Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

Description

The first James Bond novel where 007 faces off against LeChiffre, the villainous SMERSH operative who needs to win at Casino Royale on the French Riviera in order to not be killed by Russian operatives. The Bond girl is Vesper Lynd, the allies are Felix Leiter and Rene Mathis, and the game is deadly baccarat. With explosions and betrayals, this book, written by Ian Fleming at his Jamaican home Goldeneye in 1951 as a way of calming his nerves before his first marriage in his late 40s. Multiple editions are available at $25 each.