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Modesty Blaise #7
Modesty Blaise : Silver Mistress, The
Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin are now cult names in the thriller genre with well over a million copies of the Modesty Blaise series sold worldwide. Penguin India is delighted to present these bestselling books, now collector's items, in its new series??"Retro Revival. Sir Gerald Tarrant, Chief of Intelligence, has vanished and everyone is writing him off as dead. Everyone, that is, but Modesty and Willie Garvin. They've discovered something in Macao that tells them Tarrant is alive, but his time is running out! This seventh book sees them follow a trail of international intrigue to Chateau Lancieux, in the Pyrenees. There they begin their battle against Mrs McTurk, the genteel assassin; Angel, the luscious beauty with the evil eyes and bloodstained garrote; and Mr Sexton, who claims without exaggeration to be the greatest combat man in the world??? Modesty Blaise leads a spine-tingling escape from the chateau into the awesome Lancieux Caves where, at the edge of an underground lake, she has to battle the odds and Sexton in a fight to the finish???
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First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 24, 2026
Just finished The Silver Mistress by Peter O’Donnell, and it’s one of the more quietly powerful entries in the Modesty Blaise series.
This isn’t the flashiest or most exotic adventure, but that’s exactly why it works. The story feels tighter, more grounded, and more personal. The stakes aren’t just about the “silver” formula—they’re about protecting someone vulnerable, and that brings out the very best in Modesty.
Modesty Blaise is at her absolute peak here. Not just as a strategist or fighter, but as a protector—calm, decisive, and completely unselfconscious in the way she carries herself. There’s nothing forced about her. She just is, and that gives her a kind of authority that feels real rather than theatrical.
Willie Garvin, as always, is the perfect counterpart—loyal, steady, and without ego. Their partnership remains one of the most compelling dynamics in the genre: not romantic, but deeper than most romances.
The tone is slightly darker and more restrained than some of the earlier books. Less globe-trotting spectacle, more controlled tension. The villains are believable rather than over-the-top, and the danger feels close and immediate.
If there’s a weakness, it’s that the central “silver” concept isn’t explored in depth, and Claire feels more like a plot device than a fully developed character. But neither of those detract much from the overall impact.
What really stands out is how human the story feels. It’s not about showing off—it’s about character, loyalty, and quiet strength.
Not the most dramatic Modesty Blaise novel, but one of the most authentic.
This isn’t the flashiest or most exotic adventure, but that’s exactly why it works. The story feels tighter, more grounded, and more personal. The stakes aren’t just about the “silver” formula—they’re about protecting someone vulnerable, and that brings out the very best in Modesty.
Modesty Blaise is at her absolute peak here. Not just as a strategist or fighter, but as a protector—calm, decisive, and completely unselfconscious in the way she carries herself. There’s nothing forced about her. She just is, and that gives her a kind of authority that feels real rather than theatrical.
Willie Garvin, as always, is the perfect counterpart—loyal, steady, and without ego. Their partnership remains one of the most compelling dynamics in the genre: not romantic, but deeper than most romances.
The tone is slightly darker and more restrained than some of the earlier books. Less globe-trotting spectacle, more controlled tension. The villains are believable rather than over-the-top, and the danger feels close and immediate.
If there’s a weakness, it’s that the central “silver” concept isn’t explored in depth, and Claire feels more like a plot device than a fully developed character. But neither of those detract much from the overall impact.
What really stands out is how human the story feels. It’s not about showing off—it’s about character, loyalty, and quiet strength.
Not the most dramatic Modesty Blaise novel, but one of the most authentic.
June 22, 2017
The first Modesty Blaise I ever read, having found it on a shelf in the local British Institute library, back in the eighties. I asked the librarian what it was like and she said, "James Bond with cleavage." She was right, in a way, but Modesty isn't a spy, she's a fixer, a problem-solver. Trouble just seems to find her, her friends, and her trusty sidekick Willy Garvin. At bottom, James Bond is arrogant and selfish, a user who prefers liasons with wealthy married women who aren't going to get posessive or make a fuss (as well as paying his way, most likely. There's a word for that in Italian--gigolo. There's a much uglier word for it in modern American English. I'll leave that one to you, gentle reader.) One thing Blaise and Garvin have that Bond doesn't, is a sense of humour. Aside from the lean, mean, fighting machine, 60s-millionaire aspect of their lives, they seem like people that would be interesting to know. I don't think old Bond would be very interesting at all, unless you could talk shop--and spies don't talk shop.
