''The Eyes of the Tiger'' is the ninth novel in the long-running

Nick Carter-Killmaster ''Nick Carter-Killmaster'' is a series of spy adventures published from 1964 until 1990, first by Award Books, then by Ace Books, and finally by Jove Books. At least 261 novels were published. The character is an update of a pulp fiction priva ...

series of spy novels. Carter is a US secret agent, code-named N-3, with the rank of Killmaster. He works for AXE – a secret arm of the US intelligence services.

Publishing history

The book was first published in September 1965 (Number A152F) by Award Books part of the Beacon-Signal division of Universal Publishing and Distributing Corporation (New York, USA), part of the

Conde Nast Publications Conde may refer to: Places United States * Conde, South Dakota, a city France * Condé-sur-l'Escaut (or simply 'Condé'), a commune Linguistic ''Conde'' is the Ibero-Romance form of "count" (Latin ''comitatus''). It may refer to: * Count ...

Inc. The novel was written by

Manning Lee Stokes Manning Lee Stokes (June 21, 1911 – January 5, 1976) was an American novelist who worked under a large number of pseudonyms. He specialized in pulp fiction, especially in the genres of mystery, detective fiction, westerns, sleaze, spy ficti ...

. This novel was originally written in the

third-person narrative Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

style. However, since at least 1973, later editions of this novel were rewritten in

first-person narrative A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-telle ...

style.

Plot summary

The story is set in September 1965. Carter is in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

, Switzerland on Mission Tiger – a plan to steal a large gold and ruby statue of a tiger from

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

’s private Swiss bank vault. Former SS General Max Rader and

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

Colonel Shikoku Hondo are also on their way to steal the tiger. The vault has been locked using a French key – a device that requires two matching key components to be inserted together – one half of which is kept by Rader and Hondo, respectively. Baroness Elspeth von Stadt – a West German intelligence agent – and the only person able to identify Max Rader after his recent plastic surgery – is assigned by AXE chief Mr. Hawk to help Carter. The Baroness claims to hate Rader as he executed her German army officer father following an attempt to assassinate

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Carter fights with Hondo and recovers his half of the French key. Hondo is injured and is imprisoned by Rader while Carter and the Baroness take shelter at the isolated Villa Limbo on an island in

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial la ...

. The housekeeper, Osman, an employee of Rader, tries to kill Carter but is killed in the attempt. Carter hides the body and he and the Baroness flee to

. To draw Rader out into the open, Carter allows the Baroness to be kidnapped by Rader's men. Rader contacts Carter to make a deal – the Baroness for Hondo's half of the French key. Carter agrees and is told to wait at the Villa Limbo for further instructions. Hondo escapes from Rader and lies in wait for Carter at Villa Limbo. Before Hondo can retrieve his half of the French key he is killed by Rader's men. Carter is summoned to Rader's castle to continue negotiations. The Baroness is tortured by Rader's men in the castle dungeons to force Carter to produce the key. Carter manages to release the Baroness and pursues Rader through the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the castle. Rader is cornered and Carter shoots him dead. Rader has hidden his half of the French key in the scar tissue beneath a dueling scar on his face. Carter cuts it out with Hugo - his stiletto. After the statue is safely recovered Carter discovers that the Baroness was Rader's mistress and former

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

member and was responsible for denouncing her own father to the Nazis. Carter gives her a bullet to kill herself with and a head start before reporting her to the authorities. The Baroness escapes to Paris and kills herself. Carter discovers that hidden inside the tiger statue is a list of the names of German children expected to launch the future

Fourth Reich The Fourth Reich (german: Viertes Reich) is a hypothetical Nazi Reich that is the successor to Adolf Hitler's Third Reich (1933–1945). The term has also been used to refer to the possible resurgence of Nazi ideas, as well as pejoratively of pol ...

using money and valuables hidden in 20 sunken German submarines concealed in various locations around the world. Hawk informs Carter that the children will be watched as they grow up and the sunken submarines and their contents recovered.

Main characters

*Nick Carter (agent N-3, AXE; posing as Rubli Kurz, Frank Manning) *Mr Hawk (Carter's boss, head of AXE) *Baroness Elspeth von Stadt (

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

intelligence agent, Rader's former mistress) *Max Rader (former

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

(SS) General) *Shikoku Hondo (former

Colonel) *Osman (servant at Villa Limbo, employee of Max Rader) *Mignon Franchette (housekeeper, Villa Limbo) *Mr. Poindexter (head of AXE Special Effects and Editing)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyes of the Tiger 1965 American novels Nick Carter-Killmaster novels Novels set in Switzerland Novels set in the 1960s