Too Bad To Die: A Novel

(Paperback)

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November 1943. Weary of his deskbound status in the Royal Navy, intelligence officer Ian Fleming spends his spare time spinning stories in his head that are much more exciting than his own life. until the critical Tehran Conference, when Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Josef Stalin meet to finalise the D-Day invasion. With the Big Three in one place, Fleming is tipped off that Hitler's top assassin has infiltrated the conference. Seizing his chance to play a part in a real-life action story, Fleming goes undercover to stop the Nazi killer.

Reviews

"Fast, fun and wonderfully intelligent... this novel [is] wholly worthy of its ingenious subject."
The New York Times Book Review

The writing is urbane with a touch of humor, and the plot is absolutely brilliant The portrayal of the master mystery writer and his alter-ego is superb. If Ian Fleming hadn't invented James Bond, Francine Mathews would have.
Denver Post

"Writing with elegance and grit, Mathews keeps the reader in a state of suspense Flemings brains and intrepidity, his inner conflicts as well as his suave recklessness, make him a character as intriguing as one in his own books.
Historical Novels Review

Absolutely marvelous! This novel masterfully weaves fact and fiction into a high-pitched thriller that keeps us spellbound from the very first pages. Great plotting,exotic locales and historical characters who positively come alive on the page, with some delightful sly winks along the way.
Jeffery Deaver

In this complex, remarkable and suspenseful novel, Francine Mathews combines the genius of Ian Fleming with the drama of World War II and concocts a stunning tale of intrigue and deceit.
Jed Rubenfeld

Literate and sophisticatedMathews makes the historical figures come to life.
Publishers Weekly

A rousing adventurenot a pastiche of a Bond novel with Fleming substituted for 007, but rather a well-plotted military thriller with a story that feels like it could have happened. Mathews portrayal of Fleming feels dead-on accurate, and she has some fun showing us the (supposed) real-world origins of some of Bonds fictional attributes. Another excellent blending of fact and fiction from the author of Jack 1939.
Booklist

[Ian] Fleming is a complex character with an active imagination and a store of hidden courage. Replete with recognizable characters from history, this look at a crucial period of World War II will satisfy history buffs and mystery lovers alike.
Library Journal

Praise for Jack 1939

The pace is so propulsive that youll read every wordMathewss ability to weave fact into her tale is nothing short of remarkablethere are precious few entertainments this captivating.
The Washington Post

One of the most deliciously high-concept thrillers imaginable.
TheNew Yorker

A brisk thriller that defies the oddsIts no small feat to take a historic figure who looms as large in real life as John F. Kennedy, place him in an improbable fantasy, and not strain credulity. But in this case, Mathews has accomplished her mission.
USAToday

Author Bio

Francine Mathewsis the author ofToo Bad to Die, Jack 1939and more than twenty other novels of mystery, history, and suspense. A graduate of Princeton and Stanford, she spent four years as an intelligence analyst at the CIA and presently lives and works in Colorado. From the Hardcover edition.