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With a Mind to Kill: The explosive new James Bond thriller from the no.1 Sunday Times bestseller Paperback – 31 May 2022
Anthony Horowitz (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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It is M's funeral. One man is missing from the graveside- the traitor James Bond, in custody accused of M's murder.
Behind the Iron Curtain, a group of former Smersh and Stasi agents now want to use their lethal British spy against a target whose assassination will change history. Bond is smuggled into the lion's den to receive his orders - but whose orders is he following, and what will he do when the time comes to pull the trigger?
In a mission where one false move means death, Bond must also grapple with the darkest questions about himself - but not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherJONATHAN CAPE & BH - TRADE
- Publication date31 May 2022
- Dimensions15.3 x 2.1 x 23.4 cm
- ISBN-101787333493
- ISBN-13978-1787333499
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Product description
Review
The super spy is back, with a fresh injection from novelist and screenwriter extraordinaire, Anthony Horowitz. The expert in suspense takes us back to the beginning of James Bond’s story… the story rips along with plenty of familiar Bond staples: evil villains, fast cars and women falling for young Bond’s charms. Ian Fleming would be proud. ― Guardian
In many ways, Horowitz has now surpassed Fleming and the final book in his Bond trilogy is a masterpiece. It's a literary thriller writing at its page-turning finest.' ― Daily Express
Horowitz is a worthy successor to Ian Fleming, putting 007 back in his true domain… This New Bond is up there with the better Old Bonds… The denouement is a very fine piece of action writing… Horowitz has done splendidly. ― Scotsman
About the Author
He is also the author of the teen spy Alex Rider series, and responsible for creating and writing some of the UK's most loved and successful TV series, including Midsomer Murders and Foyle's War. In January 2014 he was awarded an OBE for his services to literature.
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Product details
- Publisher : JONATHAN CAPE & BH - TRADE (31 May 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1787333493
- ISBN-13 : 978-1787333499
- Dimensions : 15.3 x 2.1 x 23.4 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 41,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Welcome to my Amazon author page. It's strange to think that when I wrote my first book, there was no Amazon - in fact there was no internet, no computers. That doesn't make me particularly old. It just shows how quickly times have moved.
In fact I wrote my first book when I was ten, stuck in a miserable, north London boarding school where reading and telling stories were my only lifeline. Every time I write a new book, I have the same sense of urgency that I had then. I knew without any doubt that I would be an author. Perhaps it helped that I wasn't much good at anything else.
Cut forward to the present and now I have over forty-five published novels to my name. The game changer for me was Stormbreaker, the first Alex Rider adventure, published in 2000. There were eleven more books in the series - the latest, Never Say Die, was published in 2017 - and they are now being developed for TV. I have plenty of other children's books out there - I was delighted to discover my Power of Five series (Raven's Gate, Evil Star etc) on sale in a tiny bookshop in Elounda, Crete only a few days ago.
But as I grew older (and my original audience entered their twenties) I felt a need to move into adult writing. This began with two Sherlock Holmes continuation novels, The House of Silk and Moriarty, followed by my entry into the world of James Bond with Trigger Mortis. A second Bond novel is on the way. An original thriller, Magpie Murders was published last year and got some of the best reviews I've had. One of the joys of Twitter, incidentally, is that it allows readers to contact me directly and these 140-character exchanges are as valuable to me as what the professional critics have to say.
I also write for TV. After cutting my teeth on the hugely popular show, Robin of Sherwood, I moved on to work with David Suchet and his brilliant portrayal of Hercule Poirot, writing about nine or ten episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot. I was the first writer on Midsomer Murders and then went on to create Foyle's War which I worked on for the next sixteen years. Somewhere along the way, I also created a five-part series for ITV called Injustice which very much influenced the book I'm publishing now.
The Word is Murder is hopefully the start of a long-running series. It introduces a detective by the name of Daniel Hawthorne - a rather dark and dangerous man whom I actually met on the set of Injustice. At least, that's my version of events and that's what counts here because, very unusually, I actually appear in the book as his not entirely successful sidekick; the Watson to his Holmes.
The whole point of being an author is that you're in control. But here I am, writing a book in which I have no idea what's going on, following in the footsteps of a character who refuses to tell me anything. What I'm trying to do is to give the traditional whodunit a metaphysical twist. I hope, if you read it, you'll enjoy all the clues, the red herrings, the bizarre range of suspects and the occasionally violent twists. With a bit of luck you won't guess the ending (nobody has so far). But at the same time, The Word is Murder offers something more. It's a book about words as much as murder, about writing crime as well as solving it.
Do let me know what you think. I really hope you like the book. If you do, you can tweet me your thoughts at @AnthonyHorowitz. I hope to hear from you!
Anthony Horowitz
Crete 2017
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"With a Mind to Kill" is the third and final Bond novel to be penned by Anthony Horowitz. Having covered 007's first assignment in "Forever and a Day" and then shown him in mid-career in "Trigger Mortis", this shows Bond as he moves towards the tail end of his life as a government operative. Once again, Anthony Horowitz displays his chameleon-like talents to authentically recreate the style of Ian Fleming. The story is set in 1964 and, chronologically, the events of this novel take place shortly after "The Man With the Golden Gun", which was the final Bond novel written by Fleming.
If you are coming to this novel from having recently watched more recent screen adaptations of James Bond, then you may find the depiction of the lead character to be somewhat different to what you are accustomed to. Horowitz not only remains true to Fleming's version of Bond, but in mimicking that author's approach he also conveys social attitudes and activities that would be deemed very out of place in a 21st century setting. This is never more clearly illustrated than in the depiction of, and attitudes towards, women. Readers who feel ill at ease with outdated gender stereotyping - and even outright misogyny - may be best advised to pass this book by, or else be prepared to have their hackles raised.
In some ways it is difficult to appraise this novel as a 2022 publication. Taken at face value, it could easily be dismissed as a fairly ordinary action story with simplistic, predictable plotlines. However, that judgement would do the author a disservice. There is a real skill in being able to convincingly recreate such an iconic character in the manner in which his original creator intended. Personally, I prefer to read Anthony Horowitz's entirely original work, rather than seeing him pay homage to the exploits of characters conjured up by the likes of Ian Fleming or Arthur Conan Doyle - but I have yet to come across another author who can pull that off with the aplomb as Anthony Horowitz.
This won't be a book for everyone - and I don't think it is this author's best - but it is still skilfully written and enjoyable to read.

