Forever and a Day

Marseilles, 1950: a British secret agent, the original 007, is found dead, killed by three bullets while investigating the activities of Corsican drug lords. His newly minted successor, James Bond, takes both the number and the responsibility of solving his murder. Novelist and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz (The Word Is Murder; The Magpie Murders) vividly imagines Bond's inaugural assignment, complete with a mysterious woman and enigmatic associates, in his second Bond novel, Forever and a Day.

Horowitz draws on well-established facets of Bond's image: his gambling, his fondness for women and alcohol, his ability to keep a cool head under pressure. This Bond is a bit unsure, though, at least internally: he's a war veteran, but still untested as an agent. His encounters with "Sixtine," a Frenchwoman who makes her living selling information, serve to highlight his inexperience and sharpen his sense of danger.

As he investigates his predecessor's death, Bond (with Sixtine) finds himself probing the local heroin trade, whose supply has suddenly dried up. An American agent working the case gives Bond helpful information, though like most of the characters, he may or may not be what he seems. The narrative slows down at times to provide exposition, though the last several chapters--involving an American tycoon, a sumptuous yacht and a Corsican mobster who speaks only via his translator--barrel along at a breakneck pace. Longtime Bond fans or those who simply enjoy a good thriller will find much to enjoy here, including a martini or two (shaken, not stirred). --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

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