This time it's Sir Gerald Tarrant, the man who gave Modesty and Willie something to do after they retired in their twenties, who's up the proverbial creek without means of locomotion. He's been kidnapped by a psychopathic criminal mastermind (well, aren't they all?) who wants information, but not the kind Tarrant thinks he wants. Col Straik is supposedly ex-US military, a good ol' Southern boy, and yet from time to time he just can't help talking like a Brit, as when he speaks of "making someone redundant" to mean killing them. His hired assassins deal in such charming lines as piano wire strangulation and ultimate-class martial arts. These days, the aptly-named Mr Sexton would be a ninja. As for other little blunders, at one point Tarrant tells another character that "it's impossible to cheat at blackjack." Oh really, now! So why do they always have it in casinos? If you can create a game, someone can create a cheat for it, sir. Lady Janet, Willie's steady, decides she wants to come along for the ride this time, to find out what goes on in Willie's life when he vanishes into the hinterland; and of course (?) Modesty agrees it's a good idea. Somehow or other the latest lame dog Modesty has been helping over a stile comes along as well, in spite of being already afflicted with PTSD from a hijacking event.
Incredible? You bet your sweet Carnaby street go-go boots and miniskirt it is. That's the point. Pure escapist fluff, just right for a hot summer afternoon.
This time it's Sir Gerald Tarrant, the man who gave Modesty and Willie something to do after they retired in their twenties, who's up the proverbial creek without means of locomotion. He's been kidnapped by a psychopathic criminal mastermind (well, aren't they all?) who wants information, but not the kind Tarrant thinks he wants. Col Straik is supposedly ex-US military, a good ol' Southern boy, and yet from time to time he just can't help talking like a Brit, as when he speaks of "making someone redundant" to mean killing them. His hired assassins deal in such charming lines as piano wire strangulation and ultimate-class martial arts. These days, the aptly-named Mr Sexton would be a ninja. As for other little blunders, at one point Tarrant tells another character that "it's impossible to cheat at blackjack." Oh really, now! So why do they always have it in casinos? If you can create a game, someone can create a cheat for it, sir. Lady Janet, Willie's steady, decides she wants to come along for the ride this time, to find out what goes on in Willie's life when he vanishes into the hinterland; and of course (?) Modesty agrees it's a good idea. Somehow or other the latest lame dog Modesty has been helping over a stile comes along as well, in spite of being already afflicted with PTSD from a hijacking event.
Incredible? You bet your sweet Carnaby street go-go boots and miniskirt it is. That's the point. Pure escapist fluff, just right for a hot summer afternoon.
February 17, 2017
From BBC Radio 4: 15 minute drama:
Beautiful, intelligent and the catsuit wearing queen of hand-to-hand combat, Modesty Blaise was once the head of an international crime operation. Now, having given up her nefarious ways, Modesty and her faithful side-kick, Willie Garvin, offer their services for more respectable causes.
In this new adventure, adapted from Peter O'Donnell's novel by Stef Penney, Modesty invites Sir Gerald Tarrant of British Intelligence to join her for a holiday at the Gorges du Tarn in the South of France. But, after stopping on the cliff road to help two nuns who have broken down, Sir Gerald's car is found smashed to pieces at the bottom of the ravine.
With music by Will Gregory, arranged by Ian Gardiner and performed by the National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Ben Foster.
Sound by David Thomas.
Directed by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08dn2gl
Beautiful, intelligent and the catsuit wearing queen of hand-to-hand combat, Modesty Blaise was once the head of an international crime operation. Now, having given up her nefarious ways, Modesty and her faithful side-kick, Willie Garvin, offer their services for more respectable causes.
In this new adventure, adapted from Peter O'Donnell's novel by Stef Penney, Modesty invites Sir Gerald Tarrant of British Intelligence to join her for a holiday at the Gorges du Tarn in the South of France. But, after stopping on the cliff road to help two nuns who have broken down, Sir Gerald's car is found smashed to pieces at the bottom of the ravine.
With music by Will Gregory, arranged by Ian Gardiner and performed by the National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Ben Foster.