This latest offering is not bad, as pastiche Bond novels go, but even the rather meaningless title could belong to half a dozen or more 007 books and films: "Live and Let Die", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "Death is Forever", "A View to a Kill", "Die Another Day".......,
It seems that part of the formula nowadays is for the title to include Death, Dying or Killing.
"With a Mind to Kill" begins quite promisingly, with the funeral of M and the possibility that James Bond is his murderer.
It's the early 1960s, and this is an immediate sequel to "The Man With the Golden Gun", the last novel Ian Fleming wrote, which itself had begun with a brainwashed Bond attempting to assassinate his boss.
Now it seems he has succeeded, and before long he is apparently defecting to the Soviet Union, back into the clutches of Col. Boris, the Torture and Mind Control specialist who originally brainwashed him and sent him on his murderous mission.
And like all Bond villains, Boris has a physical oddity.
They always do.
This time it's different coloured eyes.
He also has a beautiful young female assistant, an ice maiden devoted to her work and to the Soviet Union.
Until Bond gets to work on her.
"To Russia With Love" might have been a better title!
At this point I'm going to be deliberately vague about the plot, simply because I'd be giving too much away. Nobody wants spoilers.
Anthony Horowitz has come up with an interesting enough plot, and I have to admit that it gets better as it goes along, but his writing style is bald and bland, with none of the slightly feverish undertone that so distinguished Ian Fleming's.
He ticks many of the formulaic boxes......the Morland cigarettes, the gunmetal cigarette case, the obstinate lock of hair and the facial scar. He even manages to give Bond an airline meal of foie gras and champagne and a gourmet dinner in Moscow's most expensive restaurant, but this being 1960s Russia he is denied his trademark "shaken not stirred" Martini cocktail, and there is no mention of those wretched Sea Island shirts!
Moneypenny and Bill Tanner make fleeting appearances, and there are even references to Loelia Ponsonby, Bond's erstwhile personal secretary, and to May, his Scottish housekeeper, but no Q, course.....he was only ever in the films (unless you count Major Boothroyd in the novel "Doctor No".)
Nobody apart from the Russian characters is ever described.....it's assumed we know who the regulars are and what they look like.
Nor do we get much insight into what anyone is thinking, except for Bond himself. (The best pieces of writing in the entire book occurs when Bond is reflecting on the nature and character of Soviet Russia and, later, on his own future.)
Mr Horowitz seems to have done his homework to get the period detail right, though I'm pretty sure that London roadworkers in the early Sixties would not have worn fluorescent high visibility vests.
This is apparently Horowitz's final Bond novel, and I think it's just as well. He has already given us a pre-"Casino Royale" outing for the young Bond, which in my opinion was simply too similar to that premiere Fleming adventure, and this post-"Golden Gun" effort, though competent, seems to be the work of a writer who is nervous about interfering with Established Legend.
Resurrecting other writers' characters is for hacks.
Anthony Horowitz is no hack.

As before, the author is able to successfully emulate Fleming’s style - though I suspect that this might mean the tale doesn’t appeal too well to readers more used to modern thrillers, as this style is quite slow and cerebral compared to later tastes for fast paced action.
However unlike before, I’m janitor convinced that Horowitz has managed to quite balance the Fleming with a more modern viewpoint, with some aspects of story and character coming across as a bit too Fleming in their attitudes towards women.
Overall though a satisfying end to the Horowitz trilogy, and one that gives a deeper sense of character to Bond at least than I think I’ve seen in along time. I’m intrigued next to see what the next author, Kim Sherwood, will bring to the series.

I recommend this book to anyone who has a thirst for Espionage thrillers and Bond fans alike.
Thoughrlly enjoyable, I don't want to give anything away as this would lesson the overall effect of this great slice of Cold War Espionage and thrilling tale.
