Just Finished Reading: The Last Sunrise by Robert Ryan (FP: 2006) [303pp] 

Singapore, 1948. Lee Crane was finally leaving South-East Asia before it killed him. He'd been offered a job flying cargo into a besieged Berlin and jumped at it. He even entertained the possibility that a certain girl would be there despite her not returning his letters. But fate, it seems, had other ideas along with echoes from his past. He knew what was coming long before Elsa punched him, throwing her entire weight behind it, in front of everyone. He knew that his ex-copilot would show up eventually and that they would use the memory of Kitten to manipulate him to fly somewhere for something illegal that might get them all killed. It was only a matter of time before he was looking down at the jungle again wondering if the airstrip could handle his arrival or whether he had enough fuel to make it over the mountains. Maybe, just maybe, he'd actually get out and leave the god forsaken place. Maybe... 

Although I've had a few books by this author for a while now this is my first time with him. I'm sorry that I waited so long. Overall this reminded me of the thrillers I read in the 70's with characters down on their luck, hoping to make a quick buck and who are still trying to live with the consequences of previous incidents (often war related) that were left hanging and unresolved but still ate away at them. All the elements were there: Lee is a cynical cargo pilot who had ALL of his innocence kicked out of him during the war in Asia first with the Flying Tigers and then as a cargo pilot flying cargo over 'The Hump' for the Nationalist Chinese. Then we have Else, the femme fatal of the piece (I liked her!) who could throw a mean punch and seduce just about anyone. There was even a love story, well told for once, with the mature and somewhat mysterious Kitten who was the focus of the green and very young Lee as he both found his feet and his wings in wartime. The story – full of crosses, double and triple –crosses – friends, enemies, sudden death, espionage, self-dealing and betrayal – was both complex and highly satisfying. The narrative moved at a steady pace and there wasn't a single moment when I found myself even slightly nudged out of the story. It was a good, solid thriller with more than a few nice moments and some great, very well drawn, characters. The only 'slight' niggle I had was with the number of cliff-hangers (some literal) which I thought was somewhat more than necessary. Whilst there's nothing TOO flashy here and the novel didn't exactly knock me on my heels it was still a very entertaining read and I'm looking forward to his other works Recommended.