William Garner is an English thriller writer.

Life and work

He graduated from the University of Birmingham

University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...

 in 1941 with a BSc (with honors). He served with the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 from 1941 to 1946, rising to the rank of flight lieutenant

Flight Lieutenant

Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...

.

He was public relations

Public relations

Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

 director for Monsanto Company, London, from 1949 to 1964, and for Massey Ferguson

Massey Ferguson

Massey Ferguson Limited was a major agricultural equipment manufacturer which was based in Canada before its purchase by AGCO. The company was formed by a merger between Massey Harris and the Ferguson tractor company in 1953, creating the company Massey Harris Ferguson. However in 1958 the name was...

 Ltd. (London office) from 1964 to 1966. He became a full time writer in 1967.

His early novels feature British spy

SPY

SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...

 Michael Jagger, a high-living, self-hating, risk-loving ex-agent (in disgrace).

The Listener called Garner "Our cleverest thriller writer". The Observer

The Observer

The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

 believed Garner was "A novelist of stature who leaves his own distinctive imprint on the le Carré

John le Carré

David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...

scene."

When asked to describe himself, Garner replied "Strongly motivated. Views on almost everything that matters. Views on what matters might differ from those of many."

He is also the author of the article "Spies and sex make a puzzling mix", first published in The Observer in 1987.

Michael Jagger novels

• Overkill (1966)
• The Deep, Deep Freeze (1968)
• The Us or Them War (1969)
• A Big Enough Wreath (1974)

John Morpurgo trilogy

• Think Big, Think Dirty (1983)
• Rats' Alley (1984)
• Zones of Silence (1986)

Novels

• The Puppet-Masters (1969) published in the U.S. as "The Manipulators"
• The Andra Fiasco (1971) published in the U.S. as "Strip Jack Naked"
• Ditto, Brother Rat (1972)
• The Moebius Trip (1978)
• Paper Chase (1988)
• Sleeping Dogs (1990)

Further reading

• The Cold War File. By Andy East. Published by Scarecrow Press, 1983. pp. 122–127.