A Killer for a Song

Boysie Oakes #8

by John Gardner

Secret agent Boysie Oakes feels completely alone.

He is on the run and terrified, travelling from Paris, across France, and down to his old stamping ground, the Cote d'Azur.

But who is chasing him? And why?

Nobody escapes the past, and Boysie is no exception - events are catching up with him like hounds descending upon a screeching hare.

A nemesis comes first in the shape of his former boss in the Department - the oily James George Mostyn.

Sought out by Mostyn, Boysie finds himself back on active service and forced to sit on SEAT - Special Executive for Anti-Terrorism.

A routine conference in Paris, however, reveals the truth.

Both Mostyn and Boysie are being set up at the wrong end of a series of ruthless liquidations, and somebody has to lose.

Before he can shout for a lifebuoy, Boysie finds himself on the run - both from the French police and security organisations, who want him for murder; and from the shadows of the past, who want him dead.

219 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Before coming an author of fiction in the early 1960s, John Gardner was variously a stage magician, a Royal Marine officer and a journalist. In all, Gardner has fifty-four novels to his credit, including Maestro, which was the New York Times book of the year. He was also invited by Ian Fleming’s literary copyright holders to write a series of continuation James Bond novels, which proved to be so successful that instead of the contracted three books he went on to publish some fourteen titles, including Licence Renewed and Icebreaker.

Having lived in the Republic of Ireland, the United States and the UK, John Gardner sadly died in August of 2007 having just completed his third novel in the Moriarty trilogy, Conan Doyle’s eponymous villain of the Sherlock Holmes series.

Reviews

[Paul Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last one of the series and far better than the previous few. It had twists and turns but tbf I got the twist from the get go. However it was enjoyable enough getting there. Worked much better for being a road book in part. Didnt spend too long in one place. Nice ending to the series. Which blew hot and cold.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boysie Boysie Boysie

A end of an era if you’re a follower of the Oakes series. Or a changing of the guard, if you like. I don’t want to give away the twists you’ll encounter, but I can highly recommend this addition to the series.

[Kally Sheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light, enjoyable and entertaining

Have always enjoyed John Gardner’s Boysie Oakes series. They are light read, enjoyable and entertaining. Quite a different take on those high strung secret agents or thriller novels.

[Jorn Barger · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was the point of the lounge singer and the musical theme? The ultimate villains were cliches, but there were killers hunting killers hunting those cliches. But plenty of action.