A spy is dead. A legend is born. This is how it all began. The explosive prequel toCasino Royale,from bestselling author Anthony Horowitz. M laid down his pipe and stared at it tetchily. 'We have no choice. Were just going to bring forward this other chap youve been preparing. But you didnt tell me his name.'

'Its Bond, sir,' the Chief of Staff replied.'James Bond.'

The sea keeps its secrets. But not this time.

One body. Three bullets. 007 floats in the waters of Marseille, killed by an unknown hand.

Its time for a new agent to step up. Time for a new weapon in the war against organised crime.

Its time for James Bond to earn his licence to kill.

This is the story of the birth of a legend, in the brutal underworld of the French Riviera.

Anthony Horowitzis one of the most prolific and successful writers working in the UK. He has written more than forty books, including his 2016 stand-alone novelMagpie Murders, aSunday Timesbestseller, and 2017'sThe Word is Murder, the first in a series of crime novels starring Detective Daniel Hawthorne.

He is the author of two Sherlock Holmes novels --The House of SilkandMoriarty-- and one previous James Bond novel,Trigger Mortis. His teen spy Alex Rider books have sold 19 million copies worldwide, and he is also responsible for creating and writing some of the UK's most-loved TV series, includingMidsomer MurdersandFoyle's War.

He is on the board of the Old Vic Theatre and was awarded an OBE for his services to literature in January 2014.