Hunter Hawk: Skyway Detective #01 - Outlaws of the Air

Eric Leyland (1911-2001) wrote over 300 books in a variety of genres using his own name and a variety of pseudonyms that include Nesta Grant, Sylvia Little, and Elizabeth Tarrant. His work has also appeared in Weird Tales, the television series Fact and Fiction, and a blog dedicated to studying his body of work aptly titled Eric Leyland – Hack of All Trades. His adventure series titles that would draw Paperback Warrior consumers includes David Flame, a secret agent that appeared in 16 books from 1958 through 1953, and the Steven Gale series, four books published in 1961/1962 starring a globe-trotting reporter solving mysteries involving a variety of familiar criminal tropes. 

The series I wanted to sample was Hunter Hawk: Skyway Detective. These are pulpy romps originally marketed as young adult reading. Considering that Hawk kills at least two people in the series debut, the notion of curtailing the title as juvenile compares to lumping heroes like The Avenger and Doc Savage into the same category. Anyone of any age group that enjoys adventures should find plenty to like about Hunter Hawk. The series was published by Edmund Ward of London between 1957 and 1962 and consisted of seven total novels. The books were all written by Leyland using his own name but co-authored by the series aviation advisor T.E. Scott-Chard, a Reference Officer of the B.O.A.C. 

My exploration of the series title is the debut, Outlaws of the Air. In the first chapter, readers are introduced to Jeff Hawk, known to both friends and enemies as Hunter Hawk. He is an aviation veteran of World War II and junior member of an airline detective agency titled Skyway Investigations Ltd., based out of London. Thickset judo expert Mike is Hunter's 19-year old cousin. Together the two work on international cases involving criminality plaguing the aviation industry.

In this novel, the duo, working with another Skyway Investigations detective named Brady, are working a case for their newest client Golden Orient Airways. The airline is experiencing a loss of cargo aircraft on their routes from Kantaru to Rangoon in Thailand. The planes are carrying precious stones harvested from the area's lucrative mining industry. The author (or Scott-Chard) considerately explains that these airplanes aren't equipped with long range radar and radio communications due to costs. Instead, this short route only demands shortwave radio transmissions. The disappearance of the planes and cargo makes it a literal needle in a haystack in terms of loss and recovery. Skyway Investigations must solve the case.

As I alluded to earlier, I don't consider Hunter Hawk to be a traditional boys' adventure. Hawk and Mike both shoot two criminals (I assume fatally) and Hawk kills his opponent in the sky. There are some investigations into trade routes, technical nuances of airplanes – both the British Mosquito, Daktoa, and Japanese Zero – and some crime-noir tendencies that aren't a far cry from what one would find in an Ace double from the mid 20th century. It's a slippery slope when pigeonholing adventure novels into young-adult molds. 

I really enjoyed the characteristics of both main characters and found them distinct from each other – Mike being the ground 'n pound fighter and Hawk the more lofty thinking man with a skill-set for high adventures. I also found Leyland's geographic layout exciting and flavorful, complete with some of the minor nuances that make up this Lower Burma region. The author describes the look and feel of the area quite well and fluidly manages to import the pedestrian reader into the exotic locale. Additionally, the book is highlighted by the formulaic sequence of adventures where the narration has checkpoints for characters to problem solve before advancing to the next challenge.

Overall, Outlaws of the Air was quite entertaining and a welcome gateway into this exciting British adventure series. With six more installments to explore, I'm flying high with this new reading experience. Highly recommended! Get the books HERE.