Trigger Mortis

Is it worth reading?

Our view: choose Trigger Mortis if you want a period Bond adventure with an unusually direct link to Fleming’s working material. The racing opening and Pussy Galore’s return give it a recognisable position after Goldfinger, while the larger mission belongs to Horowitz. It is a better recommendation for someone who already knows that Fleming novel than for a reader seeking a completely fresh introduction to Bond. We place it fourth in our selective continuation ranking, with the qualification that a reader who prefers an established, active Bond to a prequel may put it higher.

Why the racing premise matters

A motor race gives a thriller an immediately understandable form of pressure: skill, speed and the possibility of sabotage occupy the same space. For this novel, it also supplies a documented link with Fleming’s unused television treatment Murder on Wheels. That connection is worth knowing before reading, but it should not turn the book into an exercise in hunting for supposedly authentic sentences. Horowitz is responsible for the new novel and for the way the inherited material sits within its larger mission.

Our suggested approach is to notice what the opening asks Bond to do before the wider threat becomes clear. A task with visible boundaries can make the expansion of a plot more effective, because the reader has already learnt how the agent responds under pressure. That is a reading question rather than a promise that every episode follows a formula. Let the book establish its own scale instead of expecting the entire story to remain at the racetrack.

Returning characters and new partners

Pussy Galore’s presence makes Goldfinger the most useful prior reading. Jeopardy Lane and Jai Seong Sin belong to the new mission. The distinction matters: a returning character creates continuity, while new people must earn their place within the current story. Familiarity with a name is not a substitute for following what that person does here. Readers who know only the film version of Goldfinger should allow for the literary character’s different context.

When discussing the novel, it is useful to ask whether the return changes Bond’s situation or mainly supplies recognition. That gives you a more precise response than simply deciding whether a familiar name was welcome. The same applies to the period setting. Details can establish a world, but the central reading interest is how the characters’ choices create the danger. Horowitz’s closeness to Fleming is a reason to compare the works, not a reason to suspend judgement about the new one.

Publication order and story order

Trigger Mortis was first published in 2015, but its mission is set in 1957 after Goldfinger. Those two years answer different questions. The first belongs in the publication history; the second locates Horowitz’s fiction. It is the first of his three Bond novels to appear, followed by Forever and a Day and With a Mind to Kill. You can follow that publication sequence without inserting all three into a first reading of Fleming.

If you want the most straightforward route, read Goldfinger, then this book, and decide afterwards whether to continue through Horowitz. If you prefer to finish all of Fleming before trying another author, that is equally sensible. The new novel’s connections will still be recognisable. Avoid reading detailed discussions of the returning relationship before finishing Goldfinger if you want the original’s developments to remain a surprise.

Who should choose a different starting point?

Someone wanting the literary Bond’s first introduction should begin with Casino Royale. Someone specifically interested in the beginning of the Double O career may prefer Forever and a Day after that original. Trigger Mortis is for the middle of a known career, not the first construction of the character. That makes its place useful, but it also explains why a reader unfamiliar with Fleming may not get the same benefit from every connection.

For listening, the listed recording is read by David Oyelowo. Sample the performance rather than assuming that a screen role or a familiar name tells you how the whole novel will sound. The print and audio versions also have separate edition details. Choose the format you want, then check the listing rather than treating the novel’s first-publication year as the date of every available version.

Spoilers: discussing the story

Publication facts and the linked edition

Author

Anthony Horowitz

First publication

2015

Listed print edition

Orion, 2016, paperback

ISBN of the linked paperback

9781409159148

Trigger Mortis first appeared in 2015; the linked paperback dates from 2016. Match ISBN 9781409159148 when choosing this edition.

Frequently asked questions

Is Trigger Mortis a lost Ian Fleming novel?

No. It is Anthony Horowitz’s 2015 novel, incorporating material from Fleming’s unused Murder on Wheels television treatment.

What should I read before Trigger Mortis?

Goldfinger is the most useful background because Pussy Galore returns and the new mission follows that novel.

When is Trigger Mortis set?

The publisher places the adventure in 1957. Its first publication was in 2015; those are different dates.

Who reads the audiobook listed here?

David Oyelowo reads the listed Audible UK recording.