Nice. Nothing exciting, but three good stories - and good-hearted, a nice antidote to the previous book's worth. The Girl from the Future - a nicely-designed scam, on a very deserving victim. At least, we're told he's deserving - it seems Modesty and Willie are taking hearsay, but they did meet him - and they trust John Dall's judgement, too. The Big Mole - interesting, and just a _trifle_ too convenient. Gerald's cottage, Kerr showing up, Mrs. F.'s experience, the reenactment, Sophie...well, without Sophie there wouldn't have been any start to the story, so I suppose she was needed. But a lot of other things are excessively convenient. And Kerr seems to forget all about the 'anonymity is essential for S.A.S. personnel' - not just Modesty and Willie, but Mrs. F. and all the spectators. Still, fun story, especially with the glimpse into The Network (does Sammy Wan show up again? He keeps being the voice of doubt, in the flashback). Then the title story, Girl in the Dark - is this really Dinah and Steve's first appearance in the strips? There's a mention in The Girl from the Future that Modesty and Willie are meeting the Colliers at the end of their trip. I'd swear I'd seen them in the strips before. But since I started with the novels, it may be their several appearances there that are confusing me. This story is quite like A Taste for Death, as far as Dinah is concerned...she's called in to find a treasure, under threat. Here she's tricked into coming, and the threat shows up later. Thoroughly nasty villains, including (but not starring) Salamander Four. And again, a lot of coincidence, working both for and against the good guys. The art, in all three stories, is blurry in places - they may not have gotten very good-quality originals on a good many strips. It never obscures the words or what's being depicted, though, so not terrible. Enjoyable - no favorites here, but distinctly enjoyable. ( )