Angel Eyes — E. Howard Hunt

The sixth action-packed adventure for Steve Bentley, the ex-spy turned accountant and freelance trouble-shooter She Died The Way She Lived...in the Heat of PassionI'm Bentley, Steve Bentley. You might ask what a C.P.A. is doing assisting the D.C. police... and chasing a murderer and racketeers. Well. it all had to do with the 'Good Neighbor' policy.' I happened to become involved when my oh-so-friendly neighbor in a black negligee invited me over for a nightcap. Only before I could change into something a little more comfortable, some other Romeo stole the scene -- and some incriminating evidence. He left my neighbor with a stocking around her neck...There just aren't enough hard-drinkin', two-fisted, pistol-packin' playboy accountants who make like P.I.s, if you ask me. The Thrilling DetectiveSteve Bentley [is] series fiction's toughest tax accountant. Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller, 1001 Midnights, The Afficionado's Guide to Detective FictionA Washington-based CPA, Bentley fits the stereotype of a private eye better than an accountant. He's is hard-hitting, adventurous and attractive to women. The most interesting novel, from an historical point of view, is Angel Eyes , where the McGuffin is a tape recording that can destroy a politician's career. William DeAndrea, Encyclopedia MysteriosaAs 'Robert Dietrich, ' E. Howard Hunt wrote ten novels starring Steve Bentley, a Washington D.C. accountant who solves murders in private-eye style. The first thing to know about Bentley is that he isn't just a paper-pushing CPA. He's a Korean War veteran who was employed at one time by the U.S. Treasury Department. If you love vintage crime-fiction you should enjoy this tale. The Paperback WarriorABOUT THE AUTHORRobert Dietrich was a pseudonym for E. Howard Hunt, better known for his role in the Watergate scandal rather than for his great crime novels. Gore Vidal wrote this about Robert Dietrich in The New York Times: In 1957, H.H. gave birth to 'Robert Dietrich.' who specialized in thrillers, featuring Steve Bentley, formerly of the CID and now a tax consultant. H.H. plainly enjoys composing plausible (and implausible) biographies for his characters-not to mention for himself. In Contemporary Authors, H.H. composed a bio for his pseudonym Robert Dietrich, taking ten years off his age, putting himself in the infantry during Korea, awarding himself a Bronze Star and a degree from Georgetown.