Final Fling

The story, without spoilers

In the mid-1960s, Jane Moneypenny and Bond try to identify a mole inside the Secret Intelligence Service. Defection scandals and changes at the top threaten her access to help. Decades later, her niece Kate Westbrook looks into the circumstances of her aunt's death.

The third diary combines Moneypenny's own danger with a later investigation into its aftermath. The two time frames make the conclusion a question about what happened to the person behind the diaries as well as the intelligence case she was trying to solve.

Can I start here?

Read Guardian Angel and Secret Servant first. This is the trilogy's conclusion, and both Moneypenny's personal history and the framing investigation are more useful with the earlier books behind you.

What stands out

The later inquiry by Kate Westbrook gives the final book a second line of suspense. It is the closing novel of Weinberg's trilogy; Secret Chapters is a separate collection of shorter pieces.

Who wrote it

Weinberg, an award-winning non-fiction writer, became the first woman to write official Bond-world fiction with the diary sequence that includes Final Fling. She uses Kate Westbrook as its fictional editor and pen name.

Where it fits in Bond’s life

Final Fling follows Jane Moneypenny’s Cold War world alongside the familiar service. Read the diary trilogy in publication order; the changing viewpoint is more useful than forcing each volume between Fleming novels.

Content notes

Adult readers. Defection, a mole hunt, death, threats to an investigator and adult espionage.

Setting

• Britain in the mid-1960s
• Kate Westbrook’s later investigation

Main characters

Jane Moneypenny, James Bond, M, Kate Westbrook.