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Mactaggarts War
It was 1940, the year of disaster. Facing Nazi conquest, England placed her final hopes on a gigantic shipment of gold placed aboard a battle cruiser bound for Canada. MacTaggart is a middle-aging Scotsman assigned to the Bank of England as chief protector of a shipment of 1940 bullion being secretly removed from an invasion-wary England to Canada. But news of this shipment has leaked to a money-hungry British officer, who takes off for the states and contacts two equally money-hungry U.S. Army officers in Fort Sam Belwin, South one is a West Point graduate (1930) now about to be court-martialed for theft of petty cash; the other is a former football star who is falling to pieces under debt and a nagging showgirl wife. These three gents naturally plan a heist of the bullion, a heist which is to take place in the small railroad-station village of Wingate in the Canadian wilderness. After rounding up several down-and-outers who are specialists in armaments, the heisters hit a small U.S. bank for funds, then take off for the Big Stuff in Canada.
Hardcover
First published June 7, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 1, 2021
4 stars for a thriller set in June, 1940. The book starts in England. The government decides to send all of its gold and stocks to Canada for safekeeping. It's supposed to be top secret, but a British Army officer goes drinking with a US Army friend and lets the secret out. He then tells another friend and they form a gang to rob the gold in Canada. I read this book in 3 days.
Pros: I thought that the book was a fast paced thriller with well written characters. The plot moved along well.
Cons: The US part of the story starts in the Southern part of the US and the narrator uses the n word on 1 occasion. The book was originally published in 1979 and republished in 2019.
This was a Kindle Unlimited book.
Pros: I thought that the book was a fast paced thriller with well written characters. The plot moved along well.
Cons: The US part of the story starts in the Southern part of the US and the narrator uses the n word on 1 occasion. The book was originally published in 1979 and republished in 2019.
This was a Kindle Unlimited book.
July 25, 2019
A heist novel, about a squad of losers from the army out to steal gold Churchill decided to ship to Canada in order to keep Hitler from getting it. Drunken sot MacTaggart is supposed to be guarding the gold.
Very 70's to the point it leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth at the end. I'm not sure people could handle a book like this these days.
Very 70's to the point it leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth at the end. I'm not sure people could handle a book like this these days.
June 12, 2026
This is another of Ralph Denis’s stand alone novels and I believe it was originally titled ‘MacTaggart’s War’ when it was first published but has now been revised and republished as The War Heist’.
In 1940 fearing that Britain was going to fall to the Nazis, Winston Churchill arranged for Britain’s wealth in gold, stocks and securities to be shipped to Canada for safekeeping. Two American army officers get to hear of the initial shipment and decide to rob the train carrying the valuables as it travels from Halifax to Montreal. They put together a band of ex-troops from their previous commands, comprising of several experts in the various fields they’ll require to carry out the heist.
This is a thrilling crime novel with a great plot. The story is told from two perspectives, that of the robbers and also from MacTaggart, who is charged with looking after the safekeeping of the cargo from the port of Greenock in Scotland to Nova Scotia by sea and then on the train from Halifax to Montreal. It’s an edge of the seat ride as the robbers plans are rather ad hoc at times and they seem too very much be ‘winging it’ with so much that could go wrong. MacTaggart, on the other hand is a stickler for detail and knows exactly how he wants things done. There are a plethora of characters and I must admit it sometimes took me a page or two to remember who was who ! The story culminates in an exciting finale at Wingate Station where the heist takes place, as you don’t know whether the robbers will be successful or not.
In 1940 fearing that Britain was going to fall to the Nazis, Winston Churchill arranged for Britain’s wealth in gold, stocks and securities to be shipped to Canada for safekeeping. Two American army officers get to hear of the initial shipment and decide to rob the train carrying the valuables as it travels from Halifax to Montreal. They put together a band of ex-troops from their previous commands, comprising of several experts in the various fields they’ll require to carry out the heist.
This is a thrilling crime novel with a great plot. The story is told from two perspectives, that of the robbers and also from MacTaggart, who is charged with looking after the safekeeping of the cargo from the port of Greenock in Scotland to Nova Scotia by sea and then on the train from Halifax to Montreal. It’s an edge of the seat ride as the robbers plans are rather ad hoc at times and they seem too very much be ‘winging it’ with so much that could go wrong. MacTaggart, on the other hand is a stickler for detail and knows exactly how he wants things done. There are a plethora of characters and I must admit it sometimes took me a page or two to remember who was who ! The story culminates in an exciting finale at Wingate Station where the heist takes place, as you don’t know whether the robbers will be successful or not.
April 16, 2009
Ralph Dennis is an under-rated hardboiled writer whose strength was his characterization and pacing. This robbery caper is a "big novel" and his most ambitious title.
June 21, 2020
Just OK
This book is divided into three parts. Part 1, slow grinding over 20 characters 15 of which are flat and do nothing for the story. Part 2, the real story starts, the main characters start being brought into the story and the planning of the heist begins to finalize and it finally looks like a story is here. Part 3, half decent. This for me is the worst book Ralph Dennis wrote. The rest of his work is top notch for the Hard - boiled genre. This book is 373 pages, the rest of his books run 220-250 pages.
This book is divided into three parts. Part 1, slow grinding over 20 characters 15 of which are flat and do nothing for the story. Part 2, the real story starts, the main characters start being brought into the story and the planning of the heist begins to finalize and it finally looks like a story is here. Part 3, half decent. This for me is the worst book Ralph Dennis wrote. The rest of his work is top notch for the Hard - boiled genre. This book is 373 pages, the rest of his books run 220-250 pages.
July 2, 2020
The Criminal War Effort
The War Heist captures the feel, dialogue and characters of the 1940s war effort, albeit criminal in this case. There may be too many characters to keep straight for some readers, but everything comes together in the final chapters, and Dennis captures the spontaneity of the action and relates it to the reader as it must have happened for the characters. It was refreshing to read a WWII novel about bad guys who want to steal from the rich and keep it for themselves.
The War Heist captures the feel, dialogue and characters of the 1940s war effort, albeit criminal in this case. There may be too many characters to keep straight for some readers, but everything comes together in the final chapters, and Dennis captures the spontaneity of the action and relates it to the reader as it must have happened for the characters. It was refreshing to read a WWII novel about bad guys who want to steal from the rich and keep it for themselves.
January 7, 2020
Great suspense
A very good read,lots of action and adventure,this novel was well researched ,and have an insight to the collaboration between,Canada,England and America during world war 2
A very good read,lots of action and adventure,this novel was well researched ,and have an insight to the collaboration between,Canada,England and America during world war 2
January 24, 2020
An interesting story based on a true WW 2 event. The writing is easy to read although not particularly great prose and the characters (a gang of thieves attempting to rob a bullion train) are quite stereotypical but the background of something real makes for an entertaining read.
October 8, 2014
During World War II a shipment of $500 million in gold is being sent to the United States for safe keeping. An American officer who's military career is in trouble creates a plot to steal it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews