Diamonds are Forever

A James Bond Novel

By: Ian Fleming

Narrated by: Pippa Bennett-Warner

USING HIS FORMIDABLE SKILLS OF DECEPTION, JAMES BOND WORKS TO TAKE DOWN AN AMERICAN GANG

The Spangled Mob are no ordinary American gangsters.

They prey on the addictions of the wealthy and treat the poor as collateral. Their ruthless desire for power and fierce brotherly loyalty make them deadly and invincible.

Now James Bond must go deep undercover in his urgent new assignment: to destroy their millionaire masterminds, Jack and Seraffimo Spang.

But the Spangs’ cruel influence is everywhere, from dusty African diamond mines to the frenzied gambling dens of Las Vegas. Can Bond find his men before his cover is blown?

Bond taking on the world of diamonds

Here we find James Bond taking on the world of illegal diamond snuggling all across the globe. If all you have ever seen is the movie then you are in for treat.

Bond on the Blood Diamond Trail

Bond on the Blood Diamond Trail

While I had seen the movie #diamondsareforever, it had been a few decades and, frankly, I didn't find it one of the more memorable #rogermoore era films. The book, however, did have an interesting plot focusing on the illegal diamond trade out of West Africa at a time when England and France still dominated these former colonies, particularly the mineral wealth. A shadowy diamond cartel that has been smuggling diamonds from Africa thorough England falls on the radar of MI6 as it is losing revenue from England and is placed in Bond's lap where we learn of his pre-war, pre-gambling, pre-007 days as a lowly courier working for British Military Intelligence and has the opportunity to tap those skills from his early work posing as a courier for an illegal shipment through London and New York. Long disparaging the American gangs as glorified corner store hoodlums, Bond's foray into their complicated syndicate that brings his to bet on the horses at Saratoga and the card tables in Las Vegas in the company of an old former CIA pal and a vivacious card dealing blonde shows him how deadly serious these Yank mafiosos take their mud baths and desert playgrounds.

I have been choosing #audible as my Bond option as the stories are so fun that they make the daily walks pass quickly and, despite the political incorrectness, Bond Girls are always so fascinating particularly as reader #pippabennettwarner , a true British dish with a silly reading style, moves back and forth into a fun American accent.

Great Story!

Loved the story—recommended.
The narrator, though, does not fit this Bond story.
Would imagine she’d be great narrating “The Spy Who Loved Me“—(although Genevieve Gaunt did an outstanding job with that difficult story).
Somewhat off subject, but Gaunt narration of “The Spy Who Loved Me” is my favorite Bond story to date—a story which, before hearing Gaunt’s performance, had never made sense to me!

The characters were great but the story wasn’t great

I liked Tiffany Case very much and the Spang brothers bond was good as usual but the story was boring and confusing so I don’t think it was that great. I liked the performance but it sounded to cowboy.m Ft m
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Horrible accents

I don’t understand where the narrator learned what a 1950s white man from Texas was supposed to sound like it, but this ain’t it. She made Felix Leiter sound like a New Orleans jazz musician. It’s a small complaint, but it came close to ruining the whole book.