Dr. No by Ian Fleming

This book, like many of the James Bond novels, is very much of its time--the espionage is high-tech for the late fifties, the Cold War is raging, and the novel's portrayal of race and gender is often unsettling for a modern reader. But, for what it is, the story in Dr. No is entertaining and full of bravery, skill, and luck on the part of James Bond. Commander Bond is supposed to get an easy mission after his latest brush with death: he's sent to Jamaica to look into the disappearance of a British agent who has supposedly run off with his secretary. The truth, however, is something altogether more dangerous and Bond quickly finds himself facing a much more dangerous enemy than simple lust.