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The Moneypenny Diaries #3
Final Fling
It’s the mid 1960s and the British secret intelligence service is hit by a series of defection scandals. Facing considerable personal danger, Jane Moneypenny combines forces with 007 to try to smoke out a mole that she is convinced is buried deep in the heart of the Office. But as Bond is sacked and M forced into retirement, Moneypenny may have to find him alone.
Forty-two years later, Miss Moneypenny’s niece and heir, Kate Westbrook, starts to suspect that her aunt’s death was not an accident. She is sure the clues to what happened lie in the search for the mole. But as she pieces them together, she realises that there are significant forces determined to prevent her.
From the glamour of 1960s Jamaica to the treacherous beaches of the Outer Hebrides, Final Fling relates the thrilling adventures of the world’s most famous secretary, and reveals just how far people are prepared to go to defend – or betray – their beliefs.
Forty-two years later, Miss Moneypenny’s niece and heir, Kate Westbrook, starts to suspect that her aunt’s death was not an accident. She is sure the clues to what happened lie in the search for the mole. But as she pieces them together, she realises that there are significant forces determined to prevent her.
From the glamour of 1960s Jamaica to the treacherous beaches of the Outer Hebrides, Final Fling relates the thrilling adventures of the world’s most famous secretary, and reveals just how far people are prepared to go to defend – or betray – their beliefs.
282 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Kate Westbrook
7 books21 followersSamantha Weinberg is a British novelist, journalist and travel writer. Author of Books such as A Fish Caught in Time : The Search for the Coelacanth and the James Bond inspired trilogy The Moneypenny Diaries under the alias Kate Westbrook. She currently resides in Wiltshire, England.
In 1994 she wrote Last of the pirates: in search of Bob Denard (ISBN 0224033077), about French mercenary Bob Denard.
In 2003 she won the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction for her book Pointing from the Grave: a True Story of Murder and DNA (ISBN 0241141362), about the murder of biotechnologist Helena Greenwood in California in 1985 and the pioneering use of DNA profiling in tracing her killer 15 years later.
In 1994 she wrote Last of the pirates: in search of Bob Denard (ISBN 0224033077), about French mercenary Bob Denard.
In 2003 she won the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction for her book Pointing from the Grave: a True Story of Murder and DNA (ISBN 0241141362), about the murder of biotechnologist Helena Greenwood in California in 1985 and the pioneering use of DNA profiling in tracing her killer 15 years later.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 7, 2016
Everyone had to act completely unreasonably for the plot to move along.
People were withholding information from the main character for absolutely no reason and kept telling her to just 'drop it' and 'forget about it', and once she finally got to the bottom of it and asked why they didn't tell her all they knew from the get-go, they said something along the lines; 'you had to figure it out by yourself.' (because otherwise there would be no book).
Generally a poor use of the franchise - reads like amateurish fan fiction.
But it reminded me I must definitely checkout the River Cafe next summer.
People were withholding information from the main character for absolutely no reason and kept telling her to just 'drop it' and 'forget about it', and once she finally got to the bottom of it and asked why they didn't tell her all they knew from the get-go, they said something along the lines; 'you had to figure it out by yourself.' (because otherwise there would be no book).
Generally a poor use of the franchise - reads like amateurish fan fiction.
But it reminded me I must definitely checkout the River Cafe next summer.
November 17, 2020
Wow.
"Final Fling" is likely my 2nd favorite post-Fleming James Bond story, with "James Bond: The Authorised Biography" being #1. This one is a page-turner that I demolished in just a few short days. Certainly the best of "The Moneypenny Diaries" and one that brings an absolutely brilliant conclusion to the trilogy.
Jane Moneypenny's stories from 1964-1965 are in search of an elusive mole within MI6 - and all of the players, including M, Bond, and Tanner are in the mix. Tales from 1989-1990 are unforgettable. And the "author" - Moneypenny's niece - has her own toils and troubles in getting the biographies published, all while drawing her own conclusions about what happened. Wonderful story with a perfect ending.
