Strike Lightning

The story, without spoilers

At Fettes College, a death described as an accident looks to James like murder. His search for the truth leads across Europe towards a new weapon and a warmonger prepared to use it. Former Eton schoolmate Perry Mandeville helps him confront the danger.

The school connection gives the investigation a personal starting point, while the experimental weapon expands it into an international threat. This is Cole's third Young Bond novel and the eighth novel in the combined Higson–Cole sequence.

Can I start here?

Read Cole's Shoot to Kill and Heads You Die first. SilverFin remains the best start for the complete series. Continue from this investigation to Cole's final book, Red Nemesis.

What stands out

Fettes changes the school setting while Perry provides a link back to Eton. Choose it for a suspected school murder that develops into a weapon-driven adventure beyond Britain.

Who wrote it

Cole, a former children’s editor and the Astrosaurs author, took over Young Bond from Higson and wrote Strike Lightning. He began his four-book run with Shoot to Kill in 2014.

Where it fits in Bond’s life

Strike Lightning is book 3 in Steve Cole’s Young Bond run. These adventures take place during Bond’s youth, before his adult career and Casino Royale.

Content notes

Older children and teenagers. A disturbing death, murder, traps, threatening experiments and weapons development.

Setting

• Fettes College, Edinburgh
• Continental Europe

Main characters

James Bond, Perry Mandeville, The warmonger behind the weapon.