When Tatiana Romanova, a young Soviet agent, claims to want to defect, and bring with her the Spektor, a Soviet decoding device, because she has fallen in love with James Bond from his photographs, 007 is sent to Istanbul to investigate.

The sinister Soviet assassination bureau SMERSH conceives a plot to discredit and assassinate British Intelligence’s top agent – James Bond! Tatiana Romanova is a honey trap. Bizarrely, neither Bond or M seem to believe this unlikely premise could be a sham. Perhaps because it plays into his ego, and he is on the rebound after his previous girlfriend (Tiffany Case from Diamonds are Forever) leaves him, Bond is only too eager to believe that the beautiful Tatiana could be in love with him.

The first ten chapters or so are told from various Russian points of view, establishing in particular Kronsteen, the chess playing strategic genius, Rosa Klebb, the malignant head of Operations and Executions, and Donovan Grant, SMERSH’s chief executioner, as worthy and potentially deadly enemies to Bond.

From this early section in Russia, I had high hopes for Tatiana’s character, but once she met Bond, she became something of an unconvincing wallflower. Fleming, it seems, really did have trouble writing convincing female characters.

A more believable character is Darko Kerem, the larger-than-life head of the British Intelligence Service’s Turkish station with whom Bond teams up. As always with Bond novels, there are several somewhat dubious moments by 21st Century standards, in this case mostly uttered by Kerem when he advises Bond on the best way to woo women. That said, throughout the novel Kerem remains an immensely likeable character. They were different times, and his views and attitudes are partly explained by his unorthodox upbringing.

The last section of the novel takes place on the Orient Express as Bond attempts to escort Tatiana to London. The action here is exciting and well told, although I remained a little unconvinced by Fleming’s sleight of hand that put them on the train rather than the fastest way out (Tatiana insisted on it)!

Despite all the issues with the plot and Tatiana’s character, I enjoyed From Russia with Love very much. Kerem’s character and the first ten chapters in Russia gave gave the novel a good, original shot in the arm. So far, it’s my second favourite of the Bond novels (out of five).

Rating: 82%