Nick Carter is a house pseudonym used by Award, Ace, and later Jove, publishing for the series Nick Carter who later graduated to a special agent for the Killmaster novels, a series of 261+ spy adventures published from 1964 until late 1990s.
A great number of writers have written under the pen-name over the years, beginning in September 1886 when Nick Carter first appeared in the 'New York Weekly' in a 13-week serial, entitled 'The Old Detective's Pupil; or, The Mysterious Crime of Madison Square'.
The Nick Carter character was originally conceived by Ormond G. Smith, the son of one of the founders of Street & Smith, and realized by John R. Coryell.
It is 1973 and US agent Nick Carter is in Soviet-held Yugoslavia, dealing with Tito's thugs and working among Croatian resistance fighters while trying to find a wolf, an actual specific living wild wolf running around the mountainous countryside with a coded message put under its skin by a deceased AXE agent.
Carter finds that this resistance group has been waylaid in scope by a new leader named Karac, and has interactions with the deceased prior leader's young wife Sofija and an awesome hook-armed brute named Padra who, honestly, wins the whole book. The Nick Carter writers at Award publishing could have written more adventures starring just this Padra guy.
This is the 79th installment of the Nick Carter Killmaster series and it was ghost-written by Jeffrey Wallman. Nick Carter - the author - is a pseudonym used by several authors writing for the series, with Nick Carter also being the name of the protagonist character, a superhero American James Bond-style agent. These stories have adult content.
Verdict: "Hour of the Wolf" (1973) is a fun, short, explosive and focused spy caper in Cold War Yugoslavia with America's top agent Nick Carter and a scene-stealing extra named Padra.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good) movie rating if made into a movie: R
The blurb on the back promised secret documents hidden in the pelt of a white wolf, while in the very first chapter our hero outruns a couple of MiGs in a Citroen 2CV. Yes, it's trashy. Very trashy. Big enough print for a children's book, yet full of graphic violence and sex-by-numbers.
Know what's truly astounding? This is number 79 in the series.
A nice rewrite of an old Pulp character. Recast more in the James Bond spy mode. Good quick men's adventure read. If you are looking for some fast paced action and adventure then this is a recommended read.