John Edmund Gardner (20 November 1926 – 3 August 2007) was an English writer of spy and thriller novels. He is best known for his James Bond continuation novels, but also wrote a series of Boysie Oakes books and three novels containing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional villain, Professor Moriarty.

During the Second World War, Gardner joined the Home Guard at the age of 13, served in the Fleet Air Arm and subsequently joined the Royal Marines: he later described himself as "the worst commando in the world". In 1933 the family moved to the market town of Wantage in what was then Berkshire, where Cyril took up the position of Chaplain at St Mary's, Wantage, and Gardner was educated at the local King Alfred's School. Gardner subsequently served in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, before transferring to 42 Commando, Royal Marines, for service in the Middle and Far East. Gardner considered himself "the worst commando in the world" and, despite being "a small-arms expert ... [who] also knew a lot about explosives", He realised that he had lost his faith and made an error in his career; Reviewing the novel in The New York Times, Anthony Boucher wrote, "Mr. Gardner succeeds in having it both ways: He has written a clever parody which is also a genuinely satisfactory thriller." The book was made into a film of the same name by MGM and another seven light-hearted novels and four short stories about the cowardly Oakes appeared over the next eleven years.

Following the success of his Oakes books, Gardner created new characters: Derek Torry—a Scotland Yard inspector of Italian descent—and Herbie Kruger, the latter of which appeared in a series of novels published simultaneously with his Bond works. In the mid-1970s Gardner also wrote the first of three novels using the character of Professor Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes series, the last of which was published posthumously. The third of this series, titled simply Moriarty, was delayed due to a dispute with the publisher, but was finally released shortly after his death. Erik Lee Preminger bought the film rights to the first of the trilogy—The Return of Moriarty—and wrote a script. Edgar Bronfman Jr., for Sagittarius Entertainment and Nat Cohen, for EMI Productions were to produce. Donald Sutherland was to portray Moriarty. Funding however fell through shortly before filming was to begin.

In 1979 Glidrose Publications (now Ian Fleming Publications) approached Gardner and asked him to revive Ian Fleming's James Bond series of novels. Gardner stated that he wanted "to bring Mr Bond into the 1980s", although he retained the ages of the characters as they were when Fleming had left them. Even though Gardner kept the ages the same, he made Bond grey at the temples as a nod to the passing of the years. With the influence of the American publishers, Putnam's, the Gardner novels showed an increase in the number of Americanisms used in the book, such as a waiter wearing "pants", rather than trousers, in The Man from Barbarossa. James Harker, writing in The Guardian, considered that the Gardner books were "dogged by silliness", bringing the author commercial success.

Gardner had an ambivalent view on being the Bond author, once saying "I'm very grateful to have been selected to keep Bond alive. But I'd much rather be remembered for my own work than I would for Bond",

His break from writing lasted for five years, following the death of his wife, Gardner also began a series of books with a new character, Suzie Mountford, a 1930s police detective.

The Crime Writers' Association short-listed The Liquidator, The Dancing Dodo, The Nostradamus Traitor, and The Garden of Weapons for their annual Gold Dagger award.

Personal life

In 1952 Gardner married Margaret Mercer The subsequent medical treatment in the US left him near bankrupt and the two were subsequently engaged.

Boysie Oakes novels

  • The Liquidator (1964)
  • Understrike (1965)
  • Amber Nine (1966)
  • Madrigal (1967)
  • Founder Member (1969)
  • Traitor's Exit (1970)
  • The Airline Pirates (1970)
  • A Killer for a Song (1975)

Derek Torry novels

  • A Complete State of Death (1969)

Professor Moriarty novels

  • The Return of Moriarty (1974)

Herbie Kruger novels

  • The Nostradamus Traitor (1979)
  • The Quiet Dogs (1982)
  • Maestro (1993)
  • Confessor (1995)

The Railton family novels

  • The Secret Generations (1985)
  • The Secret Houses (1988)
  • The Secret Families (1989)

James Bond novels

  • Licence Renewed (1981)
  • For Special Services (1982)
  • Scorpius (1988)
  • Win, Lose or Die (1989)
  • Every Night's a Bullfight (1971)
  • To Run a Little Faster (1976)
  • The Werewolf Trace (1977)
  • The Dancing Dodo (1978)
  • Golgotha (1980)
  • The Director (1982) (A re-working of his 1971 novel Every Night's a Bullfight.)
  • Flamingo (1983)
  • Blood of the Fathers (1992) (as by "Edmund McCoy". Later published under his own name in 2004.)
  • Day of Absolution (2001)

Short story collections

  • Hideaway (1968)