The Silencers

Matt Helm #4

by Donald Hamilton

Helm is sent to extract a female agent working as a stripper in a bar in Mexico. When she is killed before Helm can complete his mission to extract her, he finds himself teamed up with the woman's sister as he fights to save the lives of a group of scientists and American officials. Perhaps the most famous of the titles, due to the Dean Martin film of the same name, but where the movies were tongue-in-cheek, the novels are breathtakingly brutal.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Action, Mystery, Espionage, Adventure, Mystery Thriller

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Donald Hamilton was a U.S. writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction but also crime fiction and Westerns such as The Big Country. He is best known for his long-running Matt Helm series (1960-1993), which chronicles the adventures of an undercover counter-agent/assassin working for a secret American government agency.

Hamilton began his writing career in 1946, fiction magazines like Collier's Weekly and The Saturday Evening Post. His first novel Date With Darkness was published in 1947; over the next forty-six years he published a total of thirty-eight novels. Most of his early novels whether suspense, spy, and western published between 1954 and 1960, were typical paperback originals of the era: fast-moving tales in paperbacks with lurid covers. Several classic western movies, The Big Country and The Violent Men, were adapted from two of his western novels.

The Matt Helm series, published by Gold Medal Books, which began with Death of a Citizen in 1960 and ran for 27 books, ending in 1993 with The Damagers, was more substantial.

Helm, a wartime agent in a secret agency that specialized in the assassination of Nazis, is drawn back into a post-war world of espionage and assassination after fifteen years as a civilian. He narrates his adventures in a brisk, matter-of-fact tone with an occasional undertone of deadpan humor. He describes gunfights, knife fights, torture, and (off-stage) sexual conquests with a carefully maintained professional detachment, like a pathologist dictating an autopsy report or a police officer describing an investigation. Over the course of the series, this detachment comes to define Helm's character. He is a professional doing a job; the job is killing people.

Hamilton was a skilled outdoorsman and hunter who wrote non-fiction articles for outdoor magazines and published a book-length collection of them. For several years he lived on his own yacht, then relocated to Sweden where he resided until his death in 2006.

Reviews

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Helm, more man than Dean Martin could shake a Martini at.

I won't get going on bad movie adaptations past advising avoiding them. Bad movie adaptations are bad.

This is the fourth book in a series but don't let that stop you, Donald Hamilton writes these books as standalone adventures. This time he is sent to recover a rogue agent who is stripping in a bar in Mexico and the adventure that ensues takes in Communism, nuclear warfare, dead bodies, Texan snow storms, churches hanging off of the side of mountains and naturally a dame that doesn't know which side of the bed she wants which leads to what I have come to know as The Classic Matt Helm Moment. It's a hell of a ride but then it seems like everything Matt Helm does ends in a journey worth talking about.

They say the series brought Chandleresque prose to the spy novel and I don't think the term was ever more deserved than in this one. The hardboiled attitude matches perfectly with the counter-espionage tactics of Matt Helm; he's willing to take plenty of beatings to get to the truth and protect his country. He's also willing to let devious women use him sexually. Naturally.

I hear talk that this series is going to finally be re-issued, I don't think an author ever deserved it more. If you find a Matt Helm book buy it. It's that simple.

A new hardboiled movie adaptation wouldn't go amiss either. Something darker than the sixties abomination please?

[Damo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early 1960s was a period where the international espionage agent was all the rage and Donald Hamilton’s series featuring Matt Helm was one of the go-tos if you wanted to get your fill. The guy was uncompromising, coolly professional, unashamedly misogynistic and totally prepared to admit when he was beaten…and then win anyway. The Silencers is the 4th book in the series and displays all of the classic Helmisms mentioned above.

The plot relies very heavily on the fears spawned out of the Cold War and the burgeoning missile building that the world was in the throes of at the time. Long range missiles falling into the wrong hands is cause for great concern and it’s definitely worth killing for. And it’s also necessary for busy spies to become involved to bring down the madmen foolish enough to try to steal them.

As is also common for hard-boiled spy novels of the time, an attractive woman is involved, she’s going to be spending a lot of time with Helm and is also going to fall for his manly charms.

