Shoot to Kill (Young Bond)

by Steve Cole

So I've read the first books in the Young Bond series a few times but this is the first time I've gotten around to reading Steve Cole's additions. Shoot to Kill was not quite what I was expecting. This time Bond travels to the United States and takes on Hollywood.

It's clear the events of the last book have damaged Bond - he struggles to connect with the people around him and it made for awkward reading. And it made me sad. More than that though, it made it hard for me to care about the characters around him - he didn't get to know them - so neither does the reader.

It felt a bit like watching a gangster movie with no sound. There was lots happening but I'm not sure I really cared. It was relatively enjoyable though and edged in at 3 stars on the lower side of the 3. But Cole has clearly laid the groundwork for a more emotionally open Bond now that he's worked through some of the trauma and I'll be interested to see where Steve Cole takes the series.