Only one man could satisfy Glorie Leadler’s craving for love and affection. And though this golden-haired bit of feminine dynamite could have had a dozen men at her feet for the asking, it was a solitary Oriental who made her heart beat fast. When jealous rivals tore that midnight love from Glorie’s arms, her over-heated emotions burst forth in a volcano of love-stricken vengeance that rocked Florida and left a mark on many men’s souls. The characters of this novel are entirely fictional and any resemblance to actual persons or situations is accidental

Private detective Bart Anderson is hired by Russ Hamel, a millionaire author, to shadow his beautiful wife, Nancy. For Hamel has been receiving poison pen letters claiming that his wife has been having an affair. But as Bart’s investigation progresses, he discovers that he has opened up a can of worms — for Nancy is not the faithful wife her husband assumes

A mysterious voice from the telephone; a beautiful Chinese girl shot dead; a rich old man with a troubled conscience; a private investigator involved in murder; a Chinese prostitute who talked too much; and a coffin. These are some of the intriguing ingredients of James Hadley Chase’s splendid thriller. It is definitely a book to keep you awake long after your bedtime

This new novel by James Hadley Chase is a remarkable psychical study of a prostitute. Set against the picture-making industry of Hollywood, the story revolves round two people, Roger Thurston, who has cheated his way to fame, and Eve, an utterly worthless woman who lives on men. EVE is a bigger subject and a deeper view of life than Mr. Chase has ever before given us. His vigorous, unconventional style is, as always, supremely adapted to the recounting of such a swift-moving, dramatic account of human conflict

International jewel thief, Paul Hater, knows a secret that everyone wants to know - and will go to any lengths to uncover. How long can he remain silent? When Hater is arrested in possession of a stolen necklace, the police use every possible means to persuade him to reveal the location of the rest of the collection. He remains silent and so begins his twenty-year prison sentence. Having exhausted all their leads, the International Detective Agency, acting on behalf of the insurers, must patiently await Hater's release before they can hope to find out more. But just as his day of release approaches, Hater is kidnapped by a ruthless international gang determined to force the secret from him and prepared to go to any lengths to do so…

From the moment Lee Dedrick, husband of the fourth richest woman in the world, disappears, believed kidnapped, Vic Malloy of Universal Services is snarled up in a vicious vortex of murder, glamorous women and violent non-stop action. The curtain goes up on the sprawled, lifeless body of Dedrick’s chauffeur, shot to death by an unknown hand. A frightened and lovely brunette flits across the scene, but vanishes almost immediately, shooting from a well-turned hip. Five hundred thousand dollars ransom is paid over to the invisible kidnappers, but Lee Dedrick is not returned. The whole of the country as far north as San Francisco and as far south as Los Angeles joins in the hunt for the kidnappers. Nick Perelli, gambler, is framed for the kidnapping and is arrested. Determined to save him and to find the real kidnappers, Vic Malloy, with his aides Paula Bensinger and Jack Kerman, takes a header into this mystery and intrigue which finally lands him in a situation of unparalleled danger and horror. Then, after the most gruesome and exciting experience of his already turbulent career, Malloy finds the key to the riddle of Dedrick’s kidnapping

Get a load of this! The hardboiled world of James Hadley Chase, the thriller maestro, is recaptured in this new edition of tough and gritty tales. An early morning stroll in the park, or a lonely cross-country drive to Florida; evading arrest in war-torn Cuba, or sipping bourbon in the Bronx—it makes no odds, serious trouble lies just around the corner…. The sleazy jungle of lamp-lit streets, faded hotel lobbies and soulless freeways is the setting for a menagerie of typically brash Chase characters: all-metal blondes that weaken your resistance, merciless thugs in uniform and third-rate double-crossers. Fast-paced and crackling with cynical wit, this classic anthology shows why Chase is the unchallenged British champion of the tough American tradition. This remarkable collection of short stories was first published in 1942 and is now re-issued for the first time. It is a tribute to the vigour and storytelling ability of James Hadley Chase that after so many years these tales still shock and thrill the reader