Sound by David Thomas.
Directed by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08dn2gl
September 29, 2021
The Silver Mistress is the 7th book in the Modesty Blaise thriller / adventure series by Peter O'Donnell. As per the other six books I've enjoyed so far, it was entertaining, filled with action and ultimately satisfying.
Modesty is on vacation at a chalet in southern France. She has invited Sir Gerald Tarrant to spend a week relaxing with her after his attendance at a NATO Intelligence Chief's summit. The relationship between the two is a sort of father / daughter. On his way to the chalet, Tarrant's driver betrays him and Tarrant is taken hostage by a dangerous group of villains. A mountain climber, Quinn, who had suffered a fall, sees the kidnapping. The kidnapping is set up to make it seem that Tarrant is killed in a car crash.
Modesty begins to suspect that maybe Tarrant is still alive and this sets in place a series of actions that will lead to a confrontation between Modesty and her business partner Willie Garvin and the villains in a Chateau in the mountains. They are some of the most dastardly people that Modesty has fought so far, especially the super combat man, Mr. Sexton.
As always, it's entertaining and my liking of Modesty and Willie increases with each story. The story progresses methodically, with trips to Macao and then to France. Willie and Modesty are an amazing pair, larger than life in many ways, with their own personal telepathic communication. In a world full of Bonds, it's nice to have a strong, independent woman as the lead in this series. (3.5 stars)
Modesty is on vacation at a chalet in southern France. She has invited Sir Gerald Tarrant to spend a week relaxing with her after his attendance at a NATO Intelligence Chief's summit. The relationship between the two is a sort of father / daughter. On his way to the chalet, Tarrant's driver betrays him and Tarrant is taken hostage by a dangerous group of villains. A mountain climber, Quinn, who had suffered a fall, sees the kidnapping. The kidnapping is set up to make it seem that Tarrant is killed in a car crash.
Modesty begins to suspect that maybe Tarrant is still alive and this sets in place a series of actions that will lead to a confrontation between Modesty and her business partner Willie Garvin and the villains in a Chateau in the mountains. They are some of the most dastardly people that Modesty has fought so far, especially the super combat man, Mr. Sexton.
As always, it's entertaining and my liking of Modesty and Willie increases with each story. The story progresses methodically, with trips to Macao and then to France. Willie and Modesty are an amazing pair, larger than life in many ways, with their own personal telepathic communication. In a world full of Bonds, it's nice to have a strong, independent woman as the lead in this series. (3.5 stars)
December 6, 2007
Okay, I confess, I have the hots for Modesty Blaise. One doesn t have to be a fan of Bond or given to retro-superspy kitsch (among the best is Forrest DeVoe Jr s Into the Volcano, with its proto-jetski chases and giant hardboiled-human slicer), to become similarly smitten. Blaise is more hip, fun, sexy and mysterious than Bond, and has a more generous, upbeat worldview. With her astonishing gifts of mind and body control, she doesn t need an armory of gadgets, but delights in using a panoply of exotic hand-held weapons, as does her cockney sidekick Willie Garvin, master of the throwing knife a great sardonic tomcat. In this, her seventh title, she appears to have met her match in Mr. Sexton, the world s greatest martial artist, but inspiration strikes as she preps for their death match in a cave in the Pyrenees. Modesty strips down and applies grease to every inch of her lovely body, resulting in one of the most memorable fight sequences ever.
August 16, 2016
These books are very much of their time, but so am I.
I love Modesty and Willie.
I love Modesty and Willie.
July 25, 2021
Главу английской разведки, Джеральда Тарранта, во Франции похищает группа преступников, обставляя его похищение под несчастный случай на дороге с утонувшим в реке телом. Друзья Тарранта, Модести Блейз и Вилли Гарвин, скорбят о нем, но отвлекаются на новое дело — сестру подруги Гарвина шантажируют неизвестные.
Поиски шантажистов приводят их во Францию, где злодеи окопались в провинциальном замке. И — та-дам — банда шантажистов оказывается именно теми людьми, которые похитили Тарранта. Блейз и Гарвин готовят операцию по его спасению.
