If you have never read any of Hamilton's Matt Helm series, you are in
for a treat. The Matt Helm series was always sort of a hardboiled spy
fiction series that did not rely on fancy gadgets, speed boats, secret
missile bases, or the like. Rather, it focused on a more realistic
portrayal of spy life, including that the featured spy/assassin Matt
Helm ended up early on being estranged from his wife and children once his wife realized the kind of work that he did, but as the narration
explained, it is necessary work that someone has to do in order to
preserve the freedoms that we hold dear.

This particular volume tackles the thorny issue of what links there are
between radical environmental groups and out and out terrorists and
whether there are always sharp lines. It tackles the question of when
activists are merely innocent dupes and when they become so
enmeshed in evil in pursuit of their tactics that they can no longer see
that a terrorist who blows up planes and embassies is simply evil. It is
a world of good intentions that even an agent's grown children might
become involved in and in which a rich widow might find purpose.
But, as any good Matt Helm novel, this story is not about belief
systems or theories, but real people and how they react to situations,
including how estranged family members will react, how Helm deals
with seemingly-innocent counter-agents, and the like.
Much of the action takes place in a nautical world in and around the
Bahamas and Florida.

Overall, it turned out to be quite a powerful story and well worth
reading. Most series of more than two dozen novels suffer from quality
control and repeated plot lines, but not this series. Every Matt Helm
book I have read has been absolutely top notch, including this one. ( )

Looking for a well-crafted light thriller? Booklist, in a retrospective of mystery writers, recommended Donald Hamilton as a writer who has been underated and forgotten in recent years. I happened to have an old copy lying around, and I agree with their positive assessment.
Matt Helm, his hero, works for a shady government agency performing tasks that would never be officially sanctioned, e.g. assassinations, etc. There job is to keep track of bad guys taking them out when necessary.
Doug, another agent and old friend of Matt, is in jail for having some marihuana on his boat. Doug is ostensibly in retirement and close to death with assorted medical problems. Matt is asked to help Doug's daughter reconcile with her father. Together they watch as Doug blows up his boat after escaping from custody. Turns out the whole thing is a setup. Doug is hardly retired, and his daughter is suspected of being an agent for a nefaiours exposive expert who adopts aliases relating a religious theme, e.g. Aloysius Pastor. Alfred Minister, and Alan Priest.. Matt's job is to "succomb" to Amy's (Doug's daughter) blandishments in order to track down Alfred Minister who is suspected of wanted to destroy a disarmament conference.
The action becomes almost "Bondian" without the gimmicks as Matt proceeds to save the world from nuclear disaster while bedding the attractive opposition. Still, Hamilton has created a very likeable hero who understands that what he does is often amoral but contextual.

( )

Another great tale by Hamilton. Helm shocked me by his sentimentalism a couple of times, but it added to the story. Again we find him on a sail boat in the Caribbean which Hamilton does so well since he spent so much time doing exactly the same thing. His sarcastic comments about 'true sailors' always make me chuckle.

Helm underwent some rejuvenation. Other characters were in WWII, but his participation was not mentioned - not exactly denied, but it was made clear that he was somewhat younger than those characters - too old for the young lady in question, but not as old as he should be given his previous history. Older cases, including his marriage are mentioned & the facts remain consistent.

On to [b:The Vanishers|2001130|The Vanishers (Matt Helm, #23)|Donald Hamilton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1248435225s/2001130.jpg|2004982]! ( )

Re-reading this one for the first time in quite a while. I hate the cover, I don't think Helm looks at all like this! I'm about a third of the way into the story ... a bit cringe-inducing so far with the young, virginal female lead having a masochism complex. As I remember, things get quite a bit better later in the book when she gets over the complex and Helm meets an attractive older woman. ( )