James Hadley Chase gives us a tough, hard-boiled story crammed with action, grotesque situations, and weird characters. Not a word is wasted. From the first page to the last you are involved in a sinister and compelling situation, that will hurtle you forward with the speed of an express train

Lucille Aitkin was the kind of woman who encouraged men to run around after her and most men were more than happy to do so—so why did she suddenly want to learn to drive rather than being chauffer-driven in style? And why was Chester Scott's Cadillac covered with bloodstains on the wrong side? And at the same time, why was patrol officer O'Brien run over on a deserted beach road when he should have been on duty on the highway? It seems that somebody knows how these events are connected, and whoever it is seems intent on blackmail

Like most bank managers, Dave Calvin had acquired an irresistible charm that he could switch on whenever he felt the necessity. Underneath it, he was cold, calculating, brutal — a perfect murderer. He cooks up a plan to rob his own bank at Pittsville and make it look as if his secretary, Alice Craig and her boyfriend, had made off with the looted money. Alice, who is a spinster, with no parents, no relatives and nobody to care whether she lived or died…. Dave Calvin knew just how he could make her disappear. And to achieve his plan, he enlisted the support of his own landlady, Kit Loring, who was sensuously beautiful and also an ex-alcoholic. However, Dave Calvin  was soon to realise that a woman who is an ex-alcoholic, isn't the most reliable partner for murder…

Chester Cain, a small time hit man and ace gambler, tired of his old life, moves to Las Vegas with all his lifetime savings, only to come across a set of ruthless people who try to use him, implicate him in a crime which he does not commit, and soon the cops are after Cain,who goes on the run, along with Ms. Wonderly, a homeless wayward girl, who is also being framed like him

The woman was in a Rolls Royce and she had that expensive look that wives of millionaires usually have. Her proposition to Harry Barber seemed easy and highly profitable. Because he was just out of jail, without funds or a future, he agreed to help her. But he took precautions for he didn’t quite trust this woman. His precautions didn’t go far enough. He guarded against the possibility of a double cross, but not against the possibility of murder. “Just Another Sucker” is yet another tense, swift thriller from the master hand of James Hadley Chase. It is to be read at a sitting on the edge of your chair…

Johnny Bianda is a man with a dream. He wants to own a boat off the coast of Florida and he only needs $186,000 to buy it. He steals the money from his firm, knowing that one day they’ll notice and one day they’ll kill him for it — after all, it is the Mafia. But for Johnny Bianda, the risk is worth taking and he knows it will be at least a year before they catch up with him…. Unfortunately for Bianda, the knock on his door comes sooner than he thinks

When journalist Nick Mason got a hot tip to investigate the frame-up of a man being executed for murder, he didn’t know what he was in for. At the gas chamber, it was Vessi’s last words that gave Mason the clue to a peculiar cover up at the respectable Mackenzie Fabric Corporation. But when Mason gets warned off by a cold-eyed gunman and a dangerous hooker called Blondie, he would have abandoned the whole investigation… if it weren’t for the irresistible Mardi, the girl from Mackenzie Fabrics who might be able to lead him to the truth

A thrilling plot that involves a wayward heiress, an antagonistic police official, numerous shady characters and at least three murders…

Ex-army musketry trainer, Jay Benson and his wife Lucy’s dream of running a shooting school turns sour as the school heads towards certain closure. They need money — quickly, and a lot of it. At the eleventh hour Augusto Savanto, head of a vast corporation in Venezuela, walks into their lives with a proposition they can scarcely refuse — he will pay them $50,000 to turn his son into an expert marksman, in nine days. Desperate for money they accept the challenge but find themselves in a deadly game of ruthless vendettas and vengeful murder. 

