*Crime, Spies & Sleaze: We’re continuing to introduce the new layout for our books categories, with an image for each book. This week, we return to our Crime, Spies & Sleaze category and the thrillers of English author James Hadley Chase. Chase was one of several pen names used by René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, a highly successful author, writing more than 90 novels as Chase, and with more than 50 made into films, it’s no wonder he was dubbed the king of thriller writers in Europe. He started out in 1939 with No Orchids For Miss Blandish, an American gangster thriller of the type so popular in the UK during the 40s and 50s. After a lot of success in the sub-genre, Chase became a more mainstream crime/thriller writer. In our selections this week, we have half a dozen of his novels, five paperbacks and one hardcover, with cover illustrations by John Pollack, a name frequently seen on 1940s/1950s British gangster pulp fiction digests, although most of these are particularly hard to come by these days; he was a local artist (like the more (in)famous Reginald Heade) and lived in Clapham, South West London. Pollack’s women were gorgeous and glamorous and his men were chiselled tough guys. A nice uniform look therefore to these Robert Hale/Thriller Book Club editions, which make a very appealing selection.
PICTURED: All by JAMES HADLEY CHASE
HIT & RUN Robert Hale 1959 1st UK PB VG £8 (also available in GD £6)
NOT SAFE TO BE FREE Robert Hale 1959 1st UK PB VG £8
SAFER DEAD Robert Hale 1956 UK PB GD/VG £6
YOU FIND HIM – I’LL FIX HIM Robert Hale 1959 UK PB GD £5
YOU’VE GOT IT COMING Thriller Book Club 1955? UK HC VG £10 With DJ (VG)