Forever and a Day

The story, without spoilers

An agent using the number 007 has been killed in Marseille. A new agent, James Bond, is sent to investigate and earn his place in the Double O service. The French Riviera's cars, casinos and yachts conceal a dangerous criminal network.

The opening deliberately asks what the number means before Bond becomes the person readers associate with it. This is Horowitz's prequel to Casino Royale, so the attraction is an imagined beginning rather than a replacement for Fleming's original introduction.

Can I start here?

Read Casino Royale first for your first encounter with Fleming's Bond, then return to this prequel. In story chronology it comes earlier; in Horowitz's publication order it follows Trigger Mortis.

What stands out

The murdered predecessor turns the familiar number into a story question. Choose it after you know Fleming's first novel if you want to explore how Horowitz imagines Bond's first assignment and professional identity.

Who wrote it

Horowitz, the Alex Rider author and Foyle’s War creator, was commissioned to write three Bond novels, including Forever and a Day. Fleming’s original material informed his approach to the commission.

More about Anthony Horowitz

Where it fits in Bond’s life

Set before Casino Royale, this is Horowitz’s account of Bond’s first mission as 007. Read Fleming first if you want to recognise the prequel’s later echoes.

Fleming connection

The official announcement says Horowitz used original Fleming material for Forever and a Day. Its first-007 premise is Horowitz’s new prequel, not a lost complete Fleming novel.

Content notes

Adult readers. Murder, organised crime, violence and adult sexual content.

Setting

• Marseille
• The French Riviera

Main characters

James Bond, M, Madame Sixtine, Jean-Paul Scipio.