Raymond Benson to write 007 book starring Felix Leiter

Ian Fleming Publications has announced a new novel by legendary 007 continuation author Raymond Benson. The Hook and the Eye focuses on Felix Leiter, James Bond’s trusted American friend and ally.

The Hook and the Eye will be released digitally in ten instalments, beginning on May 27th, 2025, recalling the serialisation of classic pulp fiction in the early twentieth century. This will be followed by the paperback publication of the full story on October 2nd, 2025.

Synopsis

Felix Leiter – James Bond’s trusted friend and ally – takes centre stage in this brand new adventure by Bond novelist, Raymond Benson.

The Hook and the Eye is a mystery, a romance, a spy story, a road trip tale and a postcard of a lost Americana.

It is 1952. Felix has lost his job at the CIA and finds himself working for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. What starts as a simple surveillance job turns into a matter of life and death when Felix stumbles upon a murder and a cabal of spies embedded in Manhattan. Hired to transport the impossibly beautiful and impossibly secretive Dora from New York to Texas, Felix is thrust into a non-stop adventure, where danger and deceit lie in wait around every bend in the road.

About the author

Raymond Benson has written over a dozen  James Bond continuation novels and short stories, published between 1997 and 2003.

IFPL’s Publishing Director Simon Ward commented “Raymond may be a Bond author, but he was born to write Felix Leiter. He came to us with a story – one filled with intrigue, mystery and danger – and it was exactly what we were looking for. We are thrilled to be working with Raymond again and we think the fans are going to love the journey he takes our favourite CIA agent on. I think it’s the best ‘Bond universe’ book Raymond has ever written.”

Author Raymond Benson added “Having worked on this project in secrecy since May 2024, I am now pleased and proud to finally present the first ever Felix Leiter novel, appropriately set in Ian Fleming’s timeline of the 1950s between the character’s appearances in Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever. As a native Texan myself, I’ve always had an affinity for 007’s close American friend.”

How and when to read the story

Starting on May 27th the eBook serialisation will begin with ‘The Hook and the Eye: Episode 1’ containing the first four chapters of the novel. This will be followed every two weeks with a new episode, concluding on September 30th with the tenth instalment. 

Episodes will be released via updates to the original eBook file, so be aware that in order to read them you’ll need to either enable automatic file updates on your e-reader device, or manually download the updated files.

Following the final ‘Episode’ release, a physical paperback edition of The Hook and the Eye will be published. 

The paperback can be pre-ordered, exclusively via the Ian Fleming Publications website.

Readers in the UK can pre-order the eBook direct from Ian Fleming Publications and can also access a special bundle price for both the digital and physical versions together. 

Readers around the world can pre-order from their preferred eBook retailer.

Pre-order The Hook and the Eye on Amazon (Kindle Edition, $4.51)