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Killmaster #64
The Mark of Cosa Nostra
Nick Carter on a grizzly Mafia manhunt. An assignment exploding with sex, savagery, and revenge!
Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
About the author
Nick Carter
1,081 books48 followersNick 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 30, 2025
It is 1971 and a mafia don in Sicily is shrugging aside the American mob's avoidance of the heroin trade, instead setting up an international pipeline supplying cheap heroin to soldiers in Vietnam and hoping he himself can then take over the American mafia. The US counter-intelligence agency AXE is suspecting that this mobster's partners are Chinese spies hoping to take advantage of the situation, escalate the volume of American deaths in Vietnam, and then plan to control this mafia guy for its own purposes. Agent Nick Carter, aka N3, aka Killmaster, is going undercover with a young female agent beside him in order to get close to the Sicilian, kill him, and end the Chinese threat.
As a spy caper, "Mark of the Cosa Nostra" (1971) ranks among the least interesting Nick Carter adventures I've read so far, just not as immersively exciting as the Vietnam mission "Dragon Flame" or the pandemic-stopping "Death Strain" episodes, for example. His attempts to convince the mobster of his loyalty just mean pages of entreating dialogue without stakes.
This one also breaks the adult content barrier between rated-R and rated-beyond many times and, while that does happen at times in these Carter books, here those scenes were laugh-out-loud bad and not just a guilty plot mover. Oh, and the girl's secret weapon omg lol.
This is the 64th installment of the Nick Carter Killmaster series and it was ghost-written by George Snyder. Nick Carter the author is a pseudonym used by several authors writing for the series for Award Books, with Nick Carter also being the name of the protagonist character, an American version of James Bond.
Verdict: A less interesting plot, a ridiculous ending (ridiculous even by Nick Carter standards), and some bad love scenes make "Mark of the Cosa Nostra" a less-enjoyable chapter of the Killmaster series but a few surprising twists and turns and a fun shootout keep it from being a complete bomb.
Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: NC-17
As a spy caper, "Mark of the Cosa Nostra" (1971) ranks among the least interesting Nick Carter adventures I've read so far, just not as immersively exciting as the Vietnam mission "Dragon Flame" or the pandemic-stopping "Death Strain" episodes, for example. His attempts to convince the mobster of his loyalty just mean pages of entreating dialogue without stakes.
This one also breaks the adult content barrier between rated-R and rated-beyond many times and, while that does happen at times in these Carter books, here those scenes were laugh-out-loud bad and not just a guilty plot mover. Oh, and the girl's secret weapon omg lol.
This is the 64th installment of the Nick Carter Killmaster series and it was ghost-written by George Snyder. Nick Carter the author is a pseudonym used by several authors writing for the series for Award Books, with Nick Carter also being the name of the protagonist character, an American version of James Bond.
Verdict: A less interesting plot, a ridiculous ending (ridiculous even by Nick Carter standards), and some bad love scenes make "Mark of the Cosa Nostra" a less-enjoyable chapter of the Killmaster series but a few surprising twists and turns and a fun shootout keep it from being a complete bomb.
Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: NC-17
August 4, 2026
Nick impersonates a member of the Mafia. Builds to an exciting climax.
April 6, 2014
The mark of Cosa Nostra. At that time, i wasn't aware of the immense popularity of this fiction character series of Nick carter in the western world.
Age factor - Spy novels usually by nature have a lot of explicit and sexual content not suitable for minors. Under 17, refrain from reading this book.
The book
Nothing much to write much about the 154 page book, except it is usual spy novel stuff. sex,gadgets,guns,adventure,thrill,crime all the expected ingredients are mixed together for a racy,short and crisp spy novel.
Though,the name of the author should have been revealed.
Gifting ideas
Good one for your male friends.I haven't seen Nick carter's usually.Since i have the 1980 Indian edition of the book, you may find one at the nearby bookstore.Crime,mystery,romance
if the person you are gifting is interested in these genres,this can be a nice gift.
Age factor - Spy novels usually by nature have a lot of explicit and sexual content not suitable for minors. Under 17, refrain from reading this book.
The book
Nothing much to write much about the 154 page book, except it is usual spy novel stuff. sex,gadgets,guns,adventure,thrill,crime all the expected ingredients are mixed together for a racy,short and crisp spy novel.
Though,the name of the author should have been revealed.
Gifting ideas
Good one for your male friends.I haven't seen Nick carter's usually.Since i have the 1980 Indian edition of the book, you may find one at the nearby bookstore.Crime,mystery,romance
if the person you are gifting is interested in these genres,this can be a nice gift.
February 26, 2016
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.
January 2, 2010
Just a filler, the usual pulp fiction political incorrect action suspense adventure of Nick Carter AXE operative.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews