''The Liquidator'' (1964) was the first novel written by John Gardner and the first novel in his

Boysie Oakes Boysie Oakes is fictional secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of t ...

series. After publishing his autobiographical account of alcoholism ''Spin the Bottle'', Gardner decided to write a thriller, which he later described as "a pretentious piece of rubbish about how governments went around legally killing people". When he sent the first four chapters to his literary agent, the latter summoned him to London and told him the book was "truly dreadful"; but went on to suggest that as he had "made a hash of drama", perhaps he should try his hand at comedy. Inspired by the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

series of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

novels and films, Gardner wrote his book with the character of Brian "Boysie" Oakes as an anti-Bond. The success of the novel led to several more in the series, and interest from

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

in a Boysie Oakes film series, with only '' The Liquidator'' made in 1965 with

Rod Taylor Rodney Sturt Taylor (11 January 1930 – 7 January 2015) was an Australian actor. He appeared in more than 50 feature films, including ''The Time Machine'' (1960), ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961), '' The Birds'' (1963), and ''In ...

as Boysie. One of Gardner's Boysie Oakes short stories "A Handful of Rice" mentions an actor named "Roy Buster" that expressed Gardner's impressions of Taylor. ''

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' reviewer Anthony Boucher remarked "Gardner succeeds in having it both ways; he has written a clever parody which is also a genuinely satisfactory thriller".

Plot

In Paris in 1944

Tank Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armo ...

Sergeant Boysie Oakes kills two Germans attempting to assassinate an Intelligence Corps officer named Mostyn. Twenty years later Mostyn's memories have transformed Oakes (who is in reality cowardly and hedonistic) into a fearless master assassin though nothing could be further from the truth. Mostyn recruits Oakes into the Secret Service where after a training course he is given an enviable lifestyle. Oakes' function is to "liquidate" security risks for the State. Oakes hires a mild-mannered professional assassin to do his dirty work for him. Going for a "dirty weekend" leads to Boysie being captured by enemy agents who involve him in an assassination plot.

Notes

External links

*''The Liquidator'' (novel) http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/liquidator.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Liquidator 1964 British novels British spy novels British thriller novels Novels by John Gardner (British writer) Viking Press books British novels adapted into films 1964 debut novels