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This month at the James Bond Book Club we’ve been reading Paul Warner’s A Spy in the Blood. We were thrilled to speak to the author himself to take a deep dive into the appeal of espionage fiction, his approach to writing, questions of nature versus nurture and we even got a hint of what’s in store for his next book…
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The James Bond Book Club Selection for July 2026 is A Spy in the Blood
Old spy, new tricks. This month we’re switching gears to a more current-day M16 and reading… A Spy in the Blood by Paul Warner.
OVERVIEW
Mark Wolfe used to be a top secret-agent for MI6. Now he spends his days sitting behind desk, recruiting new agents and watching the clock. He has nearly made it to retirement without his family even knowing about his life of espionage…
But when his daughter, Jodi, joins the service and vanishes on her first major mission, Mark has no choice but to step back into the shadows. This time, he’s not fighting for his country. He’s fighting for his family and the modern world of espionage is darker than the one he remembers.
WHY WE CHOSE IT
Published in January to widespread critical acclaim – including being named The Times‘ Thriller of the Month – A Spy in the Blood immediately stood out as a novel that would appeal to James Bond readers, while offering a fresh perspective on espionage and a new voice in the genre.
At its heart, the novel asks a deceptively simple question: what makes a great spy? Is exceptional tradecraft something that can be learned through training and experience, or are some people simply born with the instincts needed for the job? Paul Warner explores these ideas through the relationship between veteran MI6 officer Mark Wolfe and his daughter, creating a story that is as much about legacy and family as it is about espionage.
The novel also poses an intriguing thought for Bond fans. Ian Fleming’s Bond exists in a perpetual present, remaining roughly the same age throughout the novels. But what might happen when a legendary field agent reaches retirement? What scars would decades of espionage leave behind, and how would those experiences shape the next generation? While Mark Wolfe is very much his own character, his story offers a fascinating exploration of questions that Fleming’s Bond was never given the opportunity to answer.
Of course, alongside these thoughtful themes, A Spy in the Blood delivers everything readers expect from a modern espionage thriller: a compelling mystery, authentic tradecraft, shifting loyalties, and high-stakes action. It’s an intelligent, character-driven spy novel that feels both contemporary and rooted in the traditions of the genre, one we could not wait to get our hands on.
THEMES TO CONSIDER
– Nature vs. Nurture – Can the qualities that make someone a great spy be passed on or taught?
– Obedience – Which are more important, the vows you make to your family or the ones you make to your country?
– Realism – Is this a more or less realistic take on MI6 than Fleming’s?
REVIEWS
The Times – ‘Warner’s impressive debut wins the reader’s trust with its nuanced depiction of character, brisk handling of the action and sure grasp of the cost to spies of a life of deception and betrayal’
David Goodman – ‘This explosive debut shifts from the shadowy streets of London to the freezing mountains of the Hindu Kush, powered by double-crosses, brutal action and last-resort adrenaline. Warner’s wry humour, fatalism and the dogged persistence of his protagonist Mark Wolfe draw you deep into the plot, spiralling through betrayal, sacrifice and the inexorable corruption of the secret world. An expertly thrown knife of a spy novel that slips the blade between your ribs when you least expect it.’
The Financial Times – ‘This is an impressive launch for what promises to be an exciting new series’
Rory Clements – ‘Terrifying – if you have children you’ll never see them the same way again’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Long obsessed by espionage fiction, A Spy in the Blood is Paul’s debut spy thriller. The second book in his Mark Wolfe espionage series, Funeral for a Spy, will be published by Zaffre Books in 2027.
Paul Warner has taught English and Art at several schools in London, Naples and East Sussex, where he currently lives with his partner and two children. He has previously been a bookseller and a voice-over artist. Writing as Paul Read, he has also written for the Times Educational Supplement and published two novels through Legend Press.
We hope you enjoy this month’s pick. Stay tuned for an author interview and lots more thrills!
The James Bond Book Club Selection for June 2026 is The Mask of Dimitrios
For our (00)7th James Bond Book Club selection, we’re spotlighting the novel that sits at the very heart of the genre. It is a book that James Bond himself reads. A book that helped inspire Ian Fleming’s creation of James Bond and has influenced generations of espionage writers. Without further ado, our June Book Club pick is… Eric Ambler’s The Mask of Dimitrios.