Банда. Своеобразный в своей неадекватности босс. Один из бандитов — супер-мега боец, с которым придется драться один на один Гарвину или Модести. Практически обязательно наличие в банде психованной женщины, которая обожает душить жертвы. Живет банда в каком-нибудь экзотическом месте — остров или замок.
Блейз и Гарвин недолго ищут банду. Затем проникают к ним. Их ловят, сажают под замок. А дальше эта парочка вырывается — или за счет припрятанных чудо-гаджетов, или за счет своих офигительных бойцовых навыков — и раздает всей банде люлей. Счастливый финал. В качестве отвлечения от боевки прилагаются романтические интересы для Модести и Вилли (у каждого свой).
Собственно, два предыдущих абзаца — это стандартная схема почти всех романов о Блейз и Гарвине. И «Серебряная воительница» ничем из этой схемы не выбивается. Глупая завязка — преступники похищают главу разведки, чтобы выпытать у него сведения, позволившие бы им шантажировать еще большее количество людей. Глупое совпадение — подруга Гарвина оказывается связана с теми самыми шантажистами.
Дальше — немного обычных приключений (на этот раз ползание по пещерам). Попадание в плен и стандартная битва Модести один на один с супер-бойцом. Даже обычная фишка О’Доннела — показывать бои через стороннего наблюдателя — и та на месте.
В сумме — нормальный приключенческий роман. Расслабиться при чтении и наслаждаться тем, как неубиваемые персонажи выносят очередных злодеев. Нормально.
Проблема романа не в том, что он скучен. Его проблема в том, что он написан автором под копирку со своих предыдущих романов. Если бы это был первый прочитанный роман о Модести Блейз — впечатления были бы довольно позитивными. Если же читать романы серии по порядку, то к тому моменту, как доберешься до «Воительницы» — устанешь вусмерть от штампов О’Доннела.
5/10
Оригинал отзыва - https://cahier.ru/odonnell-silver-mis...
Поиски шантажистов приводят их во Францию, где злодеи окопались в провинциальном замке. И — та-дам — банда шантажистов оказывается именно теми людьми, которые похитили Тарранта. Блейз и Гарвин готовят операцию по его спасению.
Банда. Своеобразный в своей неадекватности босс. Один из бандитов — супер-мега боец, с которым придется драться один на один Гарвину или Модести. Практически обязательно наличие в банде психованной женщины, которая обожает душить жертвы. Живет банда в каком-нибудь экзотическом месте — остров или замок.
Блейз и Гарвин недолго ищут банду. Затем проникают к ним. Их ловят, сажают под замок. А дальше эта парочка вырывается — или за счет припрятанных чудо-гаджетов, или за счет своих офигительных бойцовых навыков — и раздает всей банде люлей. Счастливый финал. В качестве отвлечения от боевки прилагаются романтические интересы для Модести и Вилли (у каждого свой).
Собственно, два предыдущих абзаца — это стандартная схема почти всех романов о Блейз и Гарвине. И «Серебряная воительница» ничем из этой схемы не выбивается. Глупая завязка — преступники похищают главу разведки, чтобы выпытать у него сведения, позволившие бы им шантажировать еще большее количество людей. Глупое совпадение — подруга Гарвина оказывается связана с теми самыми шантажистами.
Дальше — немного обычных приключений (на этот раз ползание по пещерам). Попадание в плен и стандартная битва Модести один на один с супер-бойцом. Даже обычная фишка О’Доннела — показывать бои через стороннего наблюдателя — и та на месте.
В сумме — нормальный приключенческий роман. Расслабиться при чтении и наслаждаться тем, как неубиваемые персонажи выносят очередных злодеев. Нормально.
Проблема романа не в том, что он скучен. Его проблема в том, что он написан автором под копирку со своих предыдущих романов. Если бы это был первый прочитанный роман о Модести Блейз — впечатления были бы довольно позитивными. Если же читать романы серии по порядку, то к тому моменту, как доберешься до «Воительницы» — устанешь вусмерть от штампов О’Доннела.
5/10
Оригинал отзыва - https://cahier.ru/odonnell-silver-mis...
November 29, 2021
Perhaps a coincidence or two too far, but the series continues to entertain me.
Willie used a term I don't remember coming across before "dactyliomancist." Dactyla is fingers, in Greek. Willie does go on and explain what it was, though the connection to fingers is a bit of a stretch. That's a person who uses a finger ring on a chain, hung over a drawing of a cross inside a circle, to tell fortunes. Most perfomers/seers today just call it a pendulum. Shut eye readers love 'em.
