The Liquidator

Blurb

The Liquidator was the first novel written by John Gardner and the first novel in his Boysie Oakes series.
After publishing his autobiographical account of alcoholism Spin the Bottle, Gardner decided to write a novel about governments killing people. Sending the first four chapters to his literary agent, Gardner's agent summoned him to London and told him the pretentious book was truly rubbish and suggested as he made a hash of drama perhaps he could try his hand at comedy. Inspired by the James Bond series of Ian Fleming 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 in a Boysie Oakes film series, with only The Liquidator made in 1965 with Rod Taylor 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 reviewer Anthony Boucher remarked "Gardner succeeds in having it both ways; he has written a clever parody which is also a genuinely satisfactory thriller".