'The face of war is changing. The other side doesn't play by the rules much any more. There's thinking, in some circles, that we need to play by a different set of rules too . . .'
Fresh from Afghanistan, James Bond has been recruited to a new agency. Conceived in the post-9/11 world, it operates independent of Five, Six and the MoD, its very existence deniable. Its aim: to protect the Realm, by any means necessary.
The Night Action alert calls Bond from dinner with a beautiful woman. GCHQ has decrypted an electronic whisper about an attack scheduled for later in the week: casualties estimated in the thousands, British interests adversely affected.
And 007 has been given carte blanche to do whatever it takes to fulfil his mission.
Jeffery Deaver is the author of 2 short story collections and 29 suspense novels. He is best known for his No. 1 bestselling Lincoln Rhyme thrillers, which include The Bone Collector, made into a feature film starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Among other awards, he won the Novel of the Year in the International Thriller Awards 2009 for The Bodies Left Behind, the Crime Writers' Association Steel Dagger for Best Thriller with Garden of Beasts, and their Short Story Dagger for 'The Weekender' from Twisted.
Visit his website, www.jefferydeaver.com, Facebook page, www.facebook.com/JefferyDeaver, and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JefferyDeaver.
Title: Carte Blanche (James Bond)
Author: Jeffery Deaver
ISBN: 9781444716474
Binding:
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication Date: 2011-05-26
Number of Pages: 448
Weight: 0.6987 kg
Among the high-end marques of crime, Deaver ranks in the Bentley Continental class: a sleek, fast and supremely well-engineered suspense machine . . . Deaver has stylishly fulfilled his brief. * Independent *
The most impressive feature of CARTE BLANCHE is the ingenuity of the breathless, blood-thirsty plot . . . Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and Sebastian Faulks are among those who have tried to bring Bond back to life. Deaver, though, is in a class of his own: nobody's done it better. * Evening Standard *
'Top US thriller writer Jeffery Deaver has brought Bond bang up to date . . . CARTE BLANCHE has it all.' **** * Sun *
'[A] gripping modern thriller . . . Bond fans will enjoy Deaver's slightly mischievous take on Ian Fleming. Deaver fans will enjoy the taut plotting and the action scenes and, by the way, it is going to make a great movie.' ***** * Daily Express *
'CARTE BLANCHE promises to be fast-paced, packed with twists and turns as torturous as any Bond car chase.' * The Times *
'[James Bond] lives on in the skillful hands of a suspense superstar.' * www.newsweek.com *
'I was agreeably surprised at how much I enjoyed CARTE BLANCHE, probably the best Bond continuation novel since Fleming's death nearly half a century ago. Deaver combines the best of Fleming's crisp, eclectic style without compromising his own ability to tell a cracking story.' * Literary Review *
Deaver delivers more twists than a 1960s prom dance and the plot pounds along at a breathless pace * Financial Times *
'Deaver's writing is very much like Fleming's . . . kept me turning pages.' * Irish Times *
'Deaver's enthusiasm for Bond comes through on every page and puts the gift for plotting that has garnered him such massive popularity to superb use here. So CARTE BLANCHE is excellent fun, a great read and Jeffery Deaver has breathed new life into an old favourite.' * Sunday Express *
'Brings 007 bang up to date . . . It's also thrilling and genuinely surprising like most of thriller king Deaver's novels. If they turn this into the next 007 film (after the one that comes out in 2012), it'll be great.' **** * Heat *
'Set over six action-packed days, this is a tightly wound thriller that crackles at break-neck speed . . . the Bond legacy is in safe hands.' * News of the World *
'Deaver's immaculate sense of pace comes into its own. It's hard to imagine anyone not being impressed by this novel' * Independent on Sunday *
'Top US thriller writer Jeffery Deaver and iconic spy James Bond prove to be an irresistible combination . . . In an interview last year Deaver promised his book would be a clever story, with some very good twists and surprises and he has certainly delivered.' * Daily Express *
Deaver gets his cultural references pretty well spot-on, and the dialogue is impressively free of stray Americanisms * Mail on Sunday *
Deaver writes crime fiction - thrillers you want to race through - and he's bloody good . . . If he was real, 007 would be a Deaver fan * The Big Issue *
[Jeffery Deaver] would have done Fleming proud . . . Deaver's customary storytelling expertise is handsomely on display * The Good Book Guide *
Wrestling with the contemporary issues of bureaucracy and privacy, CARTE BLANCHE brings Bond into the present day, and the result is a very enjoyable, action-laden thriller * Woman's Weekly *