OVERVIEW
Set in the uneasy years between the two World Wars, The Mask of Dimitrios begins in Istanbul, where English crime writer Charles Latimer hears of Dimitrios Makropoulos, a notorious criminal whose body has been found in the Bosphorus. Intrigued by the man who seemed to appear at the centre of one shady affair after another, Latimer decides to trace his movements across Europe to learn more.
His search takes him from Turkey through the Balkans and into Western Europe, where each new encounter reveals another piece of Dimitrios’ past. What begins as research for a book becomes something more personal as Latimer finds himself drawn into a criminal world of political intrigue and hidden loyalties.
First published in 1939, The Mask of Dimitrios offers a fascinating glimpse of Europe on the eve of enormous change and it remains widely regarded as one of the greatest espionage thrillers ever written.
WHY WE CHOSE IT
Eric Ambler was one of the writers Ian Fleming acknowledged as an influence. Ambler helped shape the modern thriller before Bond existed, replacing larger-than-life adventurers with a darker, more realistic world of international crime and political uncertainty.
In From Russia with Love, Fleming actually has Bond reading The Mask of Dimitrios while travelling to Istanbul. It’s one of the rare occasions we are told exactly what Bond is reading. Some scholars have even suggested that Ambler’s novel influenced aspects of From Russia with Love itself, making this more than a passing literary reference.
As our (00)7th book, The Mask of Dimitrios offers a chance to explore one of the novels that helped shape the world from which James Bond emerged: a journey into the roots of the spy thriller before Bond, before SPECTRE, and before the Cold War made 007 a global phenomenon.
THEMES TO CONSIDER
– Crime and politics – The novel presents crime and politics as deeply interconnected. How does Ambler blur the lines between them?
– Curiosity and obsession – Latimer begins his investigation out of curiosity, but becomes increasingly consumed by Dimitrios’ story. At what point does interest become obsession?
– Before Bond: Ambler and Fleming – Fleming admired Ambler and later had Bond reading The Mask of Dimitrios in From Russia, with Love. What similarities and differences can you see between Ambler’s thriller and Fleming’s approach to character?
REVIEWS
The Times – ‘Not Le Carré, not Deighton, not Ludlum have surpassed the intelligence, authenticity or engrossing storytelling that established The Mask of Dimitrios as the best of its kind’
The Wall Street Journal – ‘A startling, elegant masterpiece of espionage fiction’
The Guardian – ‘A gripping thriller … still fresh as new’
John le Carré – ‘The source we all draw on’
Graham Greene – ‘Unquestionably our best writer’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric Ambler is often said to have invented the modern thriller. Beginning in 1936, he wrote a series of novels that thrust ordinary protagonists into political intrigues they were ill-prepared to deal with. Praised for their realism and sophistication, Ambler’s books transformed the genre and established him as one of the most influential thriller writers of the twentieth century. He paved the way for many thriller writers including John Le Carre, Len Deighton, Robert Ludlum and, of course, Ian Fleming.
Eric Ambler is often credited with helping to invent the modern thriller. Beginning in 1936, he wrote a series of novels featuring ordinary protagonists drawn into political conspiracies and international intrigue far beyond their control. Praised for their realism and sophistication, Ambler’s books transformed the genre and established him as one of the most influential thriller writers of the twentieth century.
Alongside The Mask of Dimitrios, some of Ambler’s best-known novels include Cause for Alarm, Journey into Fear, and The Light of Day.
We can’t wait to dig into this cornerstone of the spy fiction canon and the impact it had on Ian Fleming’s writing. Follow our social channels for discussions, highlights, and more.
Book Club Interview: Nick Skidmore on Fatale
Dive deeper into our February Book Club pick, Fatale by Jean-Patrick Manchette, as we interview Nick Skidmore, the man behind the new Vintage Classics edition of this ruthless cornerstone of modern noir.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you first encountered Manchette?
I’m Nick Skidmore and I’m the Publishing Director of Vintage Classics. I oversee the running of the classics list, which covers everything from considering the authors we bring to the list to guiding decisions around how we engage readers and retailers in our mission to do something a little different with Classics publishing. In this latter capacity, it was actually a brilliant Indie bookshop owner, Tom at Gloucester Rd Books, that put me on to Manchette. He’s a Manchette uber-fan and was lamenting how difficult it had been to stock NYRB’s editions here in the UK. Soon after I delved into Manchette’s books and knew we could and should find a dedicated place for him on our list. The fact he is so little here seemed, well, criminal.
What do you look for when it comes to publishing a classic crime novel?