Banned in the UK! Author and Publisher Fined! Not seen in 70 Years! This is the story of Miss Callaghan. Not of any particular Miss Callaghan, but of the hundreds of Miss Callaghans who disappear from their homes suddenly and mysteriously and are seen no more by those who knew and loved them. This is also the story of Raven, who played with clockwork trains, the leader of the White Slave Ring in East St. Louis, who was responsible for the keeping to full strength the army of women for the service of men. James Hadley Chase needs no introduction now. He has established a reputation for unmitigated toughness and plain writing. Under his blunt treatment, the traffic of women in America is shown to be what it is—a loathsome, corrupt stain on the pages of American history

How come a New York reporter like Ross millan was combing half of Mexico looking for old man Shumway’s missing daughter? Millan had asked himself the question a dozen times-and when he found her, he asked himself a whole lot more questions. For the shapely blonde he’d seen in the photograph turned out to be a fast-talking lady who packed a punch like a prize-fighter, did a little magic on the side, and just happened to be a dip-a very efficient pickpocket. From the day little Miss Myra Shumway walked into Millan’s life things were never quite the same…

For years, the operations of a mysterious and ruthless extortioner, who called himself “The Tortoise”, had baffled Scotland Yard and the police forces of Europe. But the Tortoise made a mistake of interfering with Don Micklem, millionaire settled in London, with friends in high places. And once Micklem was aroused, he tracked down the Tortoise to his lair in a remote place in Italy…

George Fraser is a lonely man, and a bored man. But he has exciting dreams. In his dreams, he lives in a thrilling world of gangsters, guns, fast cars and beautiful women. And of course, in his dreams, he is the toughest gangster of them all. George Fraser prefers his dream world to his real, ordinary life so he begins to boast about it, pretending that he is, in fact, a hardened and ruthless gangster. But George Fraser boasts to the wrong people and suddenly his dream world becomes all too real

Farrell Brannigan, President of the National Californian bank, builds yet another bank at Sharnville, an up-and-coming town on the pacific coast. Using the brilliant know-how of a young electronics expert, Brannigan feels justified in calling his new bank: ‘The Safest Bank in the World’. The press give the new bank world-wide publicity. But some forty years ago, when Brannigan was a young and rising banker, he made an implacable enemy. This man, with a pathological urge for revenge, attempts to break into ‘the safest bank in the world’. James Hadley Chase tells the story as only he can. Don’t go to bed with this one, unless you want to stay awake all night

He was a big strapping fellow around thirty, broad and well-built, but far from muscular; soft, just this side of fat. “Hello, Baby,” he said. “You one of her boy friends?” “Go jump in a lake,” I said. “Jump into two if one won’t hold you,” and I turned back to Netta’s door. He giggled. “There’s no one there,” he said, added in an undertone. “She’s dead: died by her own hand.” I felt a little cold breath against my cheek. There was something wrong here. I knew Netta well. She wasn’t the suicide type. And that’s how it began. From then on Steve Harmas, American newspaper correspondent, was never out of trouble. Netta’s body was kidnapped, then her mysterious sister Anne also committed suicide. Harmas, working on his own to try to solve the mystery of these two girls’ deaths, became so involved in the murders that followed that he was in danger of being arrested himself. No Business of Mine, written with tremendous speed and punch, has an ending that comes like the crack of a whip

When Dave Fenner was hired to solve the Blandish kidnapping, he knew the odds on finding the girl were against him — the cops were still looking for here three months after the ransom had been paid. And the kidnappers, Riley and his gang, had disappeared into thin air. But what none of them knew was that Riley himself had been wiped out by a rival gang — and the heiress was now in the hands of Ma Grisson and her son Slim, a vicious killer who couldn’t stay away from woman... especially his beautiful new captive. By the time Fenner began to close in on them, some terrible things had happened to Miss Blandish

Sherman Jamison is rich, very rich. He has amassed millions and now wants someone to pass them on to, the next in the family line. But he has no heir as his wife has been unable to have children. Refusing to let this stand in his way, Jamison pleads for a divorce but his wife, a devout Catholic, refuses to give into his demands. If she will not agree, she will have to be removed. Jamison hires a professional killer to do the deed but this is only the beginning of a thrilling and electrifying story of revenge, betrayal and murder

The Editor of a monthly crime and detection magazine assigns to two of his staff writers, Sladen and Low, the investigation of the strange disappearance of an unknown showgirl. The disappearance was reported fourteen months earlier, but the trail is cold. The police, with nothing to work on, have lost interest. The assignment doesn't look hopeful. However, the investigators start asking questions and almost immediately things begin to happen. Witnesses are murdered, an attempt is made to do away with the investigators. The police once more open the case. The disappearance of the showgirl is found to be only a minor part of a ruthless murder plot. Safer Dead has the authentic James Hadley Chase touch, which has deservedly earned him the title of " Master of the Art of Deception ". It moves with the pace and power of forked lightning

