If you are a fan of serial murder cases, '60s Motown music or superspy James Bond, then London has something for you.

This summer, three major London museums are offering outstanding special exhibits on phenomenons that have left their stamp on popular culture.

Perhaps the most analyzed and reviewed of the exhibits is the yearlong retrospective focusing on British writer Ian Fleming, the man who created Bond in the early '50s. That may be because Fleming, in a life that took him from a dithering banker and stock broker to a desk-bound naval intelligence officer, also pounded away at a typewriter as a fellow journalist. As a young correspondent in Moscow, he once was nervy enough to ask Stalin for an interview, which was declined, but with a surprise note from the Soviet dictator.

Through the years, Hollywood went on to repackage and brand Fleming's Bond character, laying on more gimmickry. But the exhibit at the Imperial War Museum, timed with the 100th anniversary of Fleming's birth, shows just how much alike, and apart, Bond and his creator were in their parallel lives. As literature, many will say that the Bond novels fall far short. But in characterization, Bond remains a standout. Fleming was writing about nuclear terrorism years before the advent of al-Qaida.

Much of Fleming's early life, through fleshpots, five-star restaurants and exotic locales, appears as preparation for the Bond novels. Be sure to see the orange bikini worn by Halle Berry in "Die Another Day," which is a direct descendant of a similar suit worn by Ursula Andress in "Dr. No," the bloodied formal shirt worn by Daniel Craig in "Casino Royale" and the prototype of Rosa Klebb's lethal dagger shoes, worn by actress Lotte Lenya in "From Russia With Love."

Beyond the Bond exhibit, the War Museum presents an important and disturbing look at the Holocaust, with a focus on internment camps not so well known in U.S. presentations. And it has a superb collection of weapons and armaments, including the Nazi buzz bombs that brought their destruction to London virtually without warning.

Along with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the world has been mesmerized by the Jack the Ripper murders, which terrorized London over three years starting in 1888. As many as 11 victims, all women believed to be prostitutes, may have succumbed to the sometimes-surgical slaying techniques of this serial killer, who was never caught.

Now the Museum in Docklands, near the warren of alleys and dead-end streets where the Ripper struck, has assembled the first thorough exhibit on the killings and their continuing notoriety. Placed in the context of the East End's rampant poverty, the exhibit includes many of the myths and legends that have grown from the sensational murders.

For the first time, the public can see original police reports on the murders and read oral histories of those who lived in the period. "Jack the Ripper and the East End" takes visitors into the squalor of late-Victorian Whitechapel and brings to life those who called the teeming community home when the killer struck, It considers why this particular serial killer, among so many, has carved out a singular place in history.

Sure, this may be the summer of "Sex and the City," but those four women can't hold a tune to The Supremes, who created their own fashion sense while climbing to the top of pop music. It doesn't seem like too long ago that the three dream girls from the hard streets of Detroit rose to challenge The Beatles as pop's superstars. They recorded 12 No. 1 hits between 1964 and 1969. The Victoria & Albert Museum, a center for the decorative arts, exhibits more than 50 costumes worn by The Supremes, including the original Supremes — Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, as well as the '70s Supremes. Styling was pivotal to their success. Indeed, everything about them was painstakingly packaged — from hairstyles to makeup to clothes, and album covers.

The exhibit examines how the group was tailored by Motown's Berry Gordy and others to appeal to the broadest possible audience.

Gordy and Motown artistic development director Maxine Powell are featured in video interviews. Beyond the lothes, the exhibit places The Supremes in the context of the civil rights struggle and the group's role in changing racial perceptions. The exhibit is based on the collection of Mary Wilson, and is presented in collaboration with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

To avoid summer crowds, check to see if tickets, with timed entry, are available at the museums' Web sites.

IF YOU GO

For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond

Where: Imperial War Museum, until March 2009. Take the London Underground to the Lambeth North station. It's then a short walk.

Hours: Daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Admission: Museum admission is free; the Bond exhibit is $10, discounts available, check Web site.

Online: iwm.org.uk

Jack the Ripper and the East End

Where: Museum in Docklands, until Nov. 2. Take the London Underground to Canary Wharf station or the Docklands Light Railway to West India Quay.

Hours: Daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (last admission 4.45 p.m.). Discounts

available, check Web site. Not recommended for children under 12.

Admission: $14, which includes entry to the museum.

Online: www.museumindocklands.org.uk

The Story of The Supremes From the Mary Wilson Collection

Where: Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, until Oct. 19. Take the London Underground to the South Kensington station and follow signs.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday.

Admission: $10 for the exhibit; museum entry is free.

REPRINTED FROM THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

Column by Carl Larsen