Classics are read and beloved by a huge range of readers that cut across generations, demographics and appetites, and ideally we want to publish books that encourage everyone to engage with classic books. Some crime books will therefore be cozy or traditional, some might intersect with historical or political themes, and others will just be downright weird or quirky. I’m always on the lookout for books that can blend across these segments. For example, we have a brilliant novel called The Girls by John Bowen publishing in the summer that sees two women – a gay couple who own a craft store in a Cotswold village – murder a man and hide his body in a septic tank. It will appeal to both market town-dwelling readers looking for something rural and familiar, and fans of the weird and macabre – the kinds of readers we see gravitating to books by Ottessa Moshfegh or Daisy Johnson. To find a book that can unite two groups of readers feels like a special mission.
You’re publishing four of Manchette’s novels this year. Why now?
I always say that the art of re-publishing an old book is timing: some brilliant books can be reintroduced back into the world, but if the conditions aren’t there for it, it won’t flourish. Manchette feels ripe for our particular moment. He is a writer who is rallying against his present, violently cutting down all the idiocies and ideological positions of anyone or thing that claims the high-ground, and he writes, I think, with a filmic grace, a pace and brevity, that means the books will appeal to lots of readers struggling to find the time to fit books into their busy lives.
Readers of Fleming’s James Bond might expect clear heroes and villains, but Fatale operates in a much greyer moral space. Is that shift part of how noir evolved, and where does Manchette fit into that evolution?
I’m no expert on Noir, but a pessimistic outcome and moral ambiguity is part of its DNA. I think where Manchette deviates is there are rarely any heroes in his work, tragic or otherwise. He takes a more cosmic perspective on which scale we’re all operating out of misplaced instincts. He also took the American elements of Noir and found a way to plug that into the moment of French social change, so that he shows Noir isn’t about a sense of place but a particular ruthless mindset that stretches way beyond the borders of LA or wherever.
What do you think Manchette’s intentions were with this particular story?
Without condoning Aimee’s methods… That society is rotten from the very bottom, to the very top. And we should relish it being cleaned out.
When Manchette wrote Fatale it was rejected by his publisher, Série Noire, for being too literary. Manchette qualified it as an ‘experimental novel’ more than a thriller. Is the ‘too literary’ label a criticism, or the thing that makes it endure?
When I hear ‘too literary’ I also hear its inverse, ‘not generic enough’. Manchette has always been framed as a pioneer, a re-inventor of the crime genre in France, and yes, that endures. Fatale, and many of this other books, appeal today precisely because they don’t follow the rules of what’s been laid down by other writers – while the characters, violence and general criminality is guaranteed, you really are on the edge of your seat in their short pages because everything else is on the table.
And when we say ‘experimental,’ what does that actually feel like on the page?
I think the flow of the book, its pacing, is key – short, sharp chapters, powered on by a functionality to how Aimee operates and a glaze-like lack of interiority that allows the reader to skate through the book without ever really penetrating into the soul of any one character.
If you had to describe Fatale in three words, what would they be?
‘Violent’. ‘Vengeful’. And, most importantly, ‘Fun’.
Aimée often feels less like a main character and more like a presence moving through the town. Do you think Manchette is deliberately resisting reader identification with her, and if so, why?
Manchette isn’t the kind of writer to dwell on interiority. There’s a wonderful passage in one of his other books – The Prone Gunman – where the protagonist reads of the murder of his ex-girlfriend in the paper, and the narrator tries to guess what emotions might be going through his head based on his strained face. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that this resistance is a stylistic choice to ensure the reader never quite feels identification with his main characters – and also that there’s something very bourgeoise about feeling and its extreme sentimentality. But that’s just my guess!
Hitmen and professional killers show up often in Manchette’s work. Why do you think he returns to these figures so frequently?
Two brilliant Manchette books with hitmen in them are The Prone Gunman and Three to Kill. In the former, we follow the hitman. In the latter, it’s a man who goes from being hunted by a hitman to hunting the hitmen instead. In all of these characters, there’s something wonderfully other – the fact that hitmen exist outside the flow of society, observing, waiting, striking – that lends them as perfect vehicles for Manchette to tell stories that rally against the current world.
Which contemporary authors do you think Manchette would be reading or recommending if he were alive today and why?
Manchette was moving away from crime novels at the end of his life, and to me writers like Rachel Kushner or Ottessa Moshfegh feel like they occupy the same disaffected space. And of course, if we’re sticking to crime, a revolutionary writer like David Peace.
What else can we look forward to from Vintage Classics X Manchette?
