More Planes are disappearing
Once again the allies are losing planes, however this time it is the route between India and China and this is causing problems for the Chinese attempting to hold off the Japanese invasion. As can be expected, when the RAF has a problem there is only one person that they can call in to help: Biggles. Oh, and also his squadron, which usually consists of Algy and Ginger (and a couple of others though they don't tend to be as regular as Biggle's two friends, though I don't remember Ginger in any of the World War I stories that I read).
So, when I discovered that the mission involved disappearing planes, and that they all thought it was some secret weapon all I could think was 'here we go again'. The previous Biggles story that I read, Biggles Sweeps the Desert, also involved disappearing planes which was thanks to some Nazi secret weapon, so I was starting to wonder whether Captain Johns was being a little lazy with some of his plots. Mind you, I certainly haven't been reading these books in any sort of order, and due to the number of them that were published (and the price tag as well – you could be paying anywhere up to $300 Australian dollars for an early edition with the dust jacket) I am simply going to read them piece meal in whatever order I manage to get them (and even then I'll only be reading the ones on my Dad's bookshelf).
So, we have disappearing planes and quite possibly another secret weapon (this time invented by the Japanese) so Biggles puts on his Sherlock Holmes cap, grabs his magnifying glass (well, metaphorically speaking that is) and tries to unravel the mystery. As it turns out there is a nice little twist and suddenly we discover that they are up against Japanese spies and a secret organisation whose goal is to shut down the air routes from India to China. As such we have a good old spy adventure where Bigglesworth is not just donning his Sherlock Holmes attire, but also grabbing his Walther PPK and his vodka-martini, shaken not stirred, and going out to put an end to this nefarious plot.
Okay, I may be sounding a bit cliched here, though from my experience many of the earlier James Bond stories were more mystery thrillers as opposed to action adventures, and in a way so is this story. Sure, we have a couple of dog fights, but then a Biggles war story wouldn't be a Biggles war story without him jumping into a Spitfire and shooting some Japanese (or Germans) out of the sky. Anyway, I really don't want to say all that much more because I will end up completely ruining the plot, particularly for those of you who may actually go out and get their hands on a Biggles book. Sure, I could tell you what happens in this book because, well, there are over a hundred other Biggles books out there for you to read, however it may simply turn out that the one I spoil is the one that you may have found the best.
Oh, here is a picture of a Japanese Zero (can't have a Biggles review without a picture of an aeroplane):
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