No Deals, Mr Bond

The story, without spoilers

Two former agents from Operation Cream Cake are murdered. Bond is tasked with finding the surviving members before they suffer the same fate. The search takes him to Ireland and into a contest with the KGB, where protecting former operatives requires untangling old loyalties.

This is a rescue and counter-intelligence assignment rather than a straightforward assault on one villain. What happened during the earlier operation matters, and the present-day investigation gives Bond a network of people whose stories cannot all be accepted at face value.

Can I start here?

It can work as an individual mission, though Licence Renewed is the better introduction to Gardner's Bond. Read this for a Cold War network and double-crosses if those interest you more than a single technological threat.

What stands out

The surviving members of an old operation give the story its shape. Following a chain of vulnerable agents makes it a useful choice for readers who enjoy espionage built around contacts, cover and betrayal.

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 No Deals, Mr Bond. His run contains fourteen original novels and two film adaptations.

Where it fits in Bond’s life

No Deals, Mr Bond is Gardner’s original Bond novel 6 of fourteen. In No Deals, Mr Bond, Gardner’s updated Bond operates after the original Fleming era. No precise neighbouring Fleming mission is given.

Content notes

Adult readers. Murder, sexual entrapment in an intelligence operation, pursuit and violence.

Setting

• Ireland
• Kowloon, Hong Kong

Main characters

James Bond, The former Cream Cake agents, KGB operatives.