Carte Blanche

The New James Bond Novel

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Toby Stephens

James Bond comes to life as you’ve never seen him before in the explosive spy thriller and international bestseller by Jeffrey Deaver.

The action begins when a Night Action alert cuts short a high-end dinner with a captivating woman. Headquarters has decrypted a whispered threat—plans for a chemical disaster with casualties in the thousands, British interests squarely in its crosshairs.

Now Agent?007, in his early thirties and a veteran of the Afghan War, has been recruited to the newly formed Overseas Development Group (ODG)—a post-9/11 covert operations agency that operates independently from MI5, MI6, and the Ministry of Defense. With ultimate authority and arguably unlimited mandates, Bond has been given carte blanche to stop the attack by any means necessary.

In this modern spy thriller, Bond races across Serbia, Dubai, and South Africa to thwart the lethal villain Severan Hydt and his shadowy network. As bureaucratic obstacles and domestic intelligence clashes test his limits, Bond must rely on cunning, high-tech gadgets, and allies like CIA’s Felix Leiter and South African officer Bheka Jordaan to stay one step ahead.

A rebooted James Bond set firmly in the 21st century, Carte?Blanche blends suspenseful espionage, relentless action, and a morally complex protagonist navigating terrorism in a globalized world—a must-read thriller fiction experience.

An excellent continuation of the Bond stories.

The characters were well developed and reminded me of previous bond books. The story was not as good as some but better than most.

License not to offend

Being not only a huge James Bond fan but also a Jeffrey Deaver fan I decided to give this audio book a try, and what I got was a very disappointing representation of the character that I've hold most dear in literature and movies. Deaver gives Bond too much of a conscience along with his dry wit and bite. Examples of this include insulting other characters then immediately scolding himself for doing so. This is something that Fleming's or Craig's Bond would have never thought twice about doing.

Bond in the contemporary context!

A fantastic listen from start to finish. Believable characters, exotic locales, ruthless villains and all wrapped up in a plot that could be taken from headlines

Deaver Does An Awesome Bond! Great book!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

First, Deaver is an excellent writer who understands and writes in the genre with the best of them. I think we are lucky a writer of his caliber would take on Bond at all. Bond movies are so anticipated and loved, they tend to be judged more by how few times you are forced to suspend belief than by how good the story really is. I must confess I carried the same anticipation into the reading of Carte Blanche. In this case, Deaver delivers in a very big way with a complex mystery that is as entertaining as it is realistic.Best of all, he gives Bond the sophistication and complexity he deserves.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Carte Blanche?

I loved how Deaver used the contrast of proper police work to expose how Bond's 00 status allows him far more leeway than most law enforcement.

Which character – as performed by Toby Stephens – was your favorite?

Bond, James Bond.

Any additional comments?

If you love good writing, excellent mystery, and believable suspense and of course James Bond, you'll love Carte Blanche!

Fantastic!

If you like the new Bond movies, with their more realistic James Bond ... you will love this book. I really enjoyed it. Interesting story, good writing, and the performance was terrific. One of my first Audible.com books and I was very pleased. Sat in the car occasionally, because of the suspense of the book!