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.
Plot summary
A series of murders of officials of various degrees in the world, ending with an MI5 operative named Laura March, Bond is sent to investigate. While investigating the hotel room of Ms. March, they discover two notes addressed to her long dead brother. Bond takes the notes to he and Flicka's room, but they are stolen in the night. Bond and von Grüsse are later expelled from the hotel for "misconduct", but in reality the hotel's receptionist is an operative for MI5's less-than-stellar leader. 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 & flower grower, Maeve Horton. While visiting Dragonpol, Flicka and James are held prisoner in a hotel suite, as Dragonpol's butler locked the lift that led to their room. Bond and Flicka are allowed to leave for dinner. They bring up the locked doors to Dragonpol and he blames it on the butler, claiming that he is suspicious of visitors. Dragonpol is later revealed to be obsessive in his work, and has a need to plan murders simply for the complexity and feeling of satisfaction of having it end as he desired. An MI5 operative, Caramel Chantry tells Bond that she can help to apprehend Dragonpol, and arranges a meeting with him on a rooftop, however this ends in the death of Mr. Dragonpol and Ms. Chantry, however it is revealed that David had been hiding a twin Brother named Daniel. Daniel is brought in for questioning, but escapes as he is truly David Dragonpol. Bond eventually learns that he is planning a "hit" on Princess Diana and her two sons at EuroDisney. He had hoped to kill them with explosives in the water at the "Mark Twain Riverboat". The real David (Daniel) is killed when Bond shoots and ignites an explosive barrel in the water that he and Dragonpol had been fighting in. Maeve Horton is apprehended and arrested after appearing at a press conference with Diana and the princes with a grenade in her bag. the novel ends with M asking if he and Flicka are to be wed. Bond states that there is a possibility, but he politely asks his superior not to send flowers to the wedding.
Characters
Gallery
