Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, wealthy former officer of the Loamshire Regiment, dashing and strong (but not particularly handsome), places an advertisement in The Times expressing his desire for an adventure -- which arrives in the form of a reply from a young woman concerned for her father. Blackmailers, communist conspiracy, and foreign paymasters of the arch-villain Carl Peterson are encountered and lead to more adventure than Drummond ever dreamed of!
His voice sank a little, and instinctively his three listeners drew closer.
'Don't think that I am proposing this through motives of revenge merely. We are business men, and revenge is only worth our while if it pays. This will pay. I can give you no figures, but we are not of the type who deal in thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. There is a force in England which, if it be harnessed and led property, will result in millions coming to you...It is present now in every nation--fettered, inarticulate, unco-ordinated...It is partly the result of the war--the war that the idiots have waged...Harness that force, gentlemen, co-ordinate it, and use it for your own ends...That is my proposal. Not only will you humble that cursed country to the dirt, but you will taste of power such as few men have tasted before...' The Count stood up, his eves blazing. 'And I--I will do it for you.'
He resumed his seat, and his left hand, slipping off the table, beat a tattoo on his knee.
'This is o
Plot bullets
Fabulous! Drummond solves mysteries with the help of his gang of friends and does nothing in the expected way. A real page-turner and loads of fun!
As Linda says, this is but the first of the series, and the writing does improve somewhat over the years, so you might want to keep going.
Although this is not the best Bulldog Drummond adventure (that would probably be the affair of the hunchback with the mask on Romney Marsh), neither is it the worst in terms of action.
Sometimes the criminals are just let go at the end, why not? Drummond is only in it for sport; he's not the police. In fact, he goes out of his way not to involve the police, in order that his own fun not be impaired.
To rate this book 5 stars would be an insult. It’s a 10 star read! This book never stops. Action packed with a flowing plot that keeps you going. When Drummond finds himself in trouble and gets out of it, his mind is constantly working. By doing this the author doesn’t let up for an instant. It’s hard to find a place for the bookmark! Do yourself a favor and read it. You will be glad you did!
My, my, what a ride! I knew nothing about Bulldog Drummond until my husband read this book and told me I ought not to miss it.
It's a hoot! I've never read anything quite like it--a strange mixture of nonstop action careening madly along beneath a calm surface dialogue, which comes off as sort of a Lord Peter Wimsey-ish patois..."don't you know, old thing". One of Drummond's merry band actually wears a monocle. These are upper-crust demobbed officers from WWI (sons of Lord This and Lady That) who swear they will follow only two men--the King of England and Hugh Drummond. And they do...fighting to save England from evil anarchists who have more ways to kill a person than I could ever have imagined...some very clever and, if you have a good sense of gallows humor, very funny.
The action never flags for a second. The rat-a-tat pace is sometimes almost too much, but believe me, you won't fall asleep over it!
I kept thinking of the old Republic Studios movie serials as I read. You can easily see where the episodic cliffhangers would occur.
All in all a fun read. My husband is now on to the next book in the series, THE BLACK GANG. The entire series (I think) is available on Gutenberg's Australian site--www.Gutenberg.net/au. When I recover from this roller coaster ride , I will probably start THE BLACK GANG. Enjoy!
I forgot to mention in my previous review...
The disposition of bodily remains by the anarchists is sheer delight if, as I said, you appreciate gallows humor. If so, it is worth the read all by itself. Enjoy.
