BERMUDA is, admittedly, an unlikely setting for an international espionage thriller.

The sub-tropical tranquillity and ennui here somehow lacks the excitement and intrigue of, say, South America and Eastern Europe.

Now, best-selling spy novelist Ted Bell is seeking to change all of that.

In what is likely the first major novel set here since Peter Benchley's 1976 under-water thriller The Deep, Mr. Bell's upcoming book TSAR will see Bermuda play host to spies and villains alike.

"I first came to Bermuda as a college student," said Mr. Bell this week from his home in Florida.

"I don't remember much about it for many reasons!

"I fell in love with it, though, and have been coming back over the years. I find it absolutely enchanting, my wife and I were even married there."

Although a career in literature was his childhood dream, Mr. Bell initially found himself working in a very different field.

After graduating from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, Mr. Bell moved between various advertising agencies in the United States.

In 1991, Mr. Bell joined Young & Rubicam of London. It was there that he finally took up the pen.

"When I lived in London, I wrote a young adult novel called Nick of Time. I basically wrote it for my nine-year-old daughter. I wanted to write a good old-fashioned adventure tale that had the scope and drama of Stevenson's Treasure Island, but in a language that children today would appreciate. I was a little bit ahead of my time, I guess. Every editor said it was too long but that was before the days of Harry Potter. It eventually found a home, however, and Paramount even bought the movie rights and I'm pleased to say a new edition will be out next summer."

After retiring in 2001, Mr. Bell settled in his native Florida. Finding he missed the excitement of writing, Mr. Bell began planning his next novel.

"I decided to try my hand at adult fiction, a term I hesitate to use because it has slightly misleading connotations. Book for grown-ups, let's say. I wanted to write another adventure story so I thought, what if I just populate my books with adults, not children?"

The result is a series of novels that have drawn comparisons with Ian Fleming, the stylish James Bond author who Mr. Bell considers something of an inspiration. The books chronicle the covert exploits of Alex Hawke, a British super-spy who travels the world in pursuit of pirates, assassins and terrorists.

The novels, which have all reached the New York Times best-seller list, are written with a brisk realism Mr. Bell has gleamed from his small network in the diplomatic and intelligence communities.According to the author, the books deal with contemporary themes like terrorism with plots borrowed largely from current events. One novel, for instance, deals with Hezbollah after the recent Lebanese war, another with China's pursuit of oil and hegemony. Mr. Bell's latest, TSAR, promises to be no less exciting.

"The new one is about (Russian President) Vladimir Putin and the oligarchs. Meanwhile, I've had (Alex Hawke) purchase an imaginary cottage on Bermuda's south shore where he's living the simple life."

Mr. Bell spent his most recent trip to the island researching locations for the upcoming book.

"MI6 open a secret division in Bermuda, out of a small cover business in Dockyard." For convenience, Mr. Bell was forced to change the names and locations of certain landmarks. The abandoned NASA buildings on Cooper's Island, for instance, have been moved to Nonsuch Island ¿ a name the author was quite taken with.

"I've had to do a little bit of mixing and matching. There first reaction is going to be 'he's never been here!' but I did it deliberately."

TSAR will likely be out next spring. In the meantime, readers can catch up on the Alex Hawke series by visiting the Bermuda Book Store, where the rest of Mr. Bell's novels are on sale.