Carte Blanche: The New James Bond Novel by Jeffery Deaver; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Toby Stephens

"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 …"

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 to do whatever it takes to fulfill his mission . . .

The new thriller by Master of the Mind Game Jeffery Deaver featuring James Bond as you've never seen him before./p>

Jeffery Deaver has been selected to pen the newest installment of the Bond series, an adrenaline-fueled thriller set in the present day, with a thirty-year-old James Bond going head-to-head against perhaps the most compelling and horrific villains in modern thriller fiction. This isn’t the Cold War Bond; it’s the best of Fleming and Deaver in one seriously sharp and stylish novel. Bond’s license to kill meets Deaver’s razor-sharp storytelling and shocking plot twists in a cat-and-mouse game that takes Bond from the Balkans to London and ultimately to a searing climax on the African Continent. Deaver has outdone himself in re-creating the iconic character of Bond, his uncompromising courage and style, his wit and seductiveness, in a novel that captures everything beloved about the classic books, along with an international thriller plot that moves with breathtaking speed from page one to the final paragraph.

"A magnificently manic, impeccably researched and at times gory plot, with Deaver’s trademark misdirection and twists flying"—.The Washington Post

"His creator may be long gone, but James Bond (with his gadgets, women, and suave lines) lives on in the skillful hands of a suspense superstar."—Malcolm Jones, Newsweek Magazine, "10 Must-Read Summer Books"

"Ian Fleming’s estate tapped American novelist Deaver to pen a new James Bond thriller, and the pairing is as smooth as vodka and vermouth. Yes, the villains are creepy and the women brainy and beautiful, but in a clever reboot, this 007 (who served in Afghanistan) comes armed with a tricked-out cell phone and an appealing sense of empathy."—Parade

“Carte Blanche is a fantastic book. . . . Deaver knows psychology and it shines here. Moreover, he knows human relationships . . . as [Ian Fleming’s stepdaughter] best summarized it, Jeffery Deaver truly got it.”—Ann Arbor News

“Deaver, as fans of his Lincoln Rhyme and Kathryn Dance thrillers would expect, has clearly done his homework. . . . the most impressive feature of Carte Blanche is the ingenuity of the breathless, blood-thirsty plot. A master of misdirection, Deaver manufactures more surprises than anyone flogging an old warhorse can be expected to produce. . . . 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.”—The Evening Standard (London)

“There have been other Fleming impersonators, including Kingsley Amis and Sebastian Faulks, but the author of The Bone Collector is the biggest international name to take the job. He is also one of the world’s smoothest, most devious, thriller writers – a far better craftsman than Fleming, in fact. So could he assume Fleming’s identity rather than write another Jeffery Deaver novel only with a hero called Bond? And could he, for that matter, resist thriller publishing’s current obsession with relentless action inspired by the success of the Bourne movie franchise – and indeed Quantum Of Solace? The answers are emphatically “Yes.” Deaver preserves his book’s timeless feel by largely ignoring modern geopolitics and pitting Bond against a traditionally barking villain . . . [and] adds a series of twists that reveal a Bond with more Sherlockian intelligence than Fleming’s.”—The Telegraph (London)

“Fleming was a master of succinct plotting and deft characterization, his books deceptively slim but containing so much. Deaver too is a genius and this publishing marriage was truly made in heaven. 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.”—The Sunday Express (London)

"Crucially, the novel proves itself worthy of the 007 logo on its spine by presenting us with one of the most bone-chillingly creepy bad guys in history. . . . Deaver's immaculate sense of pace comes into its own. While giving Bond fans enough of the trinkets they deserve in an official novel, he also keeps the narrative pacey throughout and still allows our hero a few crucial moments of modern self-reflection. . . . It's hard to imagine anyone not being impressed by this novel."—The Independent (UK)

"After 28 suspense novels, there is no doubt that Deaver knows his way around a thriller plot, and Bond fans should be satisfied with the rollicking pace of 007's new adventure. . . . Deaver is a master of the twist in the tale and he deploys it here with cinematic verve, keeping the reader biting their nails until the last minute. . . . But the author's affection for Bond and for all the tropes that surround him is abundantly clear, so that Carte Blanche reads like a lovingly crafted homage rather than deliberate pastiche. Deaver's Bond is quite recognisably Bond, but a new, streamlined incarnation for a new generation of global fears."—The Guardian (UK)

"It's a tightrope walk, balancing the tradition with the requirements of contemporary life, and Deaver handles it with panache. . . . But what the Fleming aficionado will inevitably notice here are the differences, which turn this latest escapade into what feels, and should feel, like one of those things that are very popular these days: a reboot."—Olen Steinhauer, author of The Tourist, The Nearest Exit, The Bridge of Sighs, and Victory Square

Jeffery Deaver’s most recent #1 international bestseller is Carte Blanche, the new James Bond novel that brought Ian Fleming’s Agent 007 firmly into the modern age. After revealing his lifelong admiration for Fleming’s novels while accepting the Crime Writer’s Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for his thriller Garden of Beasts, Deaver was approached by the estate of Ian Fleming to write the next Bond thriller. It debuted on bestseller lists around the world.

The author of two collections of short stories and 28 previous suspense novels, Deaver is best known for his Kathryn Dance and Lincoln Rhyme thrillers, most notably The Bone Collector, which was made into a feature starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.  His many awards include the Novel of the Year at the International Thriller Writers’ Awards in 2009 for his standalone novel The Bodies Left Behind. The latest entries in the Lincoln Rhyme series are The Cold Moon, The Broken Window, and The Burning Wire. 

Deaver has been nominated for seven Edgar Awards by the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. He was recently short-listed for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. He lives in North Carolina.

For further information, visit www.jefferydeaver.com.