Author:	Jeffery Deaver
Published:	26th May 2011 (UK) 14th June 2011 (USA)
MI6 Rating:

Briefing
Carte Blanche is written by best selling thriller novelist Jeffery Deaver and takes place in the present day over a short period of time, and sees Bond visit three or four exotic locations around the globe, one of which is Dubai.

It will be published by Hodder & Stoughton on 26th May 2011 (the week of Ian Fleming’s birthday). In the USA, Carte Blanche will be published by Simon & Schuster a few weeks later on 14th June 2011.

Official Book Description (Penguin)
James Bond, in his early thirties and already a veteran of the Afghan War, has been recruited to a new organization. Conceived in the post-9/11 world, it operates independent of MI5, MI6 and the Ministry of Defense, its very existence deniable. Its aim: To protect the Realm, by any means necessary.

A Night Action alert calls James Bond away from dinner with a beautiful woman. Headquarters has decrypted an electronic whisper about an attack scheduled for later in the week: Casualties estimated in the thousands, British interests adversely affected. And Agent 007 has been given carte blanche.

Jeffery Deaver on Bond
"In the world of espionage, giving an agent carte blanche on a mission comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgement. Part of the nonstop suspense in the novel is the looming question of what is acceptable in matters of national and international security. Are there lines that even James Bond should not cross? The novel will maintain the persona of James Bond as Fleming created him and the unique tone the author brought to his books, while incorporating my literary trademarks: detailed research, fast pacing and surprise twists."

About the Author
Jeffery Deaver is the author of a number of internationally bestselling crime series. He is best known for his Kathryn Dance and Lincoln Rhyme books, most notably The Bone Collector, which was adapted for film in 1999, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.

Above: 1st edition Hodder & Stoughton hardback
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"Ah, the Bentley Continental GT coupe …the finest off-the-peg vehicle in the world, Bond believed. He had always loved the marque; his father had kept hundreds of old newspaper photos of the famed Bentley brothers and their creations leaving Bugattis and the rest of the field in the dust at Le Mans in the 1920s and 1930s."

Above: 1st edition Simon & Schuster hardback
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Deaver has also written two award-winning short story collections, as well as stand-alone novels including Garden of Beasts and The Bodies Left Behind, which was named Novel of the Year at the International Thriller WritersW Awards in 2009.

Deaver was born near Chicago in 1950. Before becoming a full-time author in 1990, he was a journalist, like Fleming, and attorney.

He started writing suspense novels on the long commute to and from his office on Wall Street. His books are now translated into 25 languages. Deaver lives in North Carolina.

"The face of war is changing. The other side doesn’t play by the rules much anymore. There’s thinking, in some circles, that we need to play by a different set of rules too . . ."

My history with Bond goes back fifty years. I was about eight or nine when I picked up my first Bond novel. I was a bit precocious when it came to reading, but I have my parents to thank for that.

They had a rule that I was not allowed to watch certain movies, but I could read anything that I could get my hands on. This was ironic since, in the 1950s and early ’60s, you’d never see sex or violence on the screen. So, I was allowed to read every Bond book my father brought home or that I could afford with my allowance.

I felt Fleming’s influence early. My first narrative fiction, written when I was eleven, was based on Bond. It was about a spy who stole a top-secret airplane from the Russians. The agent was American but had a British connection, having been stationed, like my father, in East Anglia during WWII.

Above: Audiobook cover artwork
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