5 stars out of 5
"Final Fling" is likely my 2nd favorite post-Fleming James Bond story, with "James Bond: The Authorised Biography" being #1. This one is a page-turner that I demolished in just a few short days. Certainly the best of "The Moneypenny Diaries" and one that brings an absolutely brilliant conclusion to the trilogy.
Jane Moneypenny's stories from 1964-1965 are in search of an elusive mole within MI6 - and all of the players, including M, Bond, and Tanner are in the mix. Tales from 1989-1990 are unforgettable. And the "author" - Moneypenny's niece - has her own toils and troubles in getting the biographies published, all while drawing her own conclusions about what happened. Wonderful story with a perfect ending.
5 stars out of 5
January 12, 2013
The final chapter in the trilogy, with Moneypenny's diaries putting her niece in danger. It seems that some secrets mentioned include the identity of a mole.
February 21, 2024
I first started reading this trilogy of books in 2019, and I remember enjoying the first book a lot. The tone of Fleming’s original stories really shone through the Moneypenny diary elements. The modern investigative historian Kate Westbrook, niece of Jane Moneypenny hadn’t worked quite as well, but was an interesting mix of stories that were cleverly interwoven to make the whole book.
It was more of the same for the second book, with less reference to Fleming missions and more new action set in Russia, it was a solid follow-up.
This third and final fling retreads many of the same plot beats as the first two instalments; listening for echoes of footsteps to detect a tail, responding to hand written notes to meet in random cafes, speaking to strangers in parks with unique accents, a cast of Fleming characters playing their cards close to their chests.
That said, whilst it’s somewhat repetitive from earlier stories, it’s still eminently readable, and lots of fun. The plot rattles by, both the 60s diaries and the concluding “modern day” investigations.
Recommended?: for Bond fans and for those that liked the first two entries, this is an enjoyable, slightly frothy final entry that concludes the mystery of the SIS mole and Moneypenny’s diaries. To get new adventures with fan favourites like Bond, Tanner, M, Mary Goodnight and - of course - Miss Moneypenny was always going to be good fun.
It was more of the same for the second book, with less reference to Fleming missions and more new action set in Russia, it was a solid follow-up.
This third and final fling retreads many of the same plot beats as the first two instalments; listening for echoes of footsteps to detect a tail, responding to hand written notes to meet in random cafes, speaking to strangers in parks with unique accents, a cast of Fleming characters playing their cards close to their chests.
That said, whilst it’s somewhat repetitive from earlier stories, it’s still eminently readable, and lots of fun. The plot rattles by, both the 60s diaries and the concluding “modern day” investigations.
Recommended?: for Bond fans and for those that liked the first two entries, this is an enjoyable, slightly frothy final entry that concludes the mystery of the SIS mole and Moneypenny’s diaries. To get new adventures with fan favourites like Bond, Tanner, M, Mary Goodnight and - of course - Miss Moneypenny was always going to be good fun.
November 28, 2019
The final book in The Moneypenny Diaries trilogy, and a fitting end to the series. Not knowing who to trust, Jane Moneypenny is on the tail of a mole in MI6, putting her in all sorts of danger. Many years later, her niece finds herself in a similar situation as she tries to finish her aunt's work. Intrigue, action, adventure, romance; it's all here. Far- fetched? That's kind of the point! I loved the ending.
September 24, 2019
Brilliant conclusion to a series I have been reading for a little while. The storyline kept me gripped from plot twist to plot twist. However I feel like more time could have been given to the resolution of the story as it felt a little rushed and oh that's that then. However this didn't take away from the brilliance of the characters and plot. Really good. 4.5 stars
July 8, 2021
I found this the best of the trilogy. Gone are the slightly unbelievable overseas missions for Miss Moneypenny and replaced with a more credible plot of catching a traitor and internal office politics.
The moves from the past to the present were well done and we had a great ending with a nice twist.
The moves from the past to the present were well done and we had a great ending with a nice twist.
