Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz

Trigger Mortis
by Anthony Horowitz
Pages: 310
Date: September 8 2015
Publisher: Harper
Series: James Bond

Review
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0
Read: April 29 to 30 2016

This is something like my 51st or 52nd James Bond book I've read. But even so, I was reluctant to read this book. Several reasons - (1) I got the book for free, not normally an obstacle to my enjoyment, but why was this book, a James Bond book of recent vintage, free?; (2) it has been a rather long while since I read a Bond book; (3) the concept of Bond, his place in society, and his vaguely out-dated way with women had finally reached a breaking point years before I read this book. So . . . could I actually read this book here?

Well, attempt to read it I did. *shrugs* I mean, it was free, it was Bond, and I did have a challenge on GoodReads that would accept this book and so, I attempted it.

Unlike many of the non-Fleming Bond books, this one actually took place back in the time of Fleming's Bond - literally moments after the Goldfinger mission. The book actually opens up with him dealing with the aftermath of that mission (which includes having him have Pussy Galore in his apartment in London - because she needed to get away from the US authorities, the criminal element and stuff).

Goldfinger was released in 1959. I do not recall a date appearing in Trigger Mortis, but since the story takes place immediately after Goldfinger, I assume that the events taking place have to have occurred some time around 1959. There is mention of Eisenhower as the president, and mention of the Republicans in power, so 1959 works.

While dealing with the weird situation of actually having a woman in his apartment (he tries to keep his spy life separate from his London life), Bond is contacted by his superiors. Asked about his driving abilities. Apparently the Soviets have built a race car and they are going to be racing at a specific race track. One that has already claimed [insert some high number here] deaths.

All well and good, of course, but . . . SMERSH is involved. And they have apparently targeted the English race driver - the favorite in the race. So, the book turns to having Bond train to drive a race car (actually, retrain since he had apparently had some practice at that in the past). He is going to go undercover as some rich guy buying his way into the race, which apparently happens. He is going to use the lovely cover name of 'James Bond'. As an aside, this is one of the reasons I kind of always assumed Bond itself was a cover name - who the hell goes around and tells everyone asking his name 'Bond, James Bond' unless he's using the name itself as part of his cover? Both in terms of it not actually being his real name, and in terms of that's a name well-known in spy circles, with a rather big elite reputation. But, I'm getting off track here.

The car training/racing scenes were quite fun. Not a large part of the book, but still exciting. Then the story turns to the after-party for the car racers and hangers-on. Some action in a castle, meeting a woman there, stuff happens. Spy stuff, I mean.

The spy stuff there lead to spy stuff taking place in the USA directly connected to the USA space program. And a plan by enemies of the USA to impact the USA space program. Some exciting scenes here as well - in Virginia and New York. Mostly.

I was on edge throughout most of the book, tittering on the edge of 'is he going to do something now? Now? Now? To piss me off with his cave-man 'me-man, you-woman, obviously want to hump me' ways. But there were some surprises along the way. Some of which I doubt would have actually appeared in a book released in 1959/1960 (some elements of it, just not the full bits). Like how a woman Bond was eyeing, dodges his advances, and goes off with another woman. In a Bond book. And he didn't immediately rape her (sorry, overpower her) and show her what she was missing - man-wise (like, say, in most of his encounters with women - there's even a scene, the after party for the car racers, where Bond looks around in disdain. All the women were purring and eager for action. Bond turned his nose up at them - he needs a challenge, to overpower. Which goes along with Bond's character as shown in other works - like that one specific woman in a film who eagerly bounced around him and tried to hump him at every opportunity, and Bond kept kicking her away).

The action was interesting. The characters and events were 'Bond' like. Bond himself . . . hmms. I was thinking at the time that Bond was feeling vaguely off for some reason. As if someone in about 2014 or 2015 had the task of writing a Bond book, set back in the 'bad old days' aka Fleming's macho man days, while also knowing that they were writing a book to be released today. There's this vague vibe of 'need to show him looking macho, but not piss people off' type of vibe. That, actually, made Bond look less Bond like than he should have. But, whatever.

Good book. I enjoyed it.

April 30 2016