We also published Manchette’s satirical take on revolution politics – Nada – this year, and later, in July, we have his pair of Noir detective thrillers, No Room at the Morgue and Skeletons in the Closet. The aim is to bring all his books here to the UK, something that hasn’t been done before, and feels like a very important mission.
Thanks to Nick. Find out why we chose Fatale for the James Bond Book Club here and get your copy at the Ian Fleming Shop here.
Book Club Interview: Jinwoo Park on Oxford Soju Club
We had the pleasure of chatting to Jinwoo Park, the author behind Oxford Soju Club, the James Bond Book Club January pick. His debut novel, it is an exploration of identity in the Korean diaspora under the guise of a punch-packing spy thriller. In this interview, Jinwoo discusses the catharsis of the writing process, how his experience as a translator impacts his style, what ‘home’ means to him, and of course— a bit of Bond.
The James Bond Book Club Selection For January 2026 Is Oxford Soju Club
Happy New Year from the James Bond Book Club! Here’s to a year of daring missions, unforgettable characters, and stories that keep you turning the page. Get ready to enter new worlds and explore the world of espionage – one thrilling book at a time.
Kicking things off, our January pick is Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park. It’s a bold, genre-blending debut published in 2025 that reimagines the spy novel through the lens of identity, nationality, loyalty and belonging. More than just a good story, this month’s choice looks at the masks we wear, the allegiances we forge, and the truths we hide, all set against the storied spires of Oxford.
OVERVIEW
Oxford Soju Club follows a trio of Korean characters whose lives converge in the ancient university city of Oxford. When North Korean spymaster Doha Kim is mysteriously killed, his protégé Yohan Kim – living under the assumed identity of Junichi Nakamura – scrambles to decipher his mentor’s last cryptic message: “Soju Club, Dr. Ryu.” At the same time, Yunah Choi, a Korean American CIA officer, is hot on his trail, while Jihoon Lim, a South Korean immigrant and owner of the eponymous Soju Club restaurant, finds his own peaceful life drawn into the escalating intrigue.
What unfolds is both a taut spy thriller and a deeply felt exploration of the Korean diaspora in which characters must navigate cultural expectations, divided loyalties, and the haunting distance between the selves they show the world and the selves they carry inside.
WHY WE CHOSE IT
At Ian Fleming Publications, we know a thing or two about going undercover — but Oxford Soju Club interrogates that concept in a much deeper, more human way. Park’s debut resonates with the Bond tradition not through tuxedos or glamour, but through psychological tension and international complexity.
What makes the novel particularly compelling is its exploration of identity and performance. Every character exists between worlds, whether undercover as someone they are not, or trying to belong to a country that never feels like home. These layered lives echo the coded existences of spies in fiction, but here they carry stakes that are profoundly human.
Park delivers the thrills, but with a modern twist: the greatest danger is not always a villain’s plot, but the cost of duty, survival, and the masks we wear.
THEMES TO CONSIDER
– Identity and disguise. Beyond literal espionage, Park explores the psychological “masks” that immigrants and operatives alike adopt to survive and belong.
– Belonging and alienation. Each character’s journey asks: where is home when heritage, duty, and personal desire point in different directions?
– Loyalty and truth. The novel probes the delicate balance between allegiance to one’s origins and self-realisation in a globalised world.
– Ritual, connection, and community. The Soju Club itself, a Korean restaurant in Oxford, becomes a site of refuge and reckoning, a space where food, drink, memory, and politics intertwine.
REVIEWS
The New York Times – ‘Park, a Korean Canadian writer and translator, deftly maps the shifting terrain of characters whose identities are in flux and who are haunted by pasts from which they cannot escape. His novel mixes spycraft with tenderness, violence with grace, and introduces a welcome new spy fiction talent.’
Booklist – ‘In stylistically rich prose, the author carefully portrays complex characters, distilling the intricate workings of the Korean psyche with riveting tension. Under the cover of a compelling espionage drama, Park conducts a metaphorical exploration of Korean identity.’
Shelf Awareness – ‘Oxford Soju Club, is an extraordinarily multilayered examination of identity and loyalty, deftly presented as an addicting spy thriller.’
Washington Independent Review of Books – ‘[A] dizzying, hyperkinetic debut novel.’
Jinwoo Park is a Korean Canadian writer and literary translator whose debut novel brings a fresh, global perspective to espionage fiction. Born and raised in Seoul, he has lived in various parts North America and the UK since the age of eleven. Park completed a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Oxford and brings both personal insight and narrative finesse to a story that pulsates with tension.
