Diamonds are Forever

Diamonds are Forever by Ian Fleming, 218 pages

At first I thought I would have to wait a couple weeks to read this novel as our patrons seemed to conspire against me. Despite having four copies of this novel in the system all of them disappeared a couple days before I went looking for them. Luckily I managed to find it in a collection of Bond works.

Having finished the fourth James Bond book by Ian Fleming, I think Fleming has established a theme with card games and gambling. In all except Live and Let Die there have been high stakes card games and or other gambling. In Casino Royale it was roulette and baccarat. Moonraker had bridge and a couple other card games. And finally Diamonds are Forever has horse racing, slots, blackjack, and roulette. Of course Bond comes out ahead on anything involving lots of money.

In Diamonds are Forever James is selected to replace a smuggler and bring some diamonds into the United States for some American gangsters. His escort from the mob is an attractive Tiffany Case. Naturally Bond develops a crush and wants to get her out of the mob business. Throughout this thrilling story Bond travels from Britain to New York and across the United States trying to unravel a multinational diamond smuggling ring. All of this leads to a climatic final that has plenty of shooting and explosions.

There is a movie with the same title, but the only similarities are the names and that Bond goes to Las Vegas.