This is the story of Terry Regan, radio and T.V. salesman, who falls in love with Gilda, the wife of a hard drinking bully who spends his life in a wheel-chair. Because of Gilda’s fatal fascination, Regan decides to get rid of her husband so that he himself can marry her; and he hits on an ingenious murder plan. The murderer is to be the television set that stands in the husband’s lounge. But ingenious murder plans have habit of backfiring, and this one is no exception. Once again James Hadley Chase lives up to his reputation for sustained suspense, graphic and economical writing, and on the last page, a complete surprise

Strictly for Cash is the story of how Johnny Farrar made his roll of money. He thought in terms of five thousand and ended up with a quarter of million, but he didn’t get it legitimately nor did he keep out trouble. From the moment the reins of the richest casino on the Florida coast fell into his hands, he was sucked into a whirlpool of suspense, intrigue, murder and ruthless ambush from which there was no escape

When a small-time clerk insures his life for $50,000 and then suddenly dies ten days later, it doesn’t take a genius to work out something suspicious is going on. So when Maddox, the top man in the insurance business, finds out, he is determined to get to the bottom of it. And this means trouble for someone. In fact it means trouble for the beautiful, auburn-haired Meg Barlowe, a woman with a serious past

The nightmare tale of the life and death of Dillon, American gangster. From the first to the last page, the ruthlessness of an inhuman killer is set down with stark realism. Chase’s second book

When Jack Sheppey ends up dead in a beach hut in a wealthy town on the coast of the Pacific, his former partner in their detective agency starts a desperate quest to find his killer. But as private investigator Lew Brandon soon learns, this becomes a non-stop, terrifying and deadly hunt that will take him right to the heart of gangster territory

Secret Agent Mark Kirkland has been given the task of locating and retrieving three pornographic films. His mission must remain top secret as the films, rather embarrassingly, feature the daughter of the future president of the United States. His quest leads him to the depths of Bavaria where he finds Soviet agent, Malik, and sidekick Lu Silk also rather interested in the whereabouts of the films. Who will find them first? And once found, who’s to say they won’t immediately disappear again?

This is the job they have all been waiting for. The job that will set them up for life. A million dollars split five ways, who wouldn’t be interested? The only catch is that it’s the very definition of impossible…or is it? Armed with a brilliant plan, the four men and one woman think they can crack it. But as tensions in the group begin to mount and things start to go wrong, the million dollars feels more out of reach than ever. Even though it is right with them… ‘The thriller maestro of the generation.’

It seemed like a good idea at the time to ex-paratrooper sergeant Harry Mitchell, home after three years in the deadly jungles of Vietnam. Head south to Florida, get a summer job, soak up some sun, relax a bit. But when he got to Paradise City he found himself drawn into a lethal set-up where dumped corpses, smuggling operations, over-ambitious cops, hired killers and a sexy little double-crosser called Nina combined to make life very unhealthy. It was just as well for Harry Mitchell that he’d learned to look after himself in Vietnam

MISS ARNOT IS IN THE SWIMMING POOL, MINUS HER HEAD… The brutal murder of June Arnot, famous screen actress, and the massacre of all her servants is just the curtain raiser to this chill-a-page novel

Kenway Holland is a respectable bank teller who is alone in the city since his wife is visiting her mother. Kenny’s friend Parker convinces him to take advantage of the situation inviting him to phone a “very special” call girl. That’s the worse movement in his life, because the girl will be murdered and Kenny will become the main suspect

A brilliant but sadistic safe-breaker, Fennel, a beautiful, professional seductress, Gaye, an expert young white hunter, Kennedy, and an ace pilot with a shady past, Garry—this was the team that undercover operator, Armo Shalik assembled to steal the priceless Borgia ring from millionaire Max Kahlenberg’s closely guarded personal museum in a remote and deadly African bush. But Kahlenberg knew they were coming and the gang’s expedition turned into a strictly one-way safari—to slaughter, with the Borgia ring claiming its victims once again…

Chet Logan, known as the Axe Killer, escapes from custody while being escorted to jail. Disguised as a police officer, he meets up with movie writer Perry Weston and persuades him to drive to Weston’s remote fishing lodge. Once there, and somewhat to Weston’s surprise, Logan agrees to talk about his life and how he came to murder six people. The police become suspicious and put a watch on the lodge. Then Weston’s wayward wife visits him and promises a fresh start. Logan wants money and a chance to start again... Can either of them deliver or will Weston and Logan share a double funeral?