One other note on British English. Lately I've seen this construction frequently: "I'll catch you up." In American English we would say, "I'll catch up with you." Also, in American English, "I'll catch you up," means that I will help you with information you missed while sick, or out of class, or other situations like that.
English≠English!
Willie used a term I don't remember coming across before "dactyliomancist." Dactyla is fingers, in Greek. Willie does go on and explain what it was, though the connection to fingers is a bit of a stretch. That's a person who uses a finger ring on a chain, hung over a drawing of a cross inside a circle, to tell fortunes. Most perfomers/seers today just call it a pendulum. Shut eye readers love 'em.
One other note on British English. Lately I've seen this construction frequently: "I'll catch you up." In American English we would say, "I'll catch up with you." Also, in American English, "I'll catch you up," means that I will help you with information you missed while sick, or out of class, or other situations like that.
English≠English!
February 17, 2018
This one was adapted for radio by the BBC about a year ago - quite effectively, compared to Losey's wretched attempt to film the first novel. Listeners should be advised, however, that 'The Silver Mistress' in print is a much darker affair than it was on the airwaves. Mr Sexton, an effective enough baddie in the radio version, is here absolutely bloody terrifying, and the 'engine grease' sequence, brilliantly funny in the adaptation, is tense with desperation and misery in the book. It only falls short of the best Modesty ('Sabre-Tooth', 'A Taste for Death') because the post-climax sequence is a bit too long but, in general, O'Donnell here continues to set the standard for the paperback thriller.
February 5, 2018
I enjoyed the first half of the book, especially as, for a change, it didn’t seem to be about Modest being held captive. I had hoped that the author had finally decided to try a different storyline, so it was even more disappointing to find we were back to the old routine; ‘It all goes wrong’ and then ‘Modesty is Captured’.
In the end the last third of the book was well done and partially made up for the author’s reversion to type. If the author could have resisted the temptation to capture Modesty I would probably given this book 5 stars.
In the end the last third of the book was well done and partially made up for the author’s reversion to type. If the author could have resisted the temptation to capture Modesty I would probably given this book 5 stars.
January 7, 2021
A Modesty Blaise adventure from 1973. She is really a female James Bond type but it’s the writing of O’Donnell which makes these such entertaining reads. The cinematic vividness of the settings and the action plus the excitement engendered by imprisonment and escape compensate for the admittedly over-the-top villains and fight scenes. Here, a castle in the Pyrenees, which they penetrate by potholing, and villains in a blackmail scheme help create a “stay up all night” read
October 15, 2023
Modesty and Willie are back in action again. This time, it looks as if Tarrant has been killed in an accident in France, but he's actually been kidnapped by a blackmailer that Modesty coincidentally is after. The book is full of coincidences like that, so it's not half as good as it might have been. It feels rushed, as if O'Donnell just wanted to get it over with. The reader will sympathize.
September 7, 2024
Those who have long. James bond will fall in love with Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin.
This one is one of their toughest challenges with a very shrewd, powerful and strong enemy.
How they manage to overcome them is the highlight of the story.
Peter or Donnell has a great imagination. Have read two his books and will be looking forward to reading the remaining in the future.
This one is one of their toughest challenges with a very shrewd, powerful and strong enemy.
How they manage to overcome them is the highlight of the story.
Peter or Donnell has a great imagination. Have read two his books and will be looking forward to reading the remaining in the future.
September 9, 2017
Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin are yet again taking us on a fascinating adventure. Sir Gerald has been abducted by ruthless villains. Modesty and Willie are going to try and save him with Lady Janet and Mr Quinn. The suspense is excruciating.
June 9, 2021
My Rating Scale
* terrible
**mostly flawed but some good parts,
***satisfying book for the genre
****exceptional book but some flaws,
***** I LOVED it
Just as a reminder, objectively 3 stars but I love modesty blaise. It is my comfort food!
* terrible
**mostly flawed but some good parts,
***satisfying book for the genre
****exceptional book but some flaws,
***** I LOVED it
Just as a reminder, objectively 3 stars but I love modesty blaise. It is my comfort food!
