Customer Reviews

The Liquidator (Boysie Oakes, Book 1)

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I am a big fan of the spy and espionage genre and it was interesting reading 'The Liquidator.' It was good getting away from the seriousness of it all and reading of an assasin who loves getting paid for killing, but not killing anybody himself. He has a fear of flying and his womanising will get him into trouble.

The reader follows an assassin working for the government known as Boysie Oakes. What starts off as a dirty weekend turns into a mission and Boysie lands himself within the grasps of the enemy before chapter three.

As the book progresses there is more action that gets the blood pumping, but when you reach the last page...there are alot of unanswered questions. However I can't write these questions down as it will divulge to much of the plot and make the book worthless to read.

So if you want a break from the seriousness of it all, then read Boysie Oakes adventure in 'The Liquidator

Meet Boysie Oakes, ruggedly handsome, would be assassin, womanizer, super spy cut from the same cloth and era as 007. This is a fun read that I covered during a day of rush hour commutes. Tame by modern standards, this is an origin novel that reveals how Oakes is recruited by spy chief Mostyn when Oaks saves his future boss's life at the end of WW II, then is recruited to deal with the dirty jobs no-one wants to do, least of all Oakes.

Oakes seduces (or is seduced by) the delectable Iris who as Mostyn's secretary doubles as a Miss Moneypenny style character, is thrown into a prison cell with the all too willing ingenue Coral on the French Riviera by "Quadrant" and his nefarious henchmen, skilled in torture but not too smart, and becomes embroiled in a plot to assassinate royalty hatched by the mysterious "Coordinator".

Take it for what it is and you won't be disappointed. The language and it's approach is definitely early sixties pulp and an attempt to emulate the success of Ian Fleming. There are 7 other books in this series and a 1965 movie with Trevor Howard as Mostyn, Rod Taylor as Oakes, latter Bond girl Jill St. John as Iris and David Tomlinson (The Prisoner) as Quadrant. Author Gardner was later selected to write a number of 007 novels in the 1980s.

Worth reading if you are a fan of the genre. I liked it a lot.

Judging by the title, I expected a cloak and dagger novel. It is about a British Special Security agent named Boysie Oakes. Much to my delight it was quite funny. I thoroughly enjoyed his writing style and it was a wonderful experience....couldn't put the book down. There are many John Gardner authors, so it's kind of hard to figure who's who by browsing the web with that name. Sorrowfully, this appears to be only one of two books he ever wrote. I tried to find the other one....Spin the Bottle" but its out of print. I invite all to find this gem and get it. It will bring you the rare joy of smiling even after you put it down.