Never Send Flowers [Hardcover]

John Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 1993

The legendary 007 discovers a link between four assassinations, and Bond's investigation takes him on a wild intercontinental chase culminating in a chilling pursuit through EuroDisney. By the author of Death is Forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This sketchy detective story requires a knowledge of James Bond movies rather than Ian Fleming novels, which may explain why it reads like a rough draft for a screenplay. In Gardner's 12th 007 book (after Death Is Forever ), the ageless agent from Her Majesty's Secret Service is sent to Switzerland to investigate the murder of MI5 operative Laura March. Teaming up with Swiss agent Flica von Gruss, he discovers that March's brother was a serial killer and that her ex-lover was legendary English actor David Dragonpol, now retired and living in a fairy-tale castle on the Rhine. Dragonpol's sister, Maeve Horton, proves to be the link between March's death and four recent assassinations; a Bleeding Heart rose bred by Horton appeared at the funeral of each of the victims, March included. Bond and von Gruss pursue the case to Dragonpol's castle in Germany, where the usual fiendish plot is uncovered and ultimately resolved in the traditional Bond manner. This light, entertaining read doesn't pretend to be anything more than another episode in what has turned into a never-ending adventure.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Like Pentagon dinosaurs laboring to adapt to a new world order by finding telltale traces of the old in every dark shadow, Gardner's reincarnation of James Bond examines a string of serial killings and finds a freelance terrorist just as dangerous as his old adversaries from SMERSH and SPECTRE. Bond's called in when MI5 agent Laura March is killed at Interlaken. Going through the things in her hotel room, he and Flicka Von Grsse, his leggy opposite number from Swiss Intelligence, find a disturbing letter from Laura to her late brother, a serial beheader of blonds, and fax a copy back to M. While they're coupling in Bond's room, the letter itself is stolen, and M, citing the ``grave moral scandal'' (so much for updating Bond's morality), ostensibly removes Bond from duty. Back in England for Laura's funeral, Bond notices a bizarre floral tribute--a red-tipped white rose--linking Laura's death to four other recent assassinations, and to the flower's only breeder: Maeve Horton, sister of Laura's onetime fianc‚, distinguished actor David Dragonpol. There follow the requisite scenes of tourist-trap mayhem--at Schloss Drache, Dragonpol's Alpine aerie, atop the roof of the Duomo in Milan, and at EuroDisney, where the murderer has planned one last, ultra-high-profile strike--but Gardner's lack of conviction reduces everything to retro-fluff. Bond really isn't cut out for the work of tracking down serial killers, even the ones whose targets include Yasir Arafat and Kiri Te Kanawa. As Gardner struggles to update the perils his superstar hero faces, Bond himself remains the biggest anachronism of all. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (May 31, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399138099
• ISBN-13: 978-0399138096
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #758,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some experiences should be shared with family, April 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Never Send Flowers (Paperback)

I have been a fan of James Bond books and movies as long as I can remember. My father and I used to go to every new James Bond movie as soon as it was released. My father has been gone for several years now, and as I enjoyed this book, I wished he were still here so he could enjoy it with me. This book has all the makings of a classic spy thriller. A complex series of crimes, a psychopathic serial killer, a killing spree across Europe, a family beset by cross-generational madness, trouble within Britain's Secret Service, the latest technology, a master at disguises, and, of course, Bond. James Bond. To mis-quote Liberace, "I wish my father Guy was here". Read this book- if you like Bond, you'll be glad you did

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Bond!, June 7, 1999

By 

J. Carroll "Jack" (Island Heights,NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Send Flowers (Paperback)

I have read a few of Gardner's Bond books and have liked them as escapist fare, but this book is poorly plotted and the relationship between Bond and "Flicka"(?)was insipid. Can you imagine a James Bond who is called a ...well let's just say the phrase was so inappropriate for Bond that I felt like I was reading James Bond by way of Beavis and Butthead. Weak.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story. Loved the ending!, June 4, 2001

By 

Daniel R. Bills (Lafayette, Louisiana USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Send Flowers (Hardcover)

Great story! Endearing and great escapism at its best! ***** Loved this a lot! fantastic scenes and great ending! Loved this to the max! High explosive! Octane excitement! Bond stays Irrisistable! Great plotting by a master!