August 23, 2017
Back to good old Modesty Blaise with this one
August 11, 2018
I think I prefer Mr. O'Donnell as Madeleine Brent, but doubt very much that I'll bother with any more of his books in either guise.
July 26, 2020
Modesty is a female James Bond and these books are a perfect reading anecdote to passing time during the Covid-19 distancing.
June 11, 2021
Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin are the main characters in this escapist thriller. Delightful!
July 29, 2022
I read the Swedish hardcover edition.
January 9, 2008
A group of professional scumbags fake the death of Sir Gerald Tarrant and hold him hostage, subjecting the ageing intelligence administrator to brutal torture at the hands of the sadistic Mister Sexton, a martial artist of the first order who knows how to work human pressure points to excruciating advantage. If you've read this far you know what this series is about, so do you think Modesty and Willie are going to to tolerate that bullshit?
THE SILVER MISTRESS is a tough book to critique because it's not so much a proper novel as it is a short story stretched to novel-length, and therein lies the problem. The basic plot is quite good, but there was really no need to pad it out into what amounts to a lot of slow-moving hoo-haa leading to the action not really getting underway until the book's nearly halfway over. Sure, there's the usual rich characterizations and the first full appearance by Willie's steady girlfriend, the charming and one-legged Lady Janet Gillam (previously seen briefly in the short story "I Had A Date With Lady Janet" in the PIECES OF MODESTY collection), but Henry Quinn, a former airline pilot, tested my patience by being rude and obnoxious to an annoying degree and to no great effect, and once his role as a concussed witness to Tarrant's kidnapping is over there's really no need for him to be in the story. There's much made of two "outsiders" to Modesty and Willie's (and to no small degree Tarrant's) danger-fraught world being allowed to accompany them on a mission, something I had an extremely hard time believing Modesty and Willie would ever allow to happen, and of the two only Lady Janet really adds anything to the proceedings. Sure, there's some business about Quinn getting over a severely traumatic event and butching up when push comes to shove, but frankly I just didn't care about the guy.
The only real bright spot in all of this over-extended mishegoss is Mister Sexton, hands-down the most formidible physical threat ever faced by Modesty and Willie, even moreso than Willie's own personal demon, the diabolocal Simon Delicta (from book four in the series, A TASTE FOR DEATH). He's a master of hand-to-hand combat whose skills render both of our heroes unconscious in seconds when he first encounters them and, being aware of their considerable reputations as all-around badasses, he decides to keep them alive so he can finally have opponents worthy of his talents. When Modesty does finally throw down against this asshole it's the one bit where the book pays off, their savage battle allowing the story to reach a thrilling climax set in a cold, dank cavern in which Modesty strips nude, coats herself from head to toe with axle grease, and hands Sexton his ass in a fight that I doubt even Willie could have won.
As Modesty Blaise books go I'd have to rate this as middling — except for Sexton — and it's also the first entry where I really noticed O'Donnell's formula. The entries I've read previously all work from a set template, but they each had something going on that allowed me to ignore the beat-for-beat setup and enjoy the books nonetheless, but THE SILVER MISTRESS wears its by-the numbers construction on its sleeve. It makes me wonder if this is where O'Donnell began to weary of the series, or if he was having trouble coming up with the tense and exciting yarns that he seemed to spin with such deceptive ease.
THE SILVER MISTRESS is a tough book to critique because it's not so much a proper novel as it is a short story stretched to novel-length, and therein lies the problem. The basic plot is quite good, but there was really no need to pad it out into what amounts to a lot of slow-moving hoo-haa leading to the action not really getting underway until the book's nearly halfway over. Sure, there's the usual rich characterizations and the first full appearance by Willie's steady girlfriend, the charming and one-legged Lady Janet Gillam (previously seen briefly in the short story "I Had A Date With Lady Janet" in the PIECES OF MODESTY collection), but Henry Quinn, a former airline pilot, tested my patience by being rude and obnoxious to an annoying degree and to no great effect, and once his role as a concussed witness to Tarrant's kidnapping is over there's really no need for him to be in the story. There's much made of two "outsiders" to Modesty and Willie's (and to no small degree Tarrant's) danger-fraught world being allowed to accompany them on a mission, something I had an extremely hard time believing Modesty and Willie would ever allow to happen, and of the two only Lady Janet really adds anything to the proceedings. Sure, there's some business about Quinn getting over a severely traumatic event and butching up when push comes to shove, but frankly I just didn't care about the guy.
