COLD

The story, without spoilers

The destruction of Flight 229 at Washington Airport kills hundreds of passengers, including Sukie Tempesta, once Bond's lover and still his friend. Investigating the bombing becomes a personal mission. The search takes Bond through a complex international trail towards an organised threat.

This is Gardner's last Bond book. Returning personal connections and the accumulated history of his version of 007 make the concluding position useful: the immediate crime is clear, but readers arriving from the preceding adventures have more context for the people around Bond.

Can I start here?

Save it until after Never Send Flowers and SeaFire, or read the whole Gardner sequence first. The aircraft bombing is understandable on its own, but a final instalment is a less useful introduction than Licence Renewed.

What stands out

The personal loss gives the investigation its urgency. It is also the closing book of Gardner's long Bond run, making it the natural destination for readers following his original novels in publication order.

Who wrote it

Gardner had created the comic spy Boysie Oakes before the Fleming estate invited him to bring Bond into the 1980s; he later wrote COLD. His run contains fourteen original novels and two film adaptations.

Where it fits in Bond’s life

COLD is Gardner’s original Bond novel 14 of fourteen. In COLD, Gardner’s updated Bond operates after the original Fleming era. No precise neighbouring Fleming mission is given.

Content notes

Adult readers. A mass-casualty aircraft bombing, bereavement, extremist threats and violence.

Setting

• Washington Airport
• An international investigation

Main characters

James Bond, Sukie Tempesta.