Jeffery Deaver, one of the world's most popular thriller writers, will be discussing James Bond, country music, and murder when he makes an exclusive appearance at the University of Dundee next month.

Deaver, the author of 29 novels, including last year's Bond book, 'Carte Blanche,' will be in Dundee on Sunday, 27th May to support the University's Million For A Morgue (MFAM) campaign. He will talk about his work, read from his latest novel, 'XO,' and take questions from the audience at the University’s Dalhousie Building.

The acclaimed American writer has sold more than 20 million books worldwide, with his novels translated into 25 languages. Three of his books have been adapted for the big screen, including 1999's 'The Bone Collector,' starring Denrzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.

Since becoming the sixth writer to pen a James Bond original novel, Jeffery Deaver has returned to his own most popular character - body language expert and special agent Kathryn Dance. 'XO' sees Dance strive to prevent an obsessive stalker from destroying a beautiful country music star. The author will be signing copies of 'XO' at the event.

Deaver is one of 10 crime writers who have signed up for MFAM, which aims to raise £1million to help the University's Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) to build a new morgue, which will allow them to adopt the revolutionary Thiel method of embalming.

Fans of crime fiction pay £1 to vote for their favourite writer and the new morgue will be named after the author with the most votes. Crime writers rely on forensics experts to ensure the veracity of their work, and Professor Sue Black, Director of CAHID, advises several leading authors on how they can remain scientifically accurate whilst devising their latest plot twists.

"I'm delighted to be welcoming Jeffery Deaver to Dundee and thank him for his support for the Million For A Morgue campaign," said Professor Black.

"Jeffery Deaver is one of the biggest authors in the world, and his books are amongst the most borrowed in the UK. We're delighted he's chosen Dundee to come and talk about his work and to garner some votes for the Million For A Morgue campaign."

Professor Black and other members of the CAHID are team featured in the major BBC series 'History Cold Case.' The CAHID team have developed groundbreaking techniques in identification from images, depiction and identification of the dead, juvenile osteology and facial reconstruction.

The Centre also runs a major training programme in Disaster Victim Identification, which has trained police offers in practical techniques in human identification, enabling them to be deployed to help identify victims of mass fatalities anywhere in the world.

Dundee is the first University in the UK to adopt the Thiel method, which gives surgeons, dentists, students and medical researchers a more realistic method of testing techniques, practising procedures and developing new equipment and approaches.

The event is part of the Ignite 2012 festival, a 10-day celebration of creativity and culture across the Dundee area.

More information about the University of Dundee can be found here: www.dundee.ac.uk.