Every fan of James Bond, both the literary and cinematic versions, finds solace in the agent’s friendship with his American counterpart, Felix Leiter. However, there is more to the literary Felix than what has been portrayed in the films thus far. He has wit and a sense of humor, the kind of guy who, in Fleming’s Diamonds Are Forever, walks up behind Bond on the street, and says, “Take it easy unless you want lead for lunch.” He “mansplains” America to Bond, shows him the sights, tells him what to order off the menu, and matches him drink for drink.
In Ian Fleming’s second book, Live and Let Die, Felix is attacked by a shark that bites off his right arm and left leg. His torturer left him with a note that read, “He disagreed with something that ate him.” In Leiter’s mind, this terrifying event in his life becomes known as “The Mishap,” and he must learn to deal with a sudden disability.
Raymond Benson was the first American author to pen Bond novels, working for Ian Fleming Publications during the late 1990s to early 2000s. Over the ensuing years, he wanted to write a Felix Leiter stand-alone adventure. IFP recently seemed open to the idea, so he made a formal pitch and got the green light.
“The Hook and the Eye takes place in the early 1950s,” Mr. Benson says, “just after Felix’s mishap with the shark. Felix emerges from a lengthy rehabilitation, joins Pinkerton’s, and the story becomes his first adventure as a detective. This was a period of Cold War paranoia and nuclear secrets espionage. During a routine security job for Pinkerton’s, Felix stumbles upon a murder in a Manhattan hotel—and the victim’s room is loaded with spy radio equipment. A second similar murder also occurs on Felix’s watch. Using a front, his former CIA handler independently hires Felix through Pinkerton to investigate Dora, a woman who may be involved with the deceased suspected spies.”
Being American, Benson says he struggled at first to write with a British accent, so to speak, back when he was doing the 007 novels. This time, however, he’s writing an American character, one who happens to be a Texan like him.
“I felt as if I knew the character well already, so the challenge was more about the period research,” the author says, “I drew upon locations I know well. The first part takes place in Manhattan, where I lived from the late 70s into the 90s. Capturing New York of the early 1950s wasn’t that far removed. It was mostly finding restaurants and businesses that existed then, as opposed to when I was there.”
The release format is an event itself, something Ian Fleming Publications was keen to do. The novel is divided into ten “episodes” of several chapters each. The first episode drops on May 27. The e-book file will then update every two weeks with the next episode. Then, in October, the complete printed book will be available, exclusively from Ian Fleming Publications.
The original Bond novels seldom focused for long periods on characters other than Bond. The Spy Who Loved Me is the only novel where we meet 007 through the eyes of another character, and only for a portion of the book. Now, in The Hook and the Eye, we see an entire novel through the eyes of Felix Leiter, and James Bond doesn’t appear. In fact, he’s only indirectly referenced, but of course, every reader will know who Leiter is talking about when mentioning his British pal.
“I like to think that had Ian Fleming somehow developed an American voice and written a Felix Leiter book in between his Bonds, this is what we would have gotten,” Benson concludes.
