James Bond is back in a way I couldn’t have anticipated. Kim Sherwood expands the universe of the legendary 007 with modern heroes and threats alike, compounding the world of spycraft with grittiness second to none.
The story opens up with a devastating bomb blast in London, the saving grace being the quick work of Double Os on the scent of the sophisticated terrorists. Given carte Blanche to hunt down the enemy, MI6 agents Joseph Dryden, 004, and Conrad Harthrop-Vane, 000 are assigned to follow the money trail all over the globe, some places swarming with eccentric billionaires and some pulsing with violence. At the same time, Johanna Harwood, 003, is picking up James Bond’s trail as he disappeared at the hands of the insidious private military company Rattenfänger. As the investigations tighten the noose on the antagonists, it becomes harder to trust anyone, especially the Double O’s. After all, who else can pose a bigger threat than those trained to subvert the greatest of threats?
A Spy Like Me is a terrific espionage narrative right off the bat. Sherwood tackles this grand worldwide conspiracy with both panache and an emotional rawness that works best in spy thrillers where you appreciate the fast-paced shiny cool spycraft as well as the high emotional stakes and broken souls that propel characters to step into the abyss in the first place. Each Double O is given their fair share of spotlight and each shines with unique flairs. Dodging bullets, treachery, and one pounding mystery after another, each Double O reaches a tipping point that drastically changes the playing field for all. Ultimately, Sherwood captures the entangled plotlines in a stupendous combination of emotion and action with the right balance between lethality and humanity in the protagonists to make you root for them as they wade in the seas of danger.
A Spy Like Me is an enthralling spy narrative that beautifully inaugurates the spy-savvy world of Bond in today’s era of misinformation and societal unrest. To add even more flavor to the delicious main course, the story ends with a chilling cliffhanger. When I say the cliffhanger will shock you to your core, I mean that it truly will give you a buzz. Sherwood sure knows how to set up a daunting next chapter and it’s one that shakes the foundation of what we’ve expected from this new series.
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