The Terrorizers

By: Donald Hamilton

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The survivor of a plane crash wakes up in a hospital in Canada, his memory a blank. Then in walks Kitty, a gorgeous woman, who tells him that he is Paul Madden, a photographer and her fiancé. Not bad. Except that a man on the phone keeps calling him Matt Helm. 

Things don’t add up. This can only mean trouble....

©2015 Donald Hamilton (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing and Skyboat Media, Inc.

The Bourne Inspiration?

This book has striking similarities to Robert Ludlum’s novel The Bourne Identity. Hamilton’s book was published 3 years prior. Matt Helm has lost his memory following a near drowning, he has to rediscover his identity (including his name) while surprising himself with his own skill at busting the heads of the shadowy evildoers who are pursuing him. And so on.

It’s an excellent thriller, I recommend it whether you’re a Ludlum fan or not. The fundamental difference is that the Matt Helm series is narrated in the first person, while Ludlum uses the third person for Bourne. First person works better for this scenario, IMO.

My suggestion: start the series from the beginning. This one will serve as a good sampler, however.

Stefan Rudnicki's performance is ideal, as usual.

Helm!

Always a great read/listen. Audible needs to speed up publishing the rest as soon as possible.

The Bourne Identity 4 years BEFORE Ludlum's book

Quite possibly the BEST Matt Helm thriller book in the lengthy series, The Terrorizers keeps the reader on his/her/hix toes with constant actions and plots that interweave and finally unravel in a satisfactory conclusion. Stefan Rudnicki is, as always, the perfect narrator. TWO THUMBS UP

Fun Read

I never knew what would come next. He had his choice of girls. Not all of them lasted.

Possible Jason Bourne inspiration

Interesting but one of the clunkier stories in this series.
Mysogyny a little less in this one and main characters racism a bit higher

All the Matt Helm books are Epic!!!

Very much enjoyed the story and the
narratordid his usual magnificent job!

All Star Job!

Yet another solid entry in the Matt Helm canon

always fun to return to the world of Matt Helm, this time with a different type of adversary. But, and this isn't the writers fault perhaps, writing when he did, (WARNING very mild spoiler for early chapters) but the amnesia story line felt overused and a little trite. Only reason it wasn't a 5 star all the way from me.

Helm's Kitty!

Now for something different. The small freighter, Island Prince fished Helm out of the water in Hecate Strait near British Columbia, Canada. Helm had the misfortune to crash in a chartered bush plane. The pilot, Herb Walters was presumed dead. The freighter dropped Helm off at their next stop and a helicopter took him to Prince Rupert Regional Hospital. Helm suffered from a knock on the head and didn’t remember much, including who he was. Catherine “Kitty” Davidson, a pretty young woman, showed up claiming the title of fiancée and proceeded to convey the 411 on who he was; Paul H. Madden, a freelance photographer from Seattle. Sally Wong, the young woman from the plane charter, showed up and filled in some more information about Paul Madden and the bush plane charter. Evidently, Paul Madden had a bit of a fling with Sally as well. Paul, err… Helm, was released from the hospital and saddled with the task of figuring out who he was. So much for the setup of the story. Helm was captured, of course, his usual method to find the enemy and gather information. Helm’s amnesia persisted and had him making decisions you would have never thought possible, but like all good things, they come to an end. As we round the turn heading towards the final stretch of the series, unusual events may take place. This is one of the more interesting novels.

he almost got away with

hey almost got away with it to get out of the racket to have a peaceful life and not remember anything but you know how that turns out very good books

Inventive fiction

It’s fun to follow Matt into a new adventure especially since it reflects in a forward backwards way onto the Bourne story. Yes maybe Ludlum read and was inspired by this or maybe who cares? It’s a fun and entertaining story you will be happy you didn’t miss.

Better than most Helm books

The fact Helm has lost his memory seems to improve the book as he isn't so full of himself to the detriment of the story. The plot is actually not bad and I can't think of another Helm book that flows as well. His character is dated and so is the language.