Casino Royal by Ian Fleming

Casino Royal is probably more often mentioned as a movie but first there was a book by Ian Fleming. This is a spy thriller about Agent 007 James Bond of MI6 who has a mission to beat a Smersh agent at baccarat (Smersh is a criminal group) and if he loses Smersh operations will have enough money to make a great deal of terror.

After Bond beats Le Cheifie of Smersh at baccarat he captures Bond and tries to find out where the money Bond won at the card table is. Will Bond survive his attack?

This is first of many Bond books, which inspired many movies.

I think this book is good for strong readers older than fourteen. It is a thrilling story from begging to end.