1453 ( )

The Stone Age Caper is the first story - the story itself is quite good, if slight, but the title just doesn't fit. They disguise themselves as Australian 'abos' for a while - big whoop! Though it did cause some controversy, apparently, because abos don't wear anything above the waist - men or women. The 'show' is quite tame for these days but apparently it stirred things up a bit when first published. The story itself, as I said, is pretty minor - Mr. Wu Smith is interesting in how he reacts to Modesty, but the scam is minor, Damion is minorly nasty, and there's just not much to it. Actually, the most interesting part of it is the echoes of A Taste For Death - David Collins is quite similar to Steve Collier, Damion plays the same sort of games as the villain in Taste… mildly interesting. Next is the title story, The Puppet Master - again, most interesting for its book echoes, this time Dragon's Claw. In the book it's Willie who's mentally fiddled to attack Modesty on sight (also echoed in The Hell Makers); here it's Modesty who's fiddled, though it fails much the same way (recognition is faster than the engineered reflex to kill). The other interesting thing in here is the introduction of Maude Tiller, who also shows up in the books. I like her. Then the last story, With Love From Rufus, is really funny. Poor Modesty is seriously strung up between the right thing and the possible thing. The bad guy fortunately takes the matter out of her hands. I wonder if Willie ever got to discuss his safebreaking techniques with Rufus? He should, if only to upgrade the security on the flat… I'm glad he came to his senses, though. His skills shouldn't be ignored completely, but he's really not up to being a thief in the real world. ( )

Indeholder "Dukkeføreren" og "Hilsen fra Rufus".
Dukkeføreren er Dr. Hans Baum, som er hyret af Mahmoud for at slå Willie og Modesty ihjel på en meget udspekuleret måde. Maude Tiller hjælper Willie, da Modesty er blevet bortført.
Den anden historie handler om Inspektør Brooke's nevø, der er en genial juveltyv, men mest gør det for sjov. Modesty synes ikke at det er den karrierevej, han bør vælge.

Begge historier er gode og den sidste er endda morsom ( )

The first two stories are above average: "The Puppet Master", which uses a revenge scenario to portray Modesty's brainwashing into believing Willie is an enemy she must kill, while Willie single-mindedly tracks her down. A superior story that shows their devotion to one another, and introduces Maude Tiller, a favorite of mine. "With Love From Rufus" is a delightful bit of comic farce. The last entry, "The Blue Beard Affair", is a straight caper with Modesty and Willie trying to rescue Rene Vaubois' niece from a murderous husband. All three are marred by Romero's unsuited artwork, stiff and overly glamorous. ( )