Reviewing the novel for "The Guardian", Mark Lawson wrote that Faulks had made a good job of imitating Fleming, as the plot "persistently picks up whispers from the books Fleming left behind", and using a style and turn of phrase that "read as if they were directly borrowed from Fleming." The main difference Lawson identified between Fleming and Faulks was that Faulks "misses the chilling indifference of tone which Bond's creator brought to both kissing and killing". Overall, Lawson considered that "Devil May Care" "is a smart and enjoyable act of literary resurrection. Among the now 33 post-Fleming Bonds, this must surely compete only with Kingsley Amis's for the title of the best." Nicola Barr, writing for "The Guardian"'s Saturday edition, was broadly supportive of Faulks, commenting that "No one expects or wants subtlety from Bond, and Faulks delivers a thriller that manages to feel reassuringly familiar rather than predictable."