The Silencers is everything we love about the action genre. Impossibly difficult predicaments where the safety of the free world is at stake, feats of unimaginable precision are required to save the day and a last-minute act to win the day. Sure it’s cliched, perhaps even predictable, but Matt Helm has style, a refreshingly honest modesty and a rough pragmatism that makes the reading along all the more entertaining.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the mid-60's, an atomic bomb test is plagued with security issues & one foreign agent is a tough opponent. He's killed several of our people & the entire project is in danger, so the order gets passed to Helm to stop him. The agent's identity & ridiculously tight security create problems for Helm. It makes for an amusing (at times & in a grim way) situation that Helm fights his way through in his unique, tough fashion.

How they could take such a good book & turn it into such a horrible movie, I'm not sure, but they managed it. Unlike the stupid movie, there are no weird SF type gadgets, just a cold war era spy caper with a very realistic background.


See these pages for more of Hamilton's work, about him, & the latest releases.
http://www.matthelmbooks.com/intro.html
http://www.benish-industries.com/hami...
http://goodreadergonebad.net/donaldha...

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm noticing some poor proofreading in this edition. A lowercase 'L' turned into a capital 'I' in one case, 'nuke' replaced 'mike' in another. I'll bet they're OCR errors. So far, not as bad as the Ace reprints of the 90's, but not up to the quality of the previous reprints.

The story was still pretty good. It's set back in the 60's but holds up well, at least for me. Few use tire chains any more & phone booths need to be sought out, but otherwise not bad. Good mystery & Helm is at his cold blooded best.

[Pop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in 1963 to 1967 I probably thought this was a great book. That's when I first began reading Donald Hamilton and Matt Helm novels. I literally devoured them when I could get them, along with JDM's Travis McGee, Mike Hammer by Mickey Spillane and other similar authors. Of course I was much younger, a captive of the US Army without a whole lot to do when not policing the parade grounds. I wasn’t disappointed.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent read by Rudnicki & book by Hamilton. Helm really is a bastard, but he's a consistent one. The plot was twisty & I loved the gov't infighting. So true to form.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

To borrow from the great words of moi (and I'm borrowing that phrase from the geat works of Jacques Brel), reading Matt Helm books is like eating Cheetos - not particularly good for you, not something you should brag about, hard to stop once you've started and you have to wash your hands afterward.

This is a pretty typical Matt Helm book, judging by the previous three I've read. Lots of misanthropy (Matt seems to be an equal opportunity louse), some quick and dirty violence and a quick, fast-paced read.

This particular book is of interest to me because parts of it took place in my old hometown, and other parts in the mountains of New Mexico, through which I traveled often in my adolescence and early adulthood. It's fun to see things I'm familiar with (albeit quite a bit later) through the eyes of the author.

It's also fun to pick up editing errors, two of which I found in this novel - "I" rather than "is" (no autocorrect to blame in 1962) and "comprendre" rather then "comprende."

It's also interesting to note the use of "Spanish-American" rather than "Mexican-American" in an effort to avoid offending Mexican Americans. Bizarre.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt stays close to home, in his latest mission near White Sands, New Mexico. There were times I pictured Dean Martin as Matt in this one. But, Hamilton's Matt on paper from the '60's is still cool. 3.5 stars.

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Matt Helm novel. I believe this is the 4th of 27 Matt Helm novels. Written back in the very early 60's. I think Matt Helm was the American answer to James Bond. I liked this story enough that I plan on getting many more of these stories. I'll order the first Matt Helm book: very soon.

As I said these stories were written back in the early 60's and they provide a very good insight into the world at that time: the way people dressed, talked, and acted. Helm isn't as fancy as James Bond, but he is very experienced (he was a special OSS type agent in WWII). He is a no-nonsense operator that is for sure. Tough and works well under pressure.

The Matt Helm books are not anywhere close in nature to the Matt Helm movies (starring Dean Martin) of the 60's: The Silencers, Murderers Row, The Ambushers, and The Wrecking Crew. I loved those spoofs, and let's face it, Dean was the king of "cool". These books are deadly serious, but enjoyable to read.

Earlier this year I read by Keith Wease. Written in almost the same style of the Matt Helm books, this book goes way back and shows how Matt Helm was trained to be a special agent in WW II. I thought it was pretty good as well and a good setup to the series.

[Dartharagorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Fun adventure with Mr. Helm. If you have liked the past 3 you should enjoy this as well. Nothing really to be said that hasn't been said many times before me. There is a reason these are so popular.

[Jack Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Russians are coming

Ahh, those fun and madcap days of the Cold War. Once again, Matt has to deal with nasty guys, this time in and around New Mexico. If you recall atomic history as it relates to the "Land of Enchantment", you might get an idea of the story.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy a Matt Helm book,even if I have already read it at least a couple of times before.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay a shorter version of my usual prequel. I was years ago in the dark ages of the '60s and '70s a fan of spy/fi/action/men's action books. I missed the Matt Helm books due to the vomit worthy movies and TV series.

That said now that I've actually picked these books up I find them excellent even a cut above the Bond books they often get compared to. Don't get mislead by that...Helm is NOT Bond. Helm is a serious operator who does his job.

In this outing Helm is sent in "for" an agent who has turned her coat (so to speak), an agent from his own agency...

Things do not go as planned.

This book is (as are the other Helm books I've read) well written. The plot works and doesn't strain your suspension of disbelief muscles, the characters are not cardboard and the action isn't contrived. All in all this book and these books work as action espionage read...I'd say of the first order.

I can recommend this and these, enjoy.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, short, spy thriller set in the New Mexican atomic weapons theatre of the early 60's Cold War. Matt Helm's voice in the telling of his tale is smart and witty, in the hard-boiled tradition of Raymond Chandler. Plenty of who's-the-good-guy/who's-the-bad-guy to figure out. Moves right along at a good clip.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Matt Helm story, full of Cold War intrigue . It's just sad that this series which could have been great movies if it were not for Dean Martin.

[John Reis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Helm receives orders from Mac to retrieve Mary Kay Springer whom he met very briefly earlier in an earlier book as Sarah from a strip joint in Juarez Mexico where she is working.

He arrives with another agent named LeBaron and sees her brush past a man. Before he can reach her, she is killed with a knife to the back. As she lays dying, she gives something to her sister Gail.

Helm grabs Gail and fleas the club. LeBaron flees in another direction. He gets back over the border to his hotel and demands that she hand over whatever her sister had given her. He tears off her dress to make his point. It turns out to be a small film case of microfilm. Gail says that with her last breath, Mary Kay mentioned “Wigwam”. Getting the information out of her took him identifying himself. That did not work and he is about to get physical, but Mac shows up at the hotel and Gail gives up the information. Helm learns LeBaron took a bullet in the chest.

Mac orders them to investigate the word ‘Wigwam.” They pack up his truck and head to norther Texas and into a heavy snowstorm. They stop at a hotel. Gail goes out one night and returns late. Moments later, Helm and Gail are kidnapped.

The kidnapper is a man named Wegman, a foreign agent.

A scientist named Naldi has a crazy notion that an upcoming underground nuclear test will set off shockwaves across the world. Wegman has been sent to retrieve the microfilm Sarah stole.

Gail betrays Helm several more times.

Helm is extremely unpleasant to women who appear to be working for foreign governments. He drags them in and out of cars and hotel rooms when they are dragging their heels. He lies to them. Nevertheless, Gail calls him ‘darling’ throughout the book and ends up with him at the end.

[Glenn Hopp · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is the first Matt Helm novel I’ve read. First published as a paperback in 1962 when the larger-than-life Bond novels were appearing, this book is smaller in scale, and it doesn’t entirely omit the humdrum. Matt Helm narrates in a jokey but non-funny way: “We needed gas, and Gail wanted a nice restroom. When it comes to selecting a place to go to the john, any woman can keep looking much longer than seems natural or safe, and she was no exception. The one she finally picked was no better than the three we’d passed up, so far as I could see, but it sold a brand of gas for which I had a credit card, so I turned in gratefully before she could change her mind” (p. 66). This overly explained ordinariness comes to flavor more of the book, even when the plot veers into scenes of battle-of-the-sexes romantic comedy. Helm fails to rescue the agent in Mexico he’s supposed to save and spends the rest of the story with Gail, her sister, who has received and hidden some secret microfilm. The book is a genuine curiosity though it often disappoints.