Serge Maisky has a record as long as your arm. In and out of jail all his life, he has dreamed for years of the Big Steal, that would set him up good. He recruits four professional accomplices and bribes one of the girls who works in the underground vaults of the Paradise City casino - for the take is going to be real heavy. No one is going to stand in his way, including the punk of a guard who appears at the time of the robbery. And it is just the tough luck of one of his partners-in-crime, if he gets shot in the belly, by the girl he was trying to rape. Or another partner, who is shot down by the cops. In fact, the lesser the number of partners, the more the share for Maisky. So when lovely, but sluttish Sheila and her unassuming husband, unwittingly take off with Maisky’s loot and bury it in their own garden, Maisky gets mad. Real mad…

Jefferson Halliday leads a life of penury, playing a piano at a nondescript bar. Jeff’s troubles start when he rescues a junkie, Rima Marshall, from being cut open in the bar, by a drug-crazed maniac. After hearing Rima's voice, he is convinced that she can be groomed into a singer with himself as manager. But Jeff needs money to launch Rima, and what can be an  easier way than a quick robbery to get the money? But a guard gets in the way and is shot dead by Rima. Since then, both are on the run. Jeff manages to return home, complete his engineering education and land a coveted contract with the city administration. He is also happily married, when out of the blue, Rima appears with a blackmail proposition…

Secret Agent Mark Kirkland has been given the task of locating and retrieving three pornographic films. His mission must remain top secret as the films, rather embarrassingly, feature the daughter of the future president of the United States. His quest leads him to the depths of Bavaria where he finds Soviet agent, Malik, and sidekick Lu Silk also rather interested in the whereabouts of the films. Who will find them first? And once found, who’s to say they won’t immediately disappear again?

Helen Chalmers had the kind of looks and body, which could make a man do almost everything she wanted. So when she asked pressman Ed Dawson to spend a month alone with her, in a scheduled Italian villa, he found himself accepting—even though it was against his better judgment. Because Helen was the daughter of Sherwin Chalmers, owner of New York Western Telegram, where Dawson worked. Moreover, Sherwin had left Helen in Dawson’s care in Rome. But Dawson had not quite imagined that he would find Helen’s dead body, when he arrived at the villa. Chalmers entrusted Dawson with finding the killer of Helen—the rest would be taken care of by Chalmers himself. Dawson found himself in a race against time to find the true killer of Helen, before the Italian police accused him of killing Helen, and the mob, with whom Helen had associated, caught up with him

On a dark, lonely quai of Paris’s 4th arrondissement, a woman is found suffering from amnesia, with the initials of the top Chinese atomic scientist tattooed on her buttock. This is the opening gambit of the second Mark Girland espionage adventure, a sequel to This is for Real, that surges forward with that compelling readability that has long established James Hadley Chase as the thriller maestro of the generation

The only clue that could lead to the arrest of a homicidal killer was a golf ball button, torn from the jacket the killer was wearing, and found by the horrifyingly mutillated body of a young hooker. There were four owners of jackets with golf ball buttons living in the city. Detective Tom Lepski of the Paradise City police checks out these jackets and suspicion falls on Ken Brandon, an insurance agent. Just when Lepski is sure he has his man, two more horrifying killings occur, and he is faced with the trickiest case he has had to solve. Here is yet another of James Hadley Chase’s non-stop reads. Not for nothing has he been called the Maestro of thriller writers

Reckless Harry Griffin was an ex-pilot on the skids. But he had an ingenious scheme for hijacking a plane and heisting 3 million dollars worth of diamonds. Another hardfisted mystery by the author of NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH