With a Mind to Kill
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- Create Date：2022-06-15 00:16:40
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Anthony Horowitz
- ISBN：1787333485
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Summary
It is M's funeral。 One man is missing from the graveside: the traitor who pulled the trigger and who is now in custody， accused of M's murder - James Bond。
Behind the Iron Curtain， a group of former Smersh agents want to use the British spy in an operation that will change the balance of world power。 Bond is smuggled into the lion's den - but whose orders is he following， and will he obey them when the moment of truth arrives？
In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death， Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself。 But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be。
Behind the Iron Curtain， a group of former Smersh agents want to use the British spy in an operation that will change the balance of world power。 Bond is smuggled into the lion's den - but whose orders is he following， and will he obey them when the moment of truth arrives？
In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death， Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself。 But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be。
Reviews
Steve Payne
，
It’s 1964。 What is it that former SMERSH agents in Russia want from James Bond？The Ipcress File meets From Russia， With Love， meets The Spy Who Loved Me， with a touch Hitchcock thrown in for good measure！ It’s a thoroughly gripping book of intrigue that I read in double-quick time。 It’s an easy and comforting read - flowing smoothly through its narrative and vividly described locales， has a memorable cast of characters， and ends very satisfactorily in much excitement， tension and emotion。Katya L It’s 1964。 What is it that former SMERSH agents in Russia want from James Bond？The Ipcress File meets From Russia， With Love， meets The Spy Who Loved Me， with a touch Hitchcock thrown in for good measure！ It’s a thoroughly gripping book of intrigue that I read in double-quick time。 It’s an easy and comforting read - flowing smoothly through its narrative and vividly described locales， has a memorable cast of characters， and ends very satisfactorily in much excitement， tension and emotion。Katya Leonova is a far more rounded Bond lady than the norm for these novels， and Horowitz， I think， does well to make her changes of view and emotions believable。 As for the villains？ They’re all， quite rightly， thoroughly nasty bastards！Any criticisms are minute – I can’t put my finger on it after one reading， but， for me， I didn’t quite feel at times that I was in the moment and atmosphere of 1964。 A re-reading may change this view， or reveal the answer。 Also， a real nit-pick here， would the Russians have chosen the rather not low-key location of Tower Bridge to carry out such a key manoeuvre in the novel？ Perhaps Mr Horowitz wishfully has one eye on a film adaptation？ [In my humble， it would indeed make for a much better film than the underwhelming soap opera mess that has been served out in the official film franchise these last many years！]。With a stronger story than his previous two， this is easily Anthony Horowitz’s best Bond novel; making it， for me， the best of all the non-Fleming Bond’s that I've read。 It flows logically and ends terrifically， better in fact than many of Fleming’s originals。 I don’t think endings were his thing。 One of my favourites， Dr No， was a wonderfully atmospheric book， but I think Fleming had had one too many gins on the veranda of Goldeneye in coming up with the great Dr’s demise！With a bit of luck， Horowitz’s statement in the afterword， ‘This book completes my James Bond trilogy…’ is just a bargaining tool for future books。 He clearly takes care， respects the character， and doesn’t stray too far from Fleming’s style and approach。 In fact， later in the afterword he says， ‘…this is almost certainly the last paragraph which I will ever write in a James Bond novel…’ So who knows？Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay is that Anthony Horowitz’s three Bond novels are the only ones I will add on the shelf next to my many times read Ian Fleming originals。 I hope this isn’t his last。 。。。more
Brent
，
I’ve really enjoyed the 3 Bond books Horowitz has written。 I felt he came close to Ian Fleming’s style。 Hate that this is the last Bond novel he’ll write。
Bobby Sullivan
，
I'm sad that this is Horowitz's last Bond novel。 He really hit his stride with this one。 I'm sad that this is Horowitz's last Bond novel。 He really hit his stride with this one。 。。。more
Dave
，
