Dead Man's Handle cover

Dead Man's Handle

by Peter O'Donnell

This latest installment in the Modesty Blaise pulp-fiction series opens with Willie Garvin, Modesty's loyal lieutenant, rescuing a Hong Kong businessman from a Red Chinese jail. The thrills continue when Willie is kidnapped by Sibyl Pray and held prisoner at the Hostel of Righteousness, the headquarters for delusional terrorist Dr. Thaddeus Pilgrim, on the Greek island of Kalivari. The plot thickens as Willie is brainwashed into believing that Modesty has been killed and that he must kill her murderer—a woman who looks exactly like Modesty. When Modesty finds herself kidnapped and brought to Kalivari, she is forced to fight in deadly gladiatorial combat against Willie. Peppered with ingenious twists of fortune, varied and exotic locations, and a cast of fiendishly evil villains, this is a classic Modesty Blaise adventure.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?