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Quantum of Menace

Q Mysteries, Book 1

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Quantum of Menace

By: Vaseem Khan
Narrated by: Alexander Armstrong
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About this listen

 Q is out of MI6 . . .
. . . and in over his head

After Major Boothroyd (aka Q) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6's Double O agents, he is adrift, unsure of his place in a world where the stakes aren't always life or death. But when he learns that his childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, Q is drawn back to his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water.

Frustrated by the police, who consider the case closed, Q is compelled to investigate, starting with a cryptic note Napier sent him on the day of his death. Q soon discovers that Napier's ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces . . . but can he decode the truth before danger closes in?©2025 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd (P)2025 Bonnier Books UK Cosy Espionage Mystery Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives
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This is a brilliantly crafted novel. I loved every second. It’s clever, entertaining and appealing.
Write LOTS more in this vein, please.

Outstanding!

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I have enjoyed Vaseem Khan’s other two very different series set in post independence India and Quantum of Menace is a great introduction to what I hope will be yet another series. It is beautifully written with so much more to think about than what is on the surface. It is also wonderfully narrated by the amazing Alexander Armstrong. I would recommend this book highly. I loved it.

Thoughtful entertainment

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​If you are a James Bond fan, you should definitely pick this up and give it a go, but interestingly, you don’t actually need any prior Bond knowledge to understand it. I’ve never watched the movies or read the Ian Fleming novels, so I was a bit nervous jumping in, but I found I could follow the story perfectly fine without that background. The book takes a unique approach by following the legendary Quartermaster, Q, in a style that feels much more like a cozy mystery than a high-octane thriller, picking up right after he has been unceremoniously kicked out of MI6.

​While the premise of Q solving a mystery in a cozy setting is fantastic, the execution didn't quite hook me the way other mystery stories have. For me, this was a very slow read, and the pacing dragged in several places. It felt like there were quite a few sections that could have been edited out to make the plot tighter and more engaging. It’s a solid enough read if you want a lighter, different take on the spy genre, but be prepared for a story that takes its time to get where it's going.

Bond but more cozy

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