This is Anthony Horowitz's 3rd and sadly final James Bond novel。 I have enjoyed these very much。 His James Bond is set in the same time frame as Ian Fleming's Bond。 The 1960s。Unlike some other Bond writers， Horowitz does not try to please the fan of Bond films。 This is written for fans of the Fleming James Bond。 This story takes place directly after the events in Fleming's last novel The Man With The Golden Gun。 It follows up with the ideas presented in the first part of that novel。 I so enjoyed This is Anthony Horowitz's 3rd and sadly final James Bond novel。 I have enjoyed these very much。 His James Bond is set in the same time frame as Ian Fleming's Bond。 The 1960s。Unlike some other Bond writers， Horowitz does not try to please the fan of Bond films。 This is written for fans of the Fleming James Bond。 This story takes place directly after the events in Fleming's last novel The Man With The Golden Gun。 It follows up with the ideas presented in the first part of that novel。 I so enjoyed this one。At times it read very much like a Fleming Bond novel。Of the 3 Horowitz has written， this is by far the best-and I did enjoy the previous two。If you are a fan of the Fleming Bond novels， you should love this one。 。。。more
Richard
，
Love a Bond book and this read really well and was good to have it set amongst the original books with nods to those tales。 Colonel Boris is a fantastic but understated villain。 Bond has some action moments but again it is more a tale of intrigue than non stop action。 Good tale taking Bond back to his spy roots。
Jo-jean Keller
，
Lots of action， lots of blood but light on plot。
Glenda
，
I didn’t finish this one。 Loved the previous ones by this author but couldn’t get into this one。 James Bond should be left to Ian Fleming。
Jeannette
，
I just wasn't as thrilled with this book that I thought that I would be。 Very predictable scenerios and a predictable romance with the so called enemy。 I just wasn't as thrilled with this book that I thought that I would be。 Very predictable scenerios and a predictable romance with the so called enemy。 。。。more
Gregory
，
Simply okay。
travelsalongmybookshelf
，
With A Mind To Kill - Anthony HorowitzI’ve never read a James Bond novel。 There I’ve said it。 Not one， ever。 Watched all the films a trillion times， love a bit of James Bond but read one， nope。So when I was offered the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz， I jumped at it。This is set two weeks after The Man With The Golden Gun， the book， not the film。 It opens with M’s funeral and James Bond has killed him…。I know！ I was all ears with thisJames Bond ha With A Mind To Kill - Anthony HorowitzI’ve never read a James Bond novel。 There I’ve said it。 Not one， ever。 Watched all the films a trillion times， love a bit of James Bond but read one， nope。So when I was offered the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of With A Mind To Kill by Anthony Horowitz， I jumped at it。This is set two weeks after The Man With The Golden Gun， the book， not the film。 It opens with M’s funeral and James Bond has killed him…。I know！ I was all ears with thisJames Bond has been brainwashed by the Russians and sent to kill M。 We then flashback to find out what really happens， there are crosses and double crosses and Bond is sent back to the Russians on a mission。 What follows is just pure Bond， it had real vibes of From Russia With Love， an evil villain （ with a fantastic voice）， a beautiful woman who falls for Bond （obviously）， henchman， oodles of peril， subterfuge and high stakes drama。It was such a great book to listen to， voiced brilliantly by Rory Kinnear （who plays Tanner in the Daniel Craig films）， his portrayal of Colonel Boris was unnervingly good。 I know I loved it as I couldn’t stop telling my husband about it at every opportunity！ Bond is just right， gritty and cool， more Craig x Connery x Dalton and not a hint of Moore。 He is much more as I think Fleming would recognise and I suspect I will notice that on reading a Fleming novel。 The plotting was great， it’s really fast paced and exciting and I just wanted to keep listening。 This is a great way to read a Bond novel and one that I am certain to repeat in the future。 。。。more
Mehul desai
，
AvoidBarring a few twists this is a humdrum and boring book。 In line with today's ideas where communists are confined to the back benches and capitalism abounds。 Lot of any communism and Bond who is always wondering why he took up the job。 Unlike the past flamboyant Bond this one is a burn out。 Can easily skip buying this book。 AvoidBarring a few twists this is a humdrum and boring book。 In line with today's ideas where communists are confined to the back benches and capitalism abounds。 Lot of any communism and Bond who is always wondering why he took up the job。 Unlike the past flamboyant Bond this one is a burn out。 Can easily skip buying this book。 。。。more
Morgan
，
This felt cheesier than I expected。。。 for some reason， having watched some of the movies， I have gotten in the mindset of taking Bond a little too seriously。
Todd Glaeser
，
I’ve never read any of the original Bond novels。 I listened to this because I was impressed by Horowitz’s Sherlock Holmes pastiches。This novel， set in the 60’s， ends a bit more nihilistically than the films I am familiar with。
Ginger
，
I’ve decided I prefer watching Bond than reading Bond。
Eric Zulueta
，
This is Bond as he might have felt like after years of his exciting， albeit highly dangerous life。Without giving anything away， the ending left me wanting to know what happened next？？ I am hoping for a next book in this series， but sadly， the author declared that this is the last book in his trilogy。。。
Not-A-Linguist
，
I read Bond novels now more out of habit than any other reason。 I've read and own Horowitz two previous Bond continuation novels and it made sense to buy this one as well。 Its set straight after the man with the golden gun， and it's quite reliant on previous Fleming novels so some knowledge of his other adventures would go along way。Its probably not as good as Trigger Mortis， which I think was Horowitz best work， but it's leagues ahead of the lacklustre politically correct mess which was Forever I read Bond novels now more out of habit than any other reason。 I've read and own Horowitz two previous Bond continuation novels and it made sense to buy this one as well。 Its set straight after the man with the golden gun， and it's quite reliant on previous Fleming novels so some knowledge of his other adventures would go along way。Its probably not as good as Trigger Mortis， which I think was Horowitz best work， but it's leagues ahead of the lacklustre politically correct mess which was Forever and a Day （How on earth could he think he could get away with stealing the exact villain's plot from the live and let die movie is beyond me， let alone completely undo Bond's character arc in Casino Royale）。Horowitz still proves himself to being the master of Fleming's prose without ever feeling like pastiche。 His ability to recreate the horrors of everyday life in the Soviet Union was powerful and he created a tragic and memorable Bond Women in Katya Leonova。 The chapter detailing her backstory was really sad and quite moving。 Trigger Mortis had a great villain and a wonderful action packed finale。 This novel has a less memorable villain， but a wonderful plot and terrific chapters of tension。 I'm so glad Horowitz had the chance to write three Bond Novels and I eagerly look forward to reading the next writer's efforts。 （Perhaps give them a three or four book deal for them to create on going characters and an overarching story like Charlie Higson did with the Bond Novels）。 。。。more
Brian
，
Unfortunately I was Super underwhelmed - I found this book so half-baked and predictable， canned， contrived and superficial and derivative from very old spy plots。 I really enjoyed A。H。's previous 2 Bond novels。。。Bond made rookie mistakes that Bond would not make to fit the plot objectives。 Unfortunately I was Super underwhelmed - I found this book so half-baked and predictable， canned， contrived and superficial and derivative from very old spy plots。 I really enjoyed A。H。's previous 2 Bond novels。。。Bond made rookie mistakes that Bond would not make to fit the plot objectives。 。。。more
Dipra Lahiri
，
None of the usual high jinks that I expect from Bond， instead a quieter， more reserved game of Cold War intrigue， which I associate more with Le Carre。 Horowitz signs out of his 3 part Bond series with a lot of credit。
Andrew
，
Highly recommended。 Brilliant！ I've loved each of Horowitz's James Bond novels and it's a shame to read that he will stop with his third， 'With a Mind to Kill'， which is comfortably the best of the trilogy， clearing a very， very high bar。 Highly recommended。 Brilliant！ I've loved each of Horowitz's James Bond novels and it's a shame to read that he will stop with his third， 'With a Mind to Kill'， which is comfortably the best of the trilogy， clearing a very， very high bar。 。。。more
John
，
