In my job, when I come up against a man like this one, I have another motto. It's 'live and let die'.

British Secret Service agent Bond is sent to New York to investigate Mr Big - an underworld voodoo leader and SMERSH operative. Travelling through Harlem, Florida and the Caribbean in hot pursuit of the gangster, Bond encounters the beautiful fortune-telling Solitaire and gets himself into deep (shark infested) waters.

Later made into the hit film starring Roger Moore, this thrilling novel remains one of Ian Flemings most iconic works.