American Thriller Writer Jeffery Deaver to Pen New James Bond Novel

(May 28 ) -- Nearly 60 years since his first vodka martini, James Bond is back in a new novel. But this time the suave British superspy is in the hands of an American author.

Jeffery Deaver, a novelist from Glen Elyn, Ill., best known for his series of thrillers based around forensic genius Lincoln Rhyme, has been selected to pen the latest Bond adventure. The novel is currently nameless, going by the Bond-esque code name of "Project X."

Deaver, who lives in North Carolina, is confident that his American background will not be a hindrance as he writes about the quintessentially British fictional hero.

Hodder & Stoughton / AP

Author Jeffery Deaver, whose previous books include "The Bone Collector," has been picked to pen the latest James Bond adventure.

"I have learned over the years that I have a capacity ... to be a bit of chameleon," Deaver told Reuters. "I think it's going to be relatively easy for me to step into the role of Bond."

Deaver has written 26 novels and sold 20 million books, including "The Bone Collector," which was adapted for the big screen in 1999 and starred Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington.

In 2004, Deaver won the Crime Writers' Association's Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for his book "Garden of Beasts." In his acceptance speech, he spoke of his lifelong admiration for Bond creator Fleming's writing.

"I can't describe the thrill I felt when first approached by Ian Fleming's estate," Deaver told London's Daily Telegraph. "The Bond books were important parts of my life."

Project X is scheduled to be released May 28, 2011, which would have been Fleming's 103rd birthday. It will be set in the present day and will stick to traditional Bond themes of evil bad guys and fast-moving plots, Reuters said.

In 2008, British novelist Sebastian Faulks wrote a Bond novel titled "Devil May Care" to mark Fleming's centenary. In the book, Bond dealt with a glamorous woman named Scarlett Papava and battled a villain with a monkey paw for a hand, according to The Associated Press said. The book was an international best-seller.

Fleming introduced the British secret agent -- code-named 007 -- in his 1953 novel "Casino Royale," detailing the superspy's exploits in Monte Carlo. Since then, more than 100 million Bond books have been sold worldwide.

On the silver screen, actors including Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig have portrayed Bond in his battles with supervillains such as Dr. No and Goldfinger.

All is not well with the Bond cinema franchise, though. The latest installment, due to star Daniel Craig (who raised eyebrows as the first blond-haired actor to play Bond), has been shelved indefinitely over uncertainty regarding studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Reuters reported.