Desmond Bagley (29 October 1923 – 12 April 1983) was an English journalist and novelist principally known for a series of bestselling thrillers.
Along with fellow British writers such as Hammond Innes and Alistair MacLean, Bagley set the basic conventions for the genre: a tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary hero pitted against villains determined to sow destruction and chaos to advance their agenda.