Johnny Hawk #05 - Little Man with a Big Mouth

I read and enjoyed Edward Breese's novelette Fast Riders, which appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in June 1969, and I reviewed it favorably HERE. The action-packed, vengeance-themed narrative featured a mercenary/problem-solver hero named Johnny Hawk. It's been a couple of years, but I wanted to revisit the character and author again. I tracked down Little Man with a Big Mouth. This was the fifth Johnny Hawk novelette, published in the pages of Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine in March 1970.

Unlike Fast Riders, the third appearance of the character, this story sort of explains that Hawk's profession is a soldier-of-fortune. Perhaps Breese was trying to flesh out the identity of the character. In the first paragraph, Breese feeds readers the basic setup:

“The note said, Come and get me. It quoted the name of an old and valued friend. Still more to the point, it contained a negotiable cashier's check on a Swiss bank made out in my name. The amount was ten thousand dollars.”

This speaks volumes on Hawk – his loyalty to old friends and allies and his business-as-usual approach even when it comes to saving a friend.

The friend in need is Dr. Nikko, a former double agent who has been captured by bad guys in an unnamed banana country. Hawk flies into Jamaica and then travels into the dangerous interior of this scary Caribbean republic. He hires a guide named Joseph, and the two secure the necessary supplies to navigate the treacherous, jungle-covered mountains. The action hits fast and hard as Hawk fights the local dictator's forces, the Tonton. 

Like any great adventure yarn, Breese packs these 21 pages with gunfire, an exciting boat extraction, and the typical alliances with seedy people to achieve a goal. In some ways, this reminded me of an Assignment novel where Sam Durell must recruit local help to liberate a prisoner or upend some Cold War threat. Where Fast Riders was a swampy revenge tale, Little Man with a Big Mouth possesses a high-adventure espionage feel. I like Breese's smooth writing and how he injects just enough gritty texture and realism to keep it edgy. Highly recommended read.