Book Review: Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz

Aside from a few movie novelisations (do they count, really?), Trigger Mortis is the first James Bond novel that I’ve read. Picking up directly after Bond has dealt with Goldfinger, the opening chapters of the book deal with 007’s relationship with Pussy Galore, the lesbian gangster who featured prominently in Goldfinger. It turns out that she followed Bond back to London and they two are living together, not quite in marital bliss, despite objections from M and others at the Secret Service.

Despite Trigger Mortis being released just a week ago, this is Bond at his 1950s best, though Bond confronts things like lung cancer, has a conversation with a good friend who is an unashamed homosexual, and, of course, displays his unending hatred for the Russians. On this occasion, SMERSH are working with a Korean to try and get ahead in the all-important space race.

What interested me was the fact that an early section of the book was actually attributed to Ian Fleming, the man who created 007 (and would probably be amazed if he were alive to see the longevity of the womanising British secret agent, both in film, book and gaming) and had written, for a TV show that never got off the ground, a few hundred words about Bond in a car race in Germany.

From that snippet of plot detail came the rest of Trigger Mortis, and Horowitz, whom I didn’t know existed until I saw a newspaper article about this book, has done a good job staying true to Fleming’s bond. 007 is in fine form here, following the trail from the legendary Nürburgring circuit, where he stops a Russian attempt on the life of a champion British race car driver, through to the United States, and specifically in the subway network beneath New York City, where the final confrontation between Bond and the bad guy takes place.

The Korean mastermind, Sin, is a typical sadistic villain, up there with the best of them that Bond films and movies have ever produced. The Russians, of course, are floating around in the background, always looking for a way to undermine British and American interests. Other than Pussy Galore, there are other love interests for Bond – including the brilliantly named American agent Jeopardy Lane – and more than enough plot-twists, great gadgets and close escapes to keep me turning the pages.

In fact, Trigger Mortis wasn't an easy book to put down. The action and plot flowed nicely, and one never overpowered the other. The ending was gripping, and the entire scheme of Sin’s, working with the Russians, was more nuanced and layered than I’d been expecting.

Based on the reviews I’ve read, Trigger Mortis has been very well received by a lot of people, so hopefully Horowitz gets another chance to write a Bond adventure.