Bøger af James Hadley Chase

A Shocking Tale of Vile, Ruthless Gangsterism -- The Toughest Novel You'll Ever Read!

James Hadley Chase (René Brabazon Raymond) was born in London in 1906 and started his career as a bookseller. With the aid of a dictionary of American slang and reference books on the American underworld he wrote his first novel, NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH, over six weekends. The book achieved remarkable popularity and became one of the best-sold books of the decade. FLESH OF THE ORCHID is a wild, thrill-ride of a sequel to NO ORCHIDS. Taking up the story 22 years later, the central figure is once again a Blandish girl, but Carol Blandish is not the helpless victim that her mother was. Indeed, she is a volatile blend of simmering sexuality, strained innocence and hair-trigger cruelty. Her explosive outbursts of savage violence make her a force to be reckoned with. Escaping from a mental institute during a raging storm, and definitely off her meds, Carol Blandish is soon pursued by a seedy cast of characters who all want a piece of the Blandish fortune. The novel bristles with crazy plot twists, edge-of-the-seat suspense and intriguing low-life's who mix it up for an immensely enjoyable read.

NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH When Riley gets word that Miss Blandish is going out on the town with her new pearl necklace, he decides to stage a jewelry snatch. Things get a little out of hand, and the gang ends up snatching Miss Blandish, too. Now they've got a kidnapping on their hands. But that's when the Grisson Gang steps in and takes over. Ma Grisson wants the pearls, but her sadistic son Slim wants Miss Blandish. And whatever Slim wants, Slim gets-one way or the other. So the ransom is paid, but Mr. Blandish doesn't get his daughter back. That's when Fenner is hired, a detective as ruthless as the gang he's after. They've broken Miss Blandish, but will Fenner be able to break them? TWELVE CHINAMEN AND A WOMAN Hot off the Blandish case, Dave Fenner is contacted by a frightened young lady who is looking for her sister. Laying down six grand as a retainer, she tells him that all she knows is that her sister is mixed up with twelve Chinamen. Intrigued, Fenner agrees to take the case, only to find that someone has planted a dead Chinaman in his office. No sooner has he removed that problem, Fenner is than visited by two Cubans who search his office, pistol whip him-and lead him to an apartment where he finds his murdered client. Now it's personal and Fenner will stop at nothing to find the gang behind this strange operation. Which leads him to Pio Carlos, trafficker in human cargo…and Glorie Leadler, a beauty who is not at all who she seems.

LADY-HERE'S YOUR WREATH As Vessi is heading toward the gas chamber, a mysterious phone voice offers newspaperman Nick Mason $10,000 to find the real killer. Vessi's dying words are "Lu Spencer pulled it," but Spencer's organization is not a group you want to tangle with-shareholders include most of the men who run the city. When Mason decides to check it out anyway, he meets Mardi, Spencer's secretary, a sweet dish with the largest brown eyes. But Mason's also got a gunman on his tail. And the cold-hearted Blondie, who has a knack for turning up when she's least expected. Not to mention the mysterious person who keeps insisting he investigate Spencer. One of them is bound to be wearing a wreath before this game is over… MISS CALLAGHAN COMES TO GRIEF St. Louis is ripe for a change. Gang boss Mendetta is getting old and careless, so it's a cinch for Raven to step in and take over. The first thing he changes is the prostitution racket. Raven feels that too much of the profit is going to the girls. So he rounds them up, takes them off the street, puts them in new houses and rakes off all the profit for himself. And when fresh girls are needed, he simply has them kidnapped. Newspaperman Jay Ellinger senses something is amiss when he hears about a husband whose wife has gone missing. But Sadie is missing for a different reason-she saw Raven leave Mendetta's apartment, and can put the finger on him. Sadie is now a valuable pawn, able to bring the whole racket down. If only Jay can find her…

'Master of the art of deception' New Statesman

'Master of the art of deception' New Statesman