Ian Fleming Publications presents the first-ever novel featuring James Bond’s American friend and ally, FELIX LEITER! Raymond is back in the Bond universe, having written this unique tale set in Fleming’s timeline of the 1950s between the novels Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever!
See the statement from Ian Fleming Publications regarding the change of e-book serialization release HERE!
The novel will now be available as an e-book beginning June 24, 2025, exclusively from Ian Fleming Publications in the UK and from regular e-book retailers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.) in the US, followed by a print publication in October exclusively from IFP. Note that the original publishing plan of an e-book serial is no longer the case.
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.
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 also Raymond Benson at his very best.
The IFP site will also offer extra-value material through the summer 2025, such as “behind the scenes” videos (“Hooked on Leiter!”), essays, and more. See the original announcement details at IFP’s website: here!
You can order the e-book, print book, or both at IFP’s website or from the Books–James Bond Page on this site!