Matt Helm Books in Order

Former wartime assassin Matt Helm has settled into family life in Santa Fe until an old contact and a kidnapped daughter drag him back into killing. The quiet citizen dies fast.

Recalled to full duty, Helm heads to Sweden under a photographer's cover to hunt the slippery Caselius. The mission looks clean until betrayal, pursuit, and cold weather turn it vicious.

A plea from Helm's ex-wife pulls him back toward the family life he already lost. To save them from an enemy agent, he has to fight in close and dirty.

Ordered to rough up a fellow agent to protect her cover, Helm accidentally kills her instead. Now he has to finish her Chesapeake Bay assignment while his own side begins hunting him.

When a female agent in Mexico is killed before he can extract her, Helm teams with her sister. Together they chase a plot that puts scientists and politicians in the crosshairs.

In Costa Verde, Helm completes one killing only to uncover a bigger threat, a missing Soviet missile and an ex-Nazi with grand plans. Jungle politics and uneasy alliances make the hunt even deadlier.

Sent to Canada, Helm uncovers a scheme to bring a Soviet submarine within range of the United States. The cold setting suits a mission that keeps tightening around him.

Helm is sent after Emil Taussig, who is stalking scientists and world leaders ahead of a possible Soviet strike. It is a taut chase built on surveillance, counter-surveillance, and nerve.

In Britain and the Scottish Highlands, Helm goes after a mad scientist planning a new Black Plague. Cover identities, bad roads, and double games make the job even nastier.

What starts as a Hawaiian holiday turns into a collision with an old enemy. Helm has to stop a plan that could push the Vietnam War toward something much larger.

Strange flying saucers bearing U.S. markings are attacking sites in Mexico, and Helm is told to escort the key witness to Washington. The hard part is keeping her from enemy hands, and possibly from his own side.

With an election approaching, Mac learns a top enemy assassin may be hired to kill the winner. Helm goes after the killer while the politics around him grow dangerously unstable.

When a young agent from an earlier mission is murdered, Helm is sent to find out why and who did it. The trail leads to a much larger scheme than simple revenge.

This time the trouble is closer to home. Helm and his boss Mac turn inward to battle hostile forces inside their own government.

Helm's two-part assignment starts with killing an enemy agent and widens into a Bermuda Triangle mystery. Missing wealthy travelers, boats, and bad intentions keep the tension high.

A private vendetta against Big Oil tries to hijack Mac's organization for murder and sabotage. Helm gets caught between personal grief, corporate targets, and deadly work on the water.

A fellow operative is killed during an attempt on a Mexican general, and Helm has to finish the job. Worse, the people chasing him are supposed to be on his side.

Injured and half-lost with amnesia in Canada, Helm has only instinct to keep him alive. He must piece himself back together before a terrorist plot gets away from him.

Someone starts killing Helm's old friends and contacts. At the same time, he has to shield a journalist threatening to expose the secret world he lives in.

The murder of a close friend sends Helm back to Costa Verde, where revolution is already in motion. Personal revenge and national chaos become the same mission.

Helm is assigned to protect a female spy freshly released from prison. She may hold the key to a conspiracy aimed at the American government, or she may be setting him up.

An explosives expert is trying to build his own atomic weapon, and Helm is sent to stop him. Boats, bomb makers, and shifting loyalties keep the danger close.

While Mac is away on a rare solo mission, rivals inside the agency move against him. Helm has to stop an internal coup while dealing with kidnapping, family trouble, and Scandinavian fallout.

A terrorist bombing kills Helm's son, making this mission brutally personal. He goes after the Caribbean Legion of Liberty with grief, rage, and professional focus.

Helm impersonates a wealthy oil man to trace a hidden arms shipment before it can help topple Mexico's government. The setup is elaborate, but the violence lands hard.

Trying to live quietly in Santa Fe, Helm is pulled back when a drug lord orders a journalist's murder. Semi-retirement does not last long around Matt Helm.

Helm returns to seaborne work to hunt the son of Raoul Caselius from The Wrecking Crew. He also has to stop terrorists from bringing an atomic disaster to Norfolk.