as the Nazis fall starts a feud and sends these Nazis running.

The story is set in South America and progresses through the Amazon Basin of more precisely on the River of Death. The central character is John Hamilton who appears to have found the ‘Lost City’ fabled to have a lot of gold and jewels, the big horde that all are looking for. He gets picked up by Edward Hiller who proposes that his boss would finance the recovery of this find for his share in the loot. Very soon in the story it becomes evident that John Hamilton is not the treasure hunter but has some other objective in running this elaborate scenario and getting this particularly multimillionaire to finance his scheme and to accompany the expedition down the River of Death to find the treasures of the Lost City.

The description of the Amazon and the jungle and rivers which the expedition has to traverse is exactly as you would expect of Alistair MacLean. It is also a good change from the usual settings of the polar caps and blizzards and the freezing cold which the characters of the story have to brave. The animals and the fierce tribes of the Amazon are also incorporated into the story. A real pleasure to read and mentally visualise the environment. There is some violence which John and his two sidekicks handle with extreme efficiency. What the others do not know is that John is expecting a big gangster and his men are hiding out in the site of the Lost City. Who is that gangster as it appears that John is after the gangster. What is his relationship to the multimillionaire? What is the real motive of John and the various people who from the party to be on this expedition?

The end when it comes is actually quick and with not as much violence as seen during the journey. The ones who actually feel the brunt of the violence are all baddies and so one does not feel sorry for them. And the final question which keeps the suspense right to the end… is there really a treasure hidden in the Lost City?