Quantum of Menace

The story, without spoilers

Major Boothroyd, better known as Q, has been dismissed from MI6 and returns to Wickstone-on-Water. His childhood friend Peter Napier, a quantum-computing scientist, has died in troubling circumstances. A cryptic note draws Q into an investigation the police seem unwilling to pursue.

Khan transfers a familiar supporting character into the lead of a mystery. Q's technical background remains relevant, but the starting world is a small town and a friend's death rather than the preparation of equipment for Bond's next assignment.

Can I start here?

Yes. This is the first Q Mystery and supplies its own post-MI6 starting point. Knowing Q is enough background; no earlier continuation novel is required.

What stands out

The technical specialist becomes the investigator, which is the important change of viewpoint. Choose it if you want a mystery led by Q rather than another Bond mission or a Double O team thriller.

Who wrote it

Khan, the Baby Ganesh and Malabar House crime novelist, was commissioned to give Q his own mystery series, beginning with Quantum of Menace. The new series moves the quartermaster out of MI6.

Where it fits in Bond’s life

Quantum of Menace follows Q after his MI6 career in Khan’s contemporary mystery series. This is a new strand of the Bond world, with no immediate Fleming novel on either side.

Content notes

Adult readers. A suspicious death, threatening forces and danger around advanced technology.

Setting

• Wickstone-on-Water Fictional

Main characters

Major Boothroyd, Q, Peter Napier, The local police.