The Removers

Matt Helm, Book 3

By: Donald Hamilton

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

The third installment in the legendary Matt Helm thrillers

A year after having been reactivated as a spy, Matt Helm receives a message from his ex-wife asking for his aid. The threat is an enemy agent named Martel, disguised as a mob hit man. To protect his family, Helm must remove the threat before his own children pay the ultimate price.

Originally released in the era of the James Bond novels, the Matt Helm novels were considered grittier and more realistic than Bond, garnering them critical praise and ardent fans.

©1961 Donald Hamilton (P)2014 Skyboat Media

greatest spy novels ever written superb actor

If you could sum up The Removers in three words, what would they be?

thrilling and convincing

Who was your favorite character and why?

Matt Helm is, I think by far the most interesting and believable man imagined as the central character in any series of detective or spy or crime novels.

What does Stefan Rudnicki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice is superbly suited to the characters and when he speaks the dialogue it lives.

Any additional comments?

I hope that rudnicki gets round to The Interloper, The Intriguers, and The Intimidators, 3 classic espionage novel that feature Matt Helm

Perfectly paced. Excellent thriller.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Removers to be better than the print version?

Didn't read the print but the narrator really added to my experience.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Removers?

A scene with Agent Paul. It reaffirms Matt Helm's callousness, pragmatism and professionalism. This is important because whenever Matt is in trouble or off balance you believe it. He does not go for any of the typical weaknesses of "heroes". Not one. When Matt worries, you worry. I never felt like he was cold just to be cool. He always feels human. Just a rare type of human.

Have you listened to any of Stefan Rudnicki’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listened to him in other Matt Helm novels. His performance should be celebrated. He has a very masculine and intelligent projection. He speaks like the character telling you about his life not a narrator telling you a story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The line that was to the effect of "she conceded to get raped when she didn't shoot". Super cold in a very real way. It was a commentary on people not willing to do what they have to and then being displeased with the situations they end up in.

Any additional comments?

This was a good one. Perfectly paced. The tension explodes and is resolved in a fantastic manner. The conclusion just sort of happens. Things get wound up really tight and it just breaks. A lot of storys have that "HERE IT COMES" feeling. Matt Helm novels just winds up tighter and tighter and tighter. You never know when its going to snap but when it does... wow.

Quite gritty. No flourish. I found myself REALLY feeling up and down with the characters because everything was so realistic. Real hate. Real need. Real violence. Real plight. None of it could be written off as silly or fantastic feeling.

excellent!

look ,let's face t, this is an excellent spy book, and read exactly the way a Matt Helm book should be read! this really is a d--n good job,Helm fans should love 💘 this audio version of the novels! very high quality !!

The Matt Helm series is great.

This series is great spy novels at its best a little gritty somewhat unpredictable and enjoyable to listen to on audible the reader has a great voice for this type of work. Fun summer stuff. I love to mix up light Fiction with histories and current events. This is a perfect series and this book was excellent

The removers

Hey...this was pretty good! the characters were very colorful and different from what I would have thought they'd be.

Words have changed meaning

Really enjoy the series, but the word rape have changed a lot in meaning since then, any way it can be replaced with something suitable to our time, like ravage?

Enjoyed I really got into the listen

Great overall story line. A little wordy.
I’m going to follow the series. Lots of plots.

Getting better

I found the first two titles in the Matt Helm series disappointing. This, the third in the series, is more engaging. Perhaps the author is finally hitting his stride here. There are some plot howlers and other silliness that you have to look past. For example, the hero is capable of going for days without sleep. Suffering a concussion, and drinking a great deal of booze, do not impair his mental clarity or physical reflexes. On the other hand, the plot does put me on the edge of my seat eager to find out what will happen next. And that's the main reason for reading suspense fiction, so this book delivers where it counts.

Predictable

For me this was predictable and somewhat lazy. Characters with too many aliases. It was ok just glad it was in the plus section!

A Blast from the Past

These Matt Helm books hold up surprisingly well, considering they're such perfect little cold war time capsules. I remember when they were new, and I still love them after all these years. And I think from now on I'm going to hear them in Stefan Rudnicki's voice, even when I read them on paper.

Good Story

One of the better books as it is short and takes place over a short time period. The story might have been better if it hadn't relied on the ex wife marrying another similar character. Good story and worth a listen.