Quantum of Menace
The must-read new James Bond spin-off mystery series to gift this Father's Day
Published on 23. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-80418-868-2 (ISBN)
Description
THE PERFECT GIFT FOR FATHER'S DAY. Charming, drily humorous and intelligently crafted, Quantum of Menace, the first in a brand-new James Bond spin-off series, will appeal to Bond fans and readers of Murder Before Evensong, The Thursday Murder Club and Slow Horses.
'Punchy, witty, smart and thrilling' JANICE HALLETT
'Cosy crime goes high-tech ... Brilliant' REVEREND RICHARD COLES
Q is out of MI6 . . .
. . . and in over his head
After Major Boothroyd (aka Q) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6's Double O agents, he is adrift, unsure of his place in a world where the stakes aren't always life or death. But when he learns that his childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, Q is drawn back to his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water.
Frustrated by the police, who consider the case closed, Q is compelled to investigate, starting with a cryptic note Napier sent him on the day of his death. Q soon discovers that Napier's ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces . . . but can he decode the truth before danger closes in?
'Even if you're not a Bond fan, you can't fail to enjoy this solidly plotted and unexpectedly funny blend of nostalgia and new technology' THE GUARDIAN
'A witty, clever addition to the Bond renaissance' HEAT MAGAZINE
'Punchy, witty, smart and thrilling' JANICE HALLETT
'Cosy crime goes high-tech ... Brilliant' REVEREND RICHARD COLES
Q is out of MI6 . . .
. . . and in over his head
After Major Boothroyd (aka Q) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6's Double O agents, he is adrift, unsure of his place in a world where the stakes aren't always life or death. But when he learns that his childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, Q is drawn back to his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water.
Frustrated by the police, who consider the case closed, Q is compelled to investigate, starting with a cryptic note Napier sent him on the day of his death. Q soon discovers that Napier's ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces . . . but can he decode the truth before danger closes in?
'Even if you're not a Bond fan, you can't fail to enjoy this solidly plotted and unexpectedly funny blend of nostalgia and new technology' THE GUARDIAN
'A witty, clever addition to the Bond renaissance' HEAT MAGAZINE
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bonnier Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
254 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80418-868-2 (9781804188682)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India, and the Q Mysteries, beginning with Quantum of Menace, the first in a murder mystery series featuring Q from the James Bond franchise. His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020 and is translated into 17 languages. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House, the first in the Malabar House novels set in 1950s Bombay, won the CWA Historical Dagger. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India. In 2023, Vaseem became the first non-white Chair of the UK Crime Writers' Association. In 2025, his first psychological thriller, The Girl in Cell A, was published, set in small town America.