A James Bond story following Fleming’s The Man with the Golden Gun。 The trouble with an author writing as another author is that the reader is alerted to irrelevancies or overdoing it， such as details of the make and model of every car， especially of a gun。 Fleming didn’t overdo it， Horowitz appears to。 There’s the obligatory hornbag who comes … no spoiler！ The usual sadism especially in the villains but more so Bond himself than is usual I think。 Once you get into it， it’s quite a good story， r A James Bond story following Fleming’s The Man with the Golden Gun。 The trouble with an author writing as another author is that the reader is alerted to irrelevancies or overdoing it， such as details of the make and model of every car， especially of a gun。 Fleming didn’t overdo it， Horowitz appears to。 There’s the obligatory hornbag who comes … no spoiler！ The usual sadism especially in the villains but more so Bond himself than is usual I think。 Once you get into it， it’s quite a good story， rather spoiled by the cosmic-sized filmic effects we are used to: here the scale is smaller。 I still think Dr No my first read of Bond was the best， and in a way this is harking back to that in scope。 Everything Russian （except caviar and guns） is terrible， this Bond is not very likeable at all。 Good try Anthony H: you’re better than other Fleming imitators。 。。。more
Eddy Bryant
，
A great addition to the James bond series。 Anthony horowitz is probably the closest to Ian fleming as any of the writers that have taken up story。 Recommend to any James bond fan
Anna
，
Enjoyable but not as much as the other 2 in the series。 Might have been because I recently read Live and Let Die and didn’t enjoy at all。
Derrick
，
I have read Bond for years and enjoy them to different extents。 I've also read Horowitz for years enjoying those as well。 All that said， this one totally fell flat for me。 Horowitz took it to a different place than I expected for sure。 Instead of a 'blunt instrument' and the non thinking （long stretch） bond， this was a Bond that was in his head a lot of making mistakes。 Part of the Bond that I enjoy is that he does the right thing in the moment。 This one just felt off and I can't recommend to tr I have read Bond for years and enjoy them to different extents。 I've also read Horowitz for years enjoying those as well。 All that said， this one totally fell flat for me。 Horowitz took it to a different place than I expected for sure。 Instead of a 'blunt instrument' and the non thinking （long stretch） bond， this was a Bond that was in his head a lot of making mistakes。 Part of the Bond that I enjoy is that he does the right thing in the moment。 This one just felt off and I can't recommend to true bond fans， though maybe it's just me as it's been since Horowitz's last bond novel that I read。 。。。more
Houlahan houlahan
，
Slightly down on Trigger Mortis and Forever and a Day， to my mind。 Decent enough story but a bit too psychological for mine， delving into the depths of Bond's pysche etc。 Readable， but I prefer the mystery writing Horowitz to the pretend Fleming。 Slightly down on Trigger Mortis and Forever and a Day， to my mind。 Decent enough story but a bit too psychological for mine， delving into the depths of Bond's pysche etc。 Readable， but I prefer the mystery writing Horowitz to the pretend Fleming。 。。。more
Shaun Gregory
，
A Great addition to the James Bond Series of Novels。I loved this Third Bond Novel by Horrwitz。 I read it in three days。 Everything you'd expect from the Author， and some very unexpected twists。 I recommend this book to anyone who has a thirst for Espionage thrillers and Bond fans alike。Thoughrlly enjoyable， I don't want to give anything away as this would lesson the overall effect of this great slice of Cold War Espionage and thrilling tale。 A Great addition to the James Bond Series of Novels。I loved this Third Bond Novel by Horrwitz。 I read it in three days。 Everything you'd expect from the Author， and some very unexpected twists。 I recommend this book to anyone who has a thirst for Espionage thrillers and Bond fans alike。Thoughrlly enjoyable， I don't want to give anything away as this would lesson the overall effect of this great slice of Cold War Espionage and thrilling tale。 。。。more
Christine
，
2。5 -3 stars。 I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway。 I am more of an Anthony Horowitz fan than a James Bond fan but I did enjoy Horowitz's previous Bond installment Forever and a Day。 For me， With a Mind to Kill was a mixed bag - the story was solid but a little underwhelming， and the writing was good but suffered from too much "tell" and not enough "show。" I feel like I probably would've enjoyed the book more if I had read the books Horowitz references in the beginning， as to better understan 2。5 -3 stars。 I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway。 I am more of an Anthony Horowitz fan than a James Bond fan but I did enjoy Horowitz's previous Bond installment Forever and a Day。 For me， With a Mind to Kill was a mixed bag - the story was solid but a little underwhelming， and the writing was good but suffered from too much "tell" and not enough "show。" I feel like I probably would've enjoyed the book more if I had read the books Horowitz references in the beginning， as to better understand what Bond went through before and how he got to where he is。 。。。more