[Ruthiella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt Helm is assigned to extract a female agent who has gotten herself into an “awkward situation” while undercover in Juarez, Mexico. The plan goes south both literally and figuratively and Matt finds himself with the agent’s sister in tow. But can he trust her? And does this job have anything to do with the US atomic bomb testing going on in nearby New Mexico? Are the Russians up to something?

I picked this up in a little free library with a bunch of James Bond paperbacks. Clearly the donator was on brand with spy fiction. "The Silencers" is the fourth book in Hamilton’s long running 27 book series featuring agent Matt Helm. Matt is an enforcer, not a spy a la Bond. He brings in or eliminates counter agents. So no martinis or Aston Martins. But still plenty of liquor and women. It was the early ‘60s after all. Not sure if I will read on in the series. I think I would have enjoyed this more back in my Bond phase 30 years ago.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this fourth in the series, Hamilton establishes the franchise with its various recognizable features -- the formula. But after three strong entries (book 1, Death of a Citizen, is a modern thriller classic, in my opinion), this already feels formulaic. Hamilton does Bondish rockets and gadgets, and despite his determination to be a sort of anti-Fleming, this feels secondhand, with masses of implausible exposition. The writing is sometimes excellent, but it's overshadowed by what Hitchcock called the Mcguffin -- the nominal plot device on which character development and action scenes are hung. Luckily, better entries in the series were subsequently written.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again Soviet agents plot to disrupt and massacre Americans, especially the gullible ones susceptible to crackpot ideas about continental "harmonics" destroying all of North America. No change in Helm. He's still the crude psychotic government killer that popped up in the previous book, except for the first one in the series. But here even the cathartic release Donald Hamilton generated in those earlier books falls flat. I was intrigued to see Matt Helm openly proclaim in Jekyll/Hyde character in the book's opening pages, along with the allusion to the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. All that was handled deftly in the first book. Not so much, here, alas.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt Helm has been assigned the task of finding an agent in Mexico, near the border. In a sleazy strip club, he sees her, but she is killed before he has a chance to do anything. He finds her sister instead, and has to deal with her as he tries to bring in those who killed her. It's a pretty exciting story, with lots of good description, and OK characterization. The MacGuffin is not so interesting and a bit too convoluted for me, but it was an enjoyable enough read. I haven't read Hamilton before, and this book was about enough for me.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again Matt Helm the book character is cold, calculating, meticulous, and incredibly observant and well trained (most of the time). This time he's after a double agent, a girl who he met in the first book. She's flipped and gone to work for the Russians, and atomic bomb testing is mixed into the plot as well.

Its well written, for the most part, but falls into a dreadful cliche of the hero being knocked out but inexplicably left alive for the villain to monologue to about his plans, so he can escape and act on this unnecessarily detailed information.

[D. E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

TH has penned a Matt He!m, ex government agent, novel where he takes a trip into the mountains of New Mexico, with the wrong woman, to visit an old abandoned church. MH. had no idea what he is about to get into because his ex partner has not told him the whole story. The trip into the mountains is simple compared to the surprise that awaits their arrival. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS

[Josh Hitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might rate it a 4.5 but its a great novel. A fast pace secret agent story after a man that just so happens to be involved with a plot that could blow up a bunch of people. Helm is a great hard edged character and Hamiliton writes with a nice fast style with great dialouge.

Highly recommended, my fourth read in the series and so far enjoyed them all immensely.

[Andy Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I have got the idea with this series. This seems a pretty straightforward early sixties nuclear testing hijack story, again set in the rural US. Matt Helm's cool demeanor is perhaps getting a little too dull and humourless. Maybe I should take a break and get back to some Bond.

[Andreas Acevedo Dunlop Strom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a return to form after a slightly disappointing third book. More of the same, really - Helm getting involved with a woman we don't know if can be trusted, Helm being a complete bastard to most people he meets and Helm beating up and/or killing the bad guys. What's not to like?

[David Makepeace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun Matt Helm book.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a big seller at the time and turned into a movie (loosely), this isn't one of the better Matt Helm books. In this book Hamilton seems to be channeling Richard Prather.

[Bruce Nieminski · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10
224 pages

[David Knox · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Matt Helm book I've read since high school. Enjoyed but surprised at some interesting character aspects that I did not remember.