We hope you enjoy Oxford Soju Club as much as we do. Follow our social channels for discussion prompts, highlights and more.
The James Bond Book Club For December 2025 Is The Lifeline
Welcome to our very first James Bond Book Club selection, The Lifeline. This month we’re shining a spotlight on a classic thriller first published in 1946 by Faber. It’s an essential read if you’re a fan of Ian Fleming’s work or love a smart, original, fast-paced spy story.
Republished by Muswell Press in 2024, with an intro from Miles Jupp and David Stenhouse, The Lifeline is the work of English writer Phyllis Bottome. Bottome mentored Ian Fleming in the 1930s and the book is often discussed as a key influence on Fleming’s own spy fiction.
OVERVIEW
The story takes place in Austria in 1938, as Nazism tightens its grip on Europe. Our protagonist, Mark Chalmers, is a teacher at Eton and leads a comfortable and detached life. He adores Austria, where he spends his holidays, but prefers to stay out of the world’s increasing turmoil. Everything shifts when an old friend from the Foreign Office introduces him to the enigmatic “B,” and recruits him for a dangerous mission. Reluctantly, he agrees to parachute into Nazi-occupied Austria to deliver vital intelligence to a British agent, armed only with his orders and, in case of capture, a suicide pill.
Chalmers plans to do the one job then walk away, but once he reaches his destination he’s drawn into the fight against fascism and there is no turning back. Seeing a country he loves under tyranny awakens something in him and what starts as a gripping adventure story becomes a rich, thoughtful study of the psychology of a spy.
WHY WE CHOSE IT
We’ve picked The Lifeline as the first James Bond Book Club recommendation not only because of its exploration of espionage but also because of its connection to Ian Fleming. Phyllis Bottome and her husband, Major Alban Ernan Forbes Dennis (himself a spy), ran a school for languages in Kitzbühelm Austria in the 1920s. Following his shortened stints at Eton and Sandhurst, Ian was sent there to study. By his own account, it was a happy period, spent skiing, mountain climbing, and learning languages, during which he also formed a close bond with Phyllis and her husband. She encouraged Ian to write and he produced his first known short stories here, followed in 1928 by his now-lost book of poetry The Black Daffodil.
Chalmers, The Lifeline‘s protagonist goes on a moral journey and hints at the kind of hero Fleming would later create. Scholars often point to The Lifeline as a spiritual precursor to James Bond, exploring moral complexity and the post-war psyche from a more humanistic angle. It’s thought to have deeply influenced Fleming’s vision of duty, danger, and decency… the DNA of Bond himself.
THEMES TO CONSIDER
– Resistance and morality. Bottome examines how individuals act under oppressive regimes and what it means to live with integrity in dark times.
– Education and empathy. The novel questions education as a means of building character and combating hate. Can empathy be taught?
– Courage in everyday life. Rather than glorifying espionage or violence, The Lifeline celebrates quiet, human bravery, something that contrasts with the more glamorous heroism found in Fleming’s later Bond novels, yet hints at the moral depth Bond would inherit.
REVIEWS
The Financial Times, Best New Thrillers – ‘A cracking read. Top marks to Muswell Press for bringing this book back’
The Times – ‘The real thing…a well-wrought period piece that Fleming completists will enjoy’
Crime Time – ‘Fascinating. A major inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond. A jolly good read.’
The Sunday Post – ‘A thriller of a highly diverting and original kind’
The Time Literary Supplement – ‘A gifted and entertaining novelist’
Starting in 1916, Phyllis Bottome wrote over 30 novels and a series of short stories and novellas, including the anti-Nazi best-seller, The Mortal Storm, based on her experiences of living in Germany. Four of her books have been turned into films, including The Mortal Storm, which became a Hollywood blockbuster starring James Stewart. Her work is currently enjoying a much deserved revival and we are delighted that our friends at Muswell Press are bringing The Lifeline to a new audience. Muswell Press is a small British independent publishing house, owned and run by sisters Kate and Sarah Beal, focused on crime, contemporary fiction, biography and LGBTQ stories.
We hope you enjoy exploring our first James Bond Book Club pick. Follow our social channels for more on the book, and get your copy of The Lifeline at the Ian Fleming Shop here.
For more insights into Ian Fleming’s personal life and history, read Talk of the Devil, an anthology featuring his non-fiction, reviews, letters and two short stories. Available as a hardback, eBook and audiobook.