Dead Man's Handle

Once upon a time, long ago, Modesty Blaise met Willie Garvin - and a couple Kingsley Amis reckoned to be the best criminal double act since Holmes and Watson began their adventures.Although one of the latter Modesty books, this begins with the story of how Willie joined forces with Modesty, and how this adventure reflects forward.All the best Peter O'Donnell characteristics are here: memorable villains, fast action, a whirling story of courage, class, strength, spirit and old fashioned human resource: it is these core elements that stop the Modesty books from dating.Modesty and Willie are real people, action heroes with real human character and vulnerability, and in this one Modesty has to save Willie from capture and [mental torture] on a lonely island in a tale with plenty of twists and turns of high readability.These are people books; technology does not take over, the characters are all good, even the most minor, and O'Donnell writes with a spare, humorous style that has zest and energy.Read one of these books and find out what has made, and kept, Modesty Blaise books such a cult for 40 years.The fights, the friendships, the finesse and the fine style make an un-putdownable book that remains, despite re-reading, one of my favourites in the 11 title series.

Too bad I found out about Modesty too late! All of these books are out of print. Modesty is a female James Bond type of gal with a mysterious past and a lot of dangerous skills. I love her interaction with Willie Garvin and the various aspects of her character that allow her to cold-bloodedly kill when necessary and have compassion at other times! Of course, these books are a bit dated with technology, but then many of them were written in the 60's. I'd like to see these back in print!