One Beats the Bush by Riall Nolan is a fast read, an intriguing, twisty, action-packed plot involving a small cast of well-moulded characters.
Max Donovan, a Vietnam flies back to San Francisco after he’s informed that his old friend Fat Freddie Fields has been arrested for murder. The DA seems hell-bent on a quick conviction and so is barely interested in investigating the crime. Acquiring the bail money meant messing with local drug dealers, but Donovan gets his mate out of jail, it being too much of a reminder of their past in a North Vietnamese POW camp.
Donovan’s only clue to solving the murder seems to be in New Guinea and that involves a flight, local politics and crime, smugglers, weapons, and hostile hill tribes. Donovan and his female supporter fly into a hill tribe area to find a helicopter crash site and possible clues to the murder back in San Francisco, encounter a corrupt US missionary but also find the necessary information… and by great luck and immense skill they make it out of New Guinea and back to the US just in time blow apart a smuggling operation that of course involves that corrupt DA.
It’s a fast-paced plot, the characters are likeable when they need to be and the whole story ends with a satisfying climax.

4.5 Stars. A book of high adventure reminiscent of those decades ago and escalated to an intense degree. Be prepared to abandon any feeling of disbelief and sit back and enjoy a roller coaster ride.
There is never a dull moment with non-stop action, danger, and suspense. This is the first in a series featuring tough guy Max Donovon who lives and works on the edge. This story takes him from Thailand to San Francisco, then to the mountains and jungles in Papua New Guinea, and back home with his mission accomplished. A brave and beautiful policewoman accompanies him.
Both are resourceful and think quickly when in death-defying situations. The second book in the series 'With Tooth and Nail' will be available soon.
I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher, and I thank them for this introduction to a series I plan to follow. This book is now available on Kindle Unlimited and in hardcover and paperback editions. My book was fast-paced 219 pages.
The author is a university professor of anthropology and has done research in Senegal, New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Thailand, and Siberia. He has written books about anthropology and has his research in economic and cultural change published in many academic journals. He is now venturing into fiction and taking his action hero to exotic places.