James Bond book called Carte Blanche

Jeffery Deaver's novels include The Bone Collector

The new James Bond book, written by thriller author Jeffery Deaver, will be called Carte Blanche.

The title and cover were unveiled in Dubai where parts of the book are set.

US writer Deaver said the novel - to be published in the UK on 26 May - posed "the looming question of what is acceptable" in security matters.

Sebastian Faulks and John Gardner are among other authors to have written officially-sanctioned Bond novels since creator Ian Fleming's death in 1964.

Deaver, 60, whose best-seller The Bone Collector was made into a 1999 film starring Denzel Washington, said giving an agent carte blanche on a mission "comes with an enormous amount of trust and constantly tests both personal and professional judgement".

"Are there lines that even James Bond should not cross?" he added.

Unlike Faulks' 2008 Bond period piece Devil May Care, Carte Blanche will be set in the present day.

The publishers say Bond "spends a number of thrilling hours in Dubai both meeting up with an old friend and tracking a very disturbing villain".

The book also features Fleming's favourite car, a Bentley.

Holmes novel

Meanwhile, Foyle's War writer, Anthony Horowitz, has been chosen by the Conan Doyle Estate to write a new full-length Sherlock Holmes novel.

The book marks the first time the estate has given its seal of approval for a new Holmes work.

The title and content of the book, which will be published in September, have not been revealed.

Horowitz is also behind TV series Midsomer Murders and the TV adaptations of Agatha Christie's Poirot.

"I fell in love with Sherlock Holmes when I was 16," said the screenwriter.

"My aim is to produce a first rate mystery for a modern audience while remaining absolutely true to the spirit of the original."