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Air Apparent by John Gardner
Published in 1970 by Putman
Quote:
Boysie Oakes, ex anguished agent, ex defective private eye, and greying horrifically at the temples, is facing the wilderness of middle-age supported only by the Welfare State.
At long last Boysie Oakes has reached seedy maturity - and he plans to grow old quietly without any more dangerous missions.
Until, like an evil genie, up pops his oily old boss, Mostyn, offering a life of renewed luxury.
Boysie is to become the sole British Director of Air Apparent, an airline which operates from one office, has no aircraft, yet, by juggling with officialdom and illegally chartering aeroplanes, manages to transfer its customers to their destinations at half the scheduled fares and still makes a vast profit.
But when Boysie discovers that Air Apparent is being used for more nefarious purposes, such as the shipment of arms to third world nations, he is forced to call in his old shooting partner, Charlie Griffin.
Events crowd in, culminating in a hijacking, hilarity and, naturally, hectic hedonism.
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