The only real bright spot in all of this over-extended mishegoss is Mister Sexton, hands-down the most formidible physical threat ever faced by Modesty and Willie, even moreso than Willie's own personal demon, the diabolocal Simon Delicta (from book four in the series, A TASTE FOR DEATH). He's a master of hand-to-hand combat whose skills render both of our heroes unconscious in seconds when he first encounters them and, being aware of their considerable reputations as all-around badasses, he decides to keep them alive so he can finally have opponents worthy of his talents. When Modesty does finally throw down against this asshole it's the one bit where the book pays off, their savage battle allowing the story to reach a thrilling climax set in a cold, dank cavern in which Modesty strips nude, coats herself from head to toe with axle grease, and hands Sexton his ass in a fight that I doubt even Willie could have won.
As Modesty Blaise books go I'd have to rate this as middling — except for Sexton — and it's also the first entry where I really noticed O'Donnell's formula. The entries I've read previously all work from a set template, but they each had something going on that allowed me to ignore the beat-for-beat setup and enjoy the books nonetheless, but THE SILVER MISTRESS wears its by-the numbers construction on its sleeve. It makes me wonder if this is where O'Donnell began to weary of the series, or if he was having trouble coming up with the tense and exciting yarns that he seemed to spin with such deceptive ease.
August 18, 2016
I'm not sure how many times I've read this Modesty Blaise book, but it has been a long time since I read it the last time. Gotta love it. Villans are so evil they make you want to stand up and cheer when they get their just desserts.
I hate to say this, but this is not the best of the Modesty Blaise novels. This one suffers from shortcomings. I keep asking myself how a super-sexy, smart, wealthy woman like Modesty gets tied up with this loser Quinn.
Still I enjoy it for the intricate plot, and the "what is going to happen next?" force that drives it. I will be re-reading this one again in the future.
I hate to say this, but this is not the best of the Modesty Blaise novels. This one suffers from shortcomings. I keep asking myself how a super-sexy, smart, wealthy woman like Modesty gets tied up with this loser Quinn.
Still I enjoy it for the intricate plot, and the "what is going to happen next?" force that drives it. I will be re-reading this one again in the future.
May 16, 2007
A more traditional adventure; this time Modesty and Willie have to save Sir Gerald from the evildoers who have captured him. I really liked this one for how quietly feminist it was; the men in Modesty's life never think less of her because she's female, but this is a really great reversal of the usual action/adventure stereotype of (male) hero having to save (female) love interest. (Not that Sir Gerald is her love interest, but still.) Very nicely low-key send-up of the traditional tropes.
July 26, 2014
In all modesty, the subtitle just doesn't fit. Anyway, I came to grips with the first in this series something like 45 years ago under quite different circumstances of leisure. I didn't realize at the time that there were sequels. Indeed I've missed completely the four intervening novels and collection of short stories and the subsequent five novels and second collection of short stories as well as all of the comic strip collections. No rush. I waited 45 years for this one.
March 16, 2016
Reread fun. Adventure. Sex. Fun. And very strange characters. Thank you, Peter O'Donnell. Boo on Disney for not properly putting this long series (several decades of comics and novels) on TV or film, just letting the property sit, except for peeks of it in PULP FICTION, the old crass film, and the newer NetFlix prestory so Disney could renew its ownership--to sit on it and not utilize. This is when a girl says: Men! Disney! Disney Men! AAARRRRGGGGHHH!!
October 24, 2011
One of the best Modesty Blaise novels, which is saying a good deal. O'Donnell is at the top of his form. He's good at recycling and reworking material that first went around in the Modesty Blaise comic strips, so that by the time he writes a novel things are honed and sharp.
October 24, 2007
A friend in need is a friend in deed.
June 24, 2008
I lent this to my best friend's husband who totally did not appreciate its splendor. I'm reminded that I need to get this back from him and also to read more Modesty Blaise.
future-reading
November 19, 2011My copy was published by Pan, and has a different cover.
August 11, 2013
This is one of the better of the Modesty Blaise novels. Not quite so formulaic and with some very interesting spelunking scenes.
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