Me Tanner, You Jane
By Lawrence Block Thorndike Press Large Print (2006)
ISBN 10: 0-7862-9119-2
ISBN 13: 978-0-7862-9119-9
Genre: Mystery
Reviewed by Sheldon Ztvordokov - January 2, 2007
Me Tanner, You Jane is a funny and thrilling spy thriller by Lawrence Block. This book is one of the many by Block to feature Evan Michael Tanner, a man who hasn't slept since the Korean War when he took a piece of shrapnel to his head. In this breakneck novel, Tanner is sent to Africa to find Knanda Ndoro, the missing ruler of Modonoland, who disappeared with the royal treasury. The treasury just happens to have included a sizeable amount of American aid money - and they (the Americans) would like Tanner to get it back for them. What Tanner discovers is that Ndoro has been captured by Sheena, the golden-haired Queen of the Jungle, a.k.a Jane, the missionary's daughter. She is the leader of a band of religious fanatics / bandits, and she is also a woman who knows what she wants and she is willing to use her own body, and the men who want it, to get what she craves, and what she craves most is power. By the by, she's also willing to kill anyone who gets in her way, or whom she just happens not to fancy! (Most women fall into the second catagory.)
In this jolly romp, Block has peppered the story with James Bond styled sex and violence, but nothing overly graphic or disturbing. The dialog is crisp and ofttimes humorous, and the story so well paced that you may well find yourself reading this book in one sitting. Me Tanner, You Jane is not great literature - nor is it meant to be! Rather, this is simply a fun adventure story with a unique hero who has a knack for getting into, and out of, some rather interesting situations. If you've not read any of the other Evan Tanner Mysteries, never fear, this novel can be easily read as a stand-alone novel. However, once you read this installment, you'll want to go back and read all the rest. There are, I believe, eight in all, and this is the seventh. I know that you'll enjoy this foray into the series. I surely did!
Related Reviews:
Here Comes A Hero, by Lawrence Block.
In this nonstop adventure story, Evan Tanner, the man who never sleeps, travels to Afghanistan in an attempt to rescue one of his ex-girlfriends from white slavers. (Large Print)
Live and Let Die, by Ian Fleming.
This is the second 007 book, and in this case while investigating a smuggling ring Bond locks horns with Mr. Big, a nefarious villain who used Voodoo to control his minions. (Large Print)
