Cobra Trap

The final Modesty Blaise book is a collection of five novelettes and novellas covering the full span of Modesty Blaise's career, from the early days of the Network to Modesty and Willie coming out of retirement for one last caper. It's a fine collection for long-term fans, providing both new stories and closure for several long term story threads from the series. I don't think it's the ideal place for a new fan to start, because the references to events in earlier books may act as spoilers for those who haven't read those books yet, and the impact of the title story will be blunted for those who haven't had several books in which to become attached to the characters. It is however possible to enjoy these stories without ever having read show more any other Modesty Blaise books or the comic strip, and while ideally new readers should start with an earlier book in this series, they shouldn't be put off starting with Cobra Trap if it's the only one readily available to them.

The stories are classic Modesty Blaise. Once again O'Donnell demonstrates the appeal of a heroine and hero who are quite willing to go outside the law, but never to step outside their own moral code. For Modesty and Willie the ends do not justify the means. You know that the villains will lose in the end, but there will be no easy solution, and the good guys may well pay a high price for their victory. The stories are often hilarious, sometimes heart wrenching, and always thrilling to read. Some of the stories rely on the most outrageous coincidences, but with this level of writing there is no problem in suspending disbelief. This is a beautifully written and wonderfully entertaining book, and the final story is a bittersweet but emotionally right conclusion to the series. show less

Apparently the last "Modesty Blaise" fiction by Peter O'Donnell, this is a collection of five novellas. The first story, "Bellman", begins with Modesty's first glimmerings of her special relationship with Willie, and is a fine expansion of a comic strip episode in which the villain Bellman sets them up to be hunted and killed as his revenge. "The Dark Angels" is a typical straight adventure, but with a nice glimpse into the beginnings of Modesty's friendship with Tarrant. "Old Alex" is a bit of a mess, with many unbelievable coincidences linking together disparate events, although each bit in itself is memorable and well-handled. "The Girl With the Black Balloon" is a nicely-done bit of fluff. The final story, "Cobra Trap", is a show more standard adventure given resonance by the period (middle age for Modesty and Willie) and the fact of this being their final caper. It's not quite how I would have wished the closing of the storyline for them, but it is intriguing and moving. One moment in particular makes one think that perhaps Modesty has carried some regrets about the nature of her and Willie's relationship over the years. It was a difficult story to read, too short and sudden in its ending, and saddening to think that this is probably the last prose fiction we will see about this amazing couple. show less

This is definitely a collection that you should read only after you have read every other Modesty Blaise story. There are references to other stories, familiar characters, etc., but the most important matter is that it also contains Modesty Blaise and Willie Garwin's last adventure, which to me was made even more poignant by the knowledge that Peter O'Donnell passed away recently and there really will be no more stories by him.

Apart from the sadness of the last Modesty Blaise / Willie Garvin adventure, I very much enjoyed reading the collection. Their adventures never cease to entertain, whatever the setting.

A story collection rather than a novel, with five adventures spanning the career of Modesty and her lieutenant Willie Garvin from their early days in North Africa up to semi-retirement 40 years later.

The first story, 'Bellman', opens with a flashback to the days when Modesty ran The Network, a multinational criminal organisation based in Tangier. In 'The Dark Angels', Willie and Modesty are pitched against an infallible assassination ring sent to eliminate an American supermarket tycoon. In 'The Girl with the Black Balloon', a gang of kidnappers has been extorting millions from different governments, using the guise of different oddball organisations as cover. The final story, 'Cobra Trap', features a more mature Modesty and Willie, now show more in their 50s.

Full review on Past Offences show less

A story collection rather than a novel, with five adventures spanning the career of Modesty and her lieutenant Willie Garvin from their early days in North Africa up to semi-retirement 40 years later.

The first story, 'Bellman', opens with a flashback to the days when Modesty ran The Network, a multinational criminal organisation based in Tangier. In 'The Dark Angels', Willie and Modesty are pitched against an infallible assassination ring sent to eliminate an American supermarket tycoon. In 'The Girl with the Black Balloon', a gang of kidnappers has been extorting millions from different governments, using the guise of different oddball organisations as cover. The final story, 'Cobra Trap', features a more mature Modesty and Willie, now show more in their 50s.

Full review on Past Offences show less

A series of short stories covering different times in the life of Modesty Blaise for which I have much, much love for.

Really only read The Dark Angels which is one of the short-stories here but I found no specific entry for that one in the database so take the rating "2" for what it is.