Never Send Flowers
Encyclopedia
Never Send Flowers, first published in 1993, was the thirteenth novel by John Gardner
featuring Ian Fleming
's secret agent
, James Bond
(including Gardner's novelization of Licence to Kill
). Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom
by Hodder & Stoughton
and in the United States
by Putnam
.
of Laura March with MI5
connections follows assassinations in Rome, London, Paris & Washington. Left at each scene is a rose with marks of drops of blood on the petal. He also left a branch from an oak tree. Bond is sent to investigate where he meets the lovely Swiss agent Fredericka von Grüsse whom he later calls Flicka when on better terms.
Trails lead to a former international stage actor, David Dragonpol, a friend of March who lives in a castle on the Rhine called Schloss Drache which he is turning into a theatre museum. They also meet a widow and flower grower, Maeve Horton.
When Laura March, on leave from the British Security Service, is mysteriously murdered in Switzerland with a poison pellet shot from a powerful air rifle, James Bond
and Swiss agent Fredericka "Flicka" von Grüsse are called in to investigate. While at Laura's funeral, Bond notices among the wreaths a perfect white rose, its petals tipped blood-red and an ambiguous note wired to the stem. His investigation reveals an identical rose and note at the funerals of four high-profile personalities, all assassinated with a week.
With no group claiming responsibility for the deaths, Bond focuses on Laura's case as an entrée to tracking the murderous spree. He uncovers her recently dissolved love affair with the world-famous actor David Drgaonpol, now an eccentric collector of theatre memorabilia living in a castle on the Rhine. Bond and Flicka go undercover to search the castle for clues, and in the garden find roses just like the ones at each of the funerals.
Their hybrid discovery leads to a harrowing manhunt in which the startling identity of the serial killer is revealed. The action reaches its chilling and fantastic climax outside Paris, in the ultimate kingdom of illusion and magic: EuroDisney. John Gardner uses his formidable storytelling skills to mix classic James Bond
ingenuity and wit with rousing action in this latest 007 adventure.
John Gardner (thriller writer)
John Edmund Gardner was an English spy novelist, most notably for the James Bond series.-Early life:Gardner was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge and did postgraduate study at Oxford...
featuring Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
(including Gardner's novelization of Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
). Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Putnam
G. P. Putnam's Sons
G. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
.
Plot summary
A murder in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
of Laura March with MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
connections follows assassinations in Rome, London, Paris & Washington. Left at each scene is a rose with marks of drops of blood on the petal. He also left a branch from an oak tree. Bond is sent to investigate where he meets the lovely Swiss agent Fredericka von Grüsse whom he later calls Flicka when on better terms.
Trails lead to a former international stage actor, David Dragonpol, a friend of March who lives in a castle on the Rhine called Schloss Drache which he is turning into a theatre museum. They also meet a widow and flower grower, Maeve Horton.
Book jacket
Illusion leads to murder as 007 pursues the wrong killer, in John Gardner's twelfth addition to the classic James Bond series.When Laura March, on leave from the British Security Service, is mysteriously murdered in Switzerland with a poison pellet shot from a powerful air rifle, James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
and Swiss agent Fredericka "Flicka" von Grüsse are called in to investigate. While at Laura's funeral, Bond notices among the wreaths a perfect white rose, its petals tipped blood-red and an ambiguous note wired to the stem. His investigation reveals an identical rose and note at the funerals of four high-profile personalities, all assassinated with a week.
With no group claiming responsibility for the deaths, Bond focuses on Laura's case as an entrée to tracking the murderous spree. He uncovers her recently dissolved love affair with the world-famous actor David Drgaonpol, now an eccentric collector of theatre memorabilia living in a castle on the Rhine. Bond and Flicka go undercover to search the castle for clues, and in the garden find roses just like the ones at each of the funerals.
Their hybrid discovery leads to a harrowing manhunt in which the startling identity of the serial killer is revealed. The action reaches its chilling and fantastic climax outside Paris, in the ultimate kingdom of illusion and magic: EuroDisney. John Gardner uses his formidable storytelling skills to mix classic James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
ingenuity and wit with rousing action in this latest 007 adventure.
Publication history
- UK first hardback edition: July 1993 Hodder & StoughtonHodder & StoughtonHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
- U.S. first hardback edition: May 1993 PutnamG. P. Putnam's SonsG. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
- UK first paperback edition: May 1994 Coronet Books
- U.S. first paperback edition: June 1994 Berkley BooksBerkley BooksBerkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...