July 11, 2023
I love James Bond and the moneypenny Series is the icing on the cake, fabulous series to read. It is like a little behind the scenes novels with their own amazing stories. A must page turner read, swish there was more.
October 25, 2018
A satisfying conclusion to the series, but being based in the latter years of Jane’s and in wrapping up storylines after her passing, it just doesn’t have the allure of the first two books.
December 10, 2024
More cohesive than the previous book, and it wraps things up. Once again, special thanks to the Brisbane City Council Library for having this available in audio format.
August 2, 2011
A great book to wrap up a great trilogy, in fact it is a shame that there will not be further volumes of this series. I think the whole concept of giving Miss Moneypenny a bigger role in the world of James Bond was a fantastic idea that just adds to the appeal.
This volume covers the period after the events portrayed in The Man with the Golden Gun and M’s enforced retirement from the service when he becomes convinced that there is a Soviet mole right amongst the upper echelons of the SIS. M uses instances of insubordination from Moneypenny and - inevitably – Bond to recruit them to his cause and flush the mole from cover. This eventually proves to be his downfall, but he continues his search during his retirement and finally finds the culprit; and upon his deathbed passes the baton on to Moneypenny as she was the only person he truly trusted.
This book does conclude satisfactorily enough to tie up the loose ends; we can live in hope that further volumes will follow.
This volume covers the period after the events portrayed in The Man with the Golden Gun and M’s enforced retirement from the service when he becomes convinced that there is a Soviet mole right amongst the upper echelons of the SIS. M uses instances of insubordination from Moneypenny and - inevitably – Bond to recruit them to his cause and flush the mole from cover. This eventually proves to be his downfall, but he continues his search during his retirement and finally finds the culprit; and upon his deathbed passes the baton on to Moneypenny as she was the only person he truly trusted.
This book does conclude satisfactorily enough to tie up the loose ends; we can live in hope that further volumes will follow.
May 11, 2015
Initially I picked this up because well, I thought: Miss Moneypenny fanfic, what's not to like? And I struggled a little bit with the two person narrative at the start but then I got sucked in and the structure became easier to deal with as the primary narration became clearer.
It's not amazing writing but it's enjoyable. The book is fairly self-contained - I only discovered through idle googling that it was a) sanctioned by the Ian Flemming Estate and b) part of a series of Miss Moneypenny books - and had enough twists that I didn't feel like I'd completely unravelled the mystery by halfway.
Plus, there's a rather sweet final twist that I am quite fond of.
It's not amazing writing but it's enjoyable. The book is fairly self-contained - I only discovered through idle googling that it was a) sanctioned by the Ian Flemming Estate and b) part of a series of Miss Moneypenny books - and had enough twists that I didn't feel like I'd completely unravelled the mystery by halfway.
Plus, there's a rather sweet final twist that I am quite fond of.
May 4, 2009
This last Monneypenny Diary was a bit different from the first two. It incorporated Jane Monneypenny's diary, along with the story of her "niece", Kate Westbrook, trying to solve a case that spanned her Aunt's career. The end was a great pay-off though and all of the chasing, hiding, and spying was fun!
July 29, 2011
A intresting book, I wasn't aware it was part of a trilogy, but the book stands up ok on it's own.
Don't know what Ian Fleming would have thought of this series of book, but it made for intresting reading.
Don't know what Ian Fleming would have thought of this series of book, but it made for intresting reading.
September 1, 2012
I listened to these as audio books and really enjoyed them. Some good twists, some fun action. And a good end of book twist, which I guessed, but it was still a good one. If you like James Bond, 19602 Cold War adventures and the like, you'll enjoy these.
December 19, 2012
Very good! A satisfying ending to the trilogy.
May 23, 2013
Delightful. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the series. So sad it is over. These books are going in my permanent collection of Bond books!
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September 29, 2013Nice idea, could have been better done. But as I see I picked it up in a charity shop at 2 for 99p, worth taking a punt on
January 7, 2017
A great finish to a marvelous trilogy!
June 7, 2015
The best installment of a wonderful trilogy. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews