Dr. No (James Bond Series #6) by Ian Fleming

JAMES BOND IS PUT TO THE TEST AGAINST AN EGOTISTICAL SCIENTIST WITH NEFARIOUS AIMS.

Dispatched by M to investigate the mysterious disappearance of MI6’s Jamaica station chief, Bond was expecting a holiday in the sun. But when he discovers a deadly centipede placed in his hotel room, the vacation is over.

On this island, all suspicious activity leads inexorably to Dr. Julius No, a reclusive megalomaniac with steel pincers for hands. To find out what the good doctor is hiding, 007 must enlist the aid of local fisherman Quarrel and alluring beachcomber Honeychile Rider.

Together they will combat a local legend the natives call “the Dragon,” before Bond alone must face the most punishing test of all: an obstacle course―designed by the sadistic Dr. No himself―that measures the limits of the human body’s capacity for agony.