With a Mind to Kill: the action-packed Richard and Judy Book Club Pick (James Bond 007)

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I find that Horowitz has taken it upon himself to really deliver a decent spy/infiltrator novel with 007 starring and the ending was certainly to my liking. I would have liked to see where Fleming would have gone with his creation as the man died way too early. But this addition is certainly worthy and fits the times of the original 007 stories. I think this was the most high stakes mission Bond has ever been on and at some points I was genuinely frightened. But that goes to show how thrilling Horowitz’s writing is!! Double O Seven, James Bond, A Report (1964) • The James Bond Dossier (1965) • The Book of Bond (1965) • The James Bond Bedside Companion (1984) • Bond Girls Are Forever: The Women of James Bond (2001) • James Bond: The Man and His World (2005) • Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories (2006) At the same time, he knew, deep down, that love from Mary Goodnight, or from any other woman, was not enough for him. It would be like taking "a room with a view". For James Bond, the same view would always pall.

I’d expect this kind of lazy writing from older books that at least have the excuse of being “of a different time”, but not from a novel published today (although maybe because it’s set in the ‘60s, Horowitz is trying to stay true to the literary conventions of the time?). It���s just embarrassing to read more than anything.

Investigating a suspicious suicide in a tightly knit community, Bain wants to close the case and go home. Prompted by his daughter, Hannah, he digs deeper, unearthing a dark secret that binds three couples together. This doesn’t really feel that way. Is government agent by nature, in days before HR practice has catch-on on the suffering of the work force. Not nearly as ingenious as Horowitz’s meta-whodunits but well above average among post–Ian Fleming Bonds. WaMtK is a sequel to Fleming's final original novel The Man With the Golden Gun (James Bond #13 - 1965) and can also be read as an imagined end to the canon. That is the reason for my Ambiguous Ending Alert™, about which it would be a spoiler to say anything more.

This is set a couple of weeks after Fleming’s “Man with the Golder Gun”, Bond is recovering from brainwashing and an intense ordeal, and he is very much a damaged man. But a mission arises that may be vital to the safety of the Western world and, despite not being ready, Bond volunteers to put himself in the hands of the Russians, acting if the brainwashing is still in place. When a successful pop singer suddenly retires and comes home to Wales, not everyone applauds her decision. Then two of her closest business associates are murdered, and unless Bain can stop the killer, she may be next. It is M's funeral. One man is missing from the graveside: the traitor who pulled the trigger and who is now in custody, accused of M's murder - James Bond.The third Bond book from Anthony Horowitz and, sadly, it looks like it might be his last. I say sadly because the publishers finally found an author who “gets” the character of James Bond and the appropriate plots. Plagued with nightmares about the death of his wife—killed 12 years earlier by a drunk driver—Bain takes a leave of absence to seek revenge against the man who ruined his life. Bond recalls the multiple occasions when he was subjected to significant physical trauma, including his torture at the hands of Le Chiffre, the beating he took at the hands of the Spangled Mob and being put through an endurance course by Dr. No. Indeed, a subplot throughout the novel is Bond wondering how much more punishment he can possibly take and whether or not it's time to resign from the Service. Other regular actors included Gillian Elisa, Meic Povey and Geraint Lewis. Joining the regulars in the last series were Bryn Fôn, Ieuan Rhys, Huw Llyr and Elen Bowman. The series featured many guest spots from well known actors such as Margaret John, Ioan Gruffudd, Sue Jones-Davies, David Warner, Mark Lewis Jones, John Rhys-Davies, David Lyn, Archie Panjabi and Siân Phillips.

While Horowitz 007 was thinking about his past and who played a role in it towards which extend they played a role. You realise that this Bond is a very good 00 agent and does the job so well because he likes and enjoys the job. Some people are just like that.

This book follows up Anthony Horowitz's best-selling James Bond novels 'Trigger Mortis' (2015) and 'Forever And A Day' (2018). The Windsor Public Library stated that the series drew upon "Intricate plots, strongly drawn characters, and gritty authenticity", making it a "riveting Welsh drama series". [2] Eclipse Magazine said of the series; " A Mind To Kill is a dark and twisty show... CSI's ancestor. Murder is the most extreme human action and stories sometimes play out against the most extraordinary of circumstances, e.g. a Miners' Strike, when the traditional way of life of the community is already under threat." Katya Leonova is a far more rounded Bond lady than the norm for these novels, and Horowitz, I think, does well to make her changes of view and emotions believable. As for the villains? They’re all, quite rightly, thoroughly nasty bastards!

Philip Madoc is a very dependable actor and he plays his character, DCI Noel Bain, very well with a touch of humour. The sub-plot has him a widower with a late-teenage daughter and there is also a consistent thread of other sub-plots in and around the police station.

Bond was being abused and he thoughts of quitting. He should quit. Let someone else who hasn’t suffered so much to carry on this work. Being good at his work should make him feel appreciate and treasured as a good employee. Bain goes undercover at a seedy seaside resort to investigate a young woman's murder. Then Hannah shows up for her own holiday, much to her father's chagrin. Abandoned by his ambitious father and left to care for his mentally ill mother, the son of a local politician vows revenge. Bain follows a trail of fire to learn the truth about the family's past.