Thunderball by Ian Fleming

Summary

A whole month of paper-pushing left James Bond bored. Bored to the point where the only excitement came from excess. Too many late night drinks when too much had already been consumed. And worse, letting his bridge partner down with reckless play. Fortunately, or otherwise, depending on whether you were observing or taking part, M has the answer. He has been taken with ‘natural’ living and demands that 007 takes it up – that is if he wants to retain his Double O status.

Which is when Bond’s life is saved by Ernst Blofeld! One of his men takes exception to 007’s curiosity, makes his point but is incapacitated by Bond’s response. That man is no longer dependable, but he is expendable, even though Blofeld and SPECTRE are about to pull off a one hundred million pound extortion. Who could have that sort of money? Only Governments. And only the theft of part of their nuclear arsenal would warrant such a monumental pay-off for its safe return.

With only a matter of days to find the hijacked weapons, Bond visits the Bahamas; where else? Plays chemin-de-fer at the local casino, steals the ‘baddie’s’ girl, follows some treasure hunters and takes a swim in crystal clear waters. All of which leads him to the nuclear bombs. Anything less and he just wouldn’t be 007.