Jeremy M。 Gustafson
，
I was so excited to finally read a new James Bond novel。 It did not disappoint。 With its connections to the Fleming books， continuation premise， and thrilling reveals， it is a fun read。 It was reminiscent of "From Russia With Love，" but didn't quite sell the villainous plot or the villains themselves in the same delicious， yet disturbing fashion that Fleming was able to。 I've always enjoyed the addition of real world people into the stories; Gardner did it in "Seafire，" and Benson did it in one I was so excited to finally read a new James Bond novel。 It did not disappoint。 With its connections to the Fleming books， continuation premise， and thrilling reveals， it is a fun read。 It was reminiscent of "From Russia With Love，" but didn't quite sell the villainous plot or the villains themselves in the same delicious， yet disturbing fashion that Fleming was able to。 I've always enjoyed the addition of real world people into the stories; Gardner did it in "Seafire，" and Benson did it in one of his short stories; so that was a nice touch。 SPOILERS:I love that this takes place after "The Man With the Golden Gun" as well as incorporating ideas from "From Russia With Love，" and "You Only Live Twice。" Beyond that we get multiple references to Fleming's other Bond books。 The story is a great thriller that deals with the fallout and the hypnosis subplot of "The Man With the Golden Gun。" James was 'mind-raped' and mesmerized to kill M。 This storyline is dealt with rather quickly and used as a launching point for TMWTGG; leaving untapped potential for a broader story。 That's what "With a Mind to Kill" tapped into。 I do wish that Horowitz spent more time with the villains and their elaborate plot， like Fleming did with "From Russia With Love。" This would have shown us the lengths they were going to。 He mentions a back up plan （a deeply hidden 'trigger' that Bond won't be able to reject）， but then the time comes and Bond relatively simply rejects it。 The female lead is interesting and a nice departure from the femme fatale or damsel in distress。 She actually saves Bond and is horrifically killed in front of him。 This could've been fertile ground for some deep retrospection and philosophical monologue or even dialogue， a la 'Casino Royale。' Horowitz tries， but doesn't really do it justice。 The ambiguous ending is another aspect reminiscent of 'From Russia With Love。' I think it is a great way to end it and to end Fleming's Bond。 I consider the official James Bond canon to be "Forever and a Day，" Fleming's 14 books， and then "With a Mind to Kill" as the final story。 I don't think we needed "Trigger Mortis。" What are your thoughts？ 。。。more
Iain
，
The final book in Horowitz's Bond trilogy， picking up after Fleming's final novel， The Man with the Golden Gun。 As with his previous Bond books， this reads and feels like a Fleming book， Horowitz perfectly mimicking the style of the originals， with plenty of back references to earlier books too。 Most impressive， particularly as the style is so different from Horowitz's other writing。 Grounded in the Cold War and in Russia and East Berlin， it lacks a little of the glamour of some of the other boo The final book in Horowitz's Bond trilogy， picking up after Fleming's final novel， The Man with the Golden Gun。 As with his previous Bond books， this reads and feels like a Fleming book， Horowitz perfectly mimicking the style of the originals， with plenty of back references to earlier books too。 Most impressive， particularly as the style is so different from Horowitz's other writing。 Grounded in the Cold War and in Russia and East Berlin， it lacks a little of the glamour of some of the other books， but feels like a classic 60s spy novel。 A shame Horowitz has decided to pass on the Bond novels for the foreseeable future。 。。。more
Zlatko
，
I'm not a fan of this one。 Sure it's Bond， but there isn't a single character I cared about。 I'm not a fan of this one。 Sure it's Bond， but there isn't a single character I cared about。 。。。more
Ryan
，
Finished it in two days， it's a perfect weekend beach read and a wonderful Bond novel。 Fleming would be proud。 Finished it in two days， it's a perfect weekend beach read and a wonderful Bond novel。 Fleming would be proud。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=With a Mind to Kill
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=With a Mind to Kill&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,With a Mind to Kill&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0