Trigger Mortis: A James Bond Novel

Literary legend James Bond returns to his 1950s heyday in this exhilarating thriller by Sunday Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz.

It's 1957 and James Bond (agent 007) has only just survived his showdown with Auric Goldfinger at Fort Knox. By his side is Pussy Galore, who was with him at the end. Unknown to either of them, the USSR and the West are in a deadly struggle for technological superiority. And SMERSH is back.

The Soviet counter-intelligence agency plans to sabotage a Grand Prix race at the most dangerous track in Europe. But it's Bond who finds himself in the driving seat and events take an unexpected turn when he observes a suspicious meeting between SMERSH's driver and a sinister Korean millionaire, Jai Seong Sin.
Soon Bond is pitched into an entirely different race uncovering a plan that could bring the West to its knees.

Welcoming back familiar faces, including M and Miss Moneypenny, international bestselling author Anthony Horowitz ticks all the boxes: speed, danger, strong women and fiendish villains, to reinvent the golden age of Bond in this brilliantly gripping adventure. Trigger Mortis is also the first James Bond novel to feature previously unseen Ian Fleming material.

This is James Bond as Fleming imagined him.

A humdinger of a Bond story, so cunningly crafted and thrillingly placed that OO7's creator would have been happy to own it.... The book is the best Bond movie you'll ever see without actually having to see the movie.
TRIGGER MORTIS is a blast. Set two weeks after the end of the novel Goldfinger in 1957, it has a superb plot based around the early space race and features the return of the best Bond girl of them all, Pussy Galore.
Fleming fans certainly won't be disappointed. Trigger Mortis contains all the adrenaline you'd expect from a Bond novel with bags of humour, international jet-setting and a compelling cast of inventively named characters. It is, one suspects, a novel Fleming would be proud to have in the 007 canon.
Almost too good
Horowitz is doing something both clever and audacious...a clever and enjoyable pastiche, which manages to press many of the buttons that were the purview of 007's creator.
There is a delicate line separating imitation from parody and Horowitz stays on the right side of it to perfection.
'Sexy, slick and full of suspense, this new Bond novel is perfect escapism.'
Anthony Horowitz knows exactly what ingredients are required to satisfy even the most gluttonous James Bond fan and serves them up with the confidence of the self-confessed aficionado that he is... In Trigger Mortis the reader finds set pieces expertly handled and genuinely exciting... it all makes for an energetic and satisfying read.
'This supremely well-crafted thriller is an expertly shaken martini of authentic flavours, right down to several heart-pounding set pieces that surely belong on the big screen. Women... are in the driving seat in more senses than one, while Bond is an alluring mix of emotional detachment and death-defying heroics. Pure Pleasure.'
'Ultimately, Horowitz seems to me to have captured the spirit of Fleming more successfully than his recent illustrious predecessors in the Bond-sequel game.'
Trigger Mortis is cool and restrained... Fleming's best work was possessed of a rather insouciant tone; a wry, weary, mid-century tone that Horowitz captures exactly.
The tension-filled opening sequence is there, the threat to world peace, the race to prevent central Manhattan being blown to smithereens, beautiful women and dodgy gangsters, but, somehow, Bond is more likeable. Daniel Craig would be hard pushed to describe this one as sexist and misogynistic. Mr Horowitz has introduced us to a more rounded hero, but one who won't disappoint the traditionalists.
'Horowitz's brings her [Pussy Galore] back as something like a three-dimensional woman, giving her an arc that surpasses Bond's hackneyed Freudian masculinity... He delivers the tersely precise prose that makes Bond so compelling, but more than that, he also supplies touches of Fleming's cruel poetry.'
'Horowitz has an amazing facility for narrating action, and the set-pieces are terrific... the final 50 pages pass in a breathless rush of excitement.'
Anthony Horowitz produced as good an ersatz James Bond novel as one could hope for in TRIGGER MORTIS
A fast-paced Cold War thriller that should please literary Bond fans... a modern take on a period series: Bond doesn't seem quite as cold and brutal as Fleming's original and in a couple of places, the writer's 21st century morality seems to seep almost unconsciously through.
'All elements are in place. We have the fast cars, the dead-eyed villain with a penchant for playing cards, a mysterious woman and an intricate plot involving rockets.'
'A cocktail of speed, danger, strong women and fiendish villains.'
'A pacy Cold War thriller that will please Bond fans.'
Fervent fans and completists will likely not be disappointed.
Bond and his creator have been under siege from the second-rate and politically censorious for decades. It has taken 50 years for one author, Anthony Horowitz, to finally deliver the respectful and tender homage both have long deserved. It is a cause for celebration.
Endorsed by the Bond estate, Anthony Horowitz does a sterling job of bringing the spy's bygone era to life, helped in part by access to Fleming's papers.
The Fleming chapter slips in almost seamlessly, a testament to how attentive Horowitz has been to his master's style.
"A masterly feat of literary ventriloquism."
"A pleasingly modern perspective while still managing to retain the essence of Ian Fleming's original novels. It also happens to be a great read."
'If you like the original Bond books it's a safe bet that you'll like Trigger Mortis, too. Horowitz captures the flavour and feel of the originals.'
'Break-neck pace, complex and entertaining plot, and thrilling action... Expertly structured with plenty of twists and turns, this is classic Bond.'

Incorporating original, never-before-published material from 007 creator Ian Fleming, New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz returns literary legend James Bond to his 1950s heyday in this exhilarating and dashing thriller.
The world's most famous spy, James Bond, has just returned victorious from his showdown with Auric Goldfinger in Fort Knox. By his side is the glamorous and streetwise Pussy Galore, who played no small part in his success. As they settle down in London, the odds of Galore taming the debonair bachelor seem slim—but she herself is a creature not so easily caught.
Meanwhile, the struggle for superiority between the Soviet Union and the West is escalating. In an attempt to demonstrate Soviet strength, SMERSH plans to sabotage an international Grand Prix in the hot zone of West Germany. At the Nürburgring Racing Circuit, Bond must play a high-speed game of cat and mouse to stop them, but when he observes a secretive meeting between SMERSH's driver and a notorious Korean millionaire, it becomes clear that this is just the infamous organization's opening move.
An orphan of the Korean War, he has a personal reason for wanting to bring America to its knees. He's helping SMERSH decisively end the white-hot space race—but how? With the help of an American female agent, Bond uncovers a plan that leads first to Florida and then to New York City, where a heart-stopping face-off will determine the fate of the West.
This thriller has all the hallmarks of an original Ian Fleming adventure and features welcome familiar faces, including M and Miss Moneypenny. Horowitz delivers a smooth and seductive narrative of fast cars and beautiful women, ruthless villains and breathtaking plot that will leave readers hanging until the very end.