Raymond Benson has been authorized to write the James Bond books. He has written The Facts Of Death and Zero Minus Ten, both about 007. Now Benson is back with an all-new Bond novel. This one is titled High Time To Kill. It was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.
In the post cold war days there are a lot of terrorists for hire. No group is becoming more feared than the Union. From stealing military secrets to outright assassinations, the Union will hire out for anything.
James Bond and his Administrative Assistant are on holiday in the Bahamas. Nobody is supposed to know that James and Helena Marksbury are an item. It doesn't look good to have an affair with the help. But there they are in the Bahamas, having a good time. That is until a dinner party they attend turns deadly. It seems that someone wants the former Governor killed. James fails to stop the murder. Then he and Helena are under spotlight.
The Union seems to be behind the Governor's death. They have also just stolen some vital technology from a government laboratory. Skin 17 is a synthetic material that allows aircraft to fly at speeds greater than ever imagined. A member of the Union stole the formula for Skin 17 and flees England.
The airplane carrying the Union person crashes on Kangchenjunga, one of the highest mountains in the world. The British Secret Service sends Bond on an expedition to find Skin 17.
Members of the climbing team that Bond is on are not what they seem. Especially an old school rival of Bond's, Roland Marquis. They have been adversaries since boyhood. What was Roland's real motive for being on this climb? Was he trying to retrieve Skin 17 for his country or for his own profit?
Throw in some unsavory people and conditions, along with a beautiful woman, Dr. Hope Kendall, and you have all the elements of a classic Bond tale.
High Time To Kill is another good addition to the James Bond series. Following in the footsteps of John Gardner, Raymond Benson is doing justice to the character that Ian Fleming created.