JAMES HADLEY CHASE

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.

Jerry Stevens, an out-of-work bit-part movie actor, is offered a job at a thousand dollars a day to impersonate John Merrill Ferguson, one of the richest and most powerful men in the world.Ferguson needs to finish a secret deal but hungry journalists are continually watching every move he makes. In order to complete it, Ferguson needs a ''stand-in''. For Stevens, the money is beyond his wildest dreams.But from the moment Steven''s steps into Ferguson''s shoes, he is thrown into a nightmare of intrigue, murder and stark terror.

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?

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...

When three very different people come together, all out for the same thing and prepared to go to any lengths to get it, the stakes are likely to be high.But, for a wealthy middle-aged woman, an international lawyer and a young American, games of bluff and counter-bluff quickly develop into a dangerous and deadly battle.As the action hots up, Chase weaves a fast-moving story of blackmail, intrigue and extortion with a hair-raising climax.

"Victor Dermott, commediografo di successo, si e ritirato a scrivere in un ranch isolato ai margini del deserto del Nevada, in compagnia della moglie, del figlioletto, di un domestico vietnamita e di un cane da guardia. Ma in una splendida mattina d''estate, alle prime luci dell''alba, si sveglia di soprassalto, in un bagno di sudore. Crede di aver avuto un incubo, ma l''incubo deve ancora arrivare. Nessuna traccia del domestico, il cane e sparito, il telefono tagliato, le automobili fuori uso. E presto il ranch si popolera di figure sinistre e grottesche: una giovane ereditiera rapita da un leggendario gangster tornato in attivita dopo anni di pensione, un ex galeotto italoamericano immalinconito da una mamma malata, una coppia di gemelli, fratello e sorella, incestuosi, selvaggi e insofferenti di ogni disciplina persino criminale. Questi i protagonisti di uno spietato gioco al massacro, scandito da mille imprevisti, con poliziotti e agenti dell''Fbi a far da comparse predestinate a giungere sempre un istante troppo tardi. Un suspense dei primi anni sessanta, che vede il crepuscolo della vecchia generazione di gangster, soppiantata dalla nuova delinquenza senza regole dei giovani ""ribelli"" in motocicletta e giubbotto di cuoio. "

Cannes. Film Festival time. Classy hotels, wonderful food, expensive movies - and a beach full of starlets showing off their curves. And delicious blonde Lucille Balu is more curvaceous than most.When she hears that world-famous movie mogul Floyd Delaney wants to meet her she jumps at the chance. But as she taps softly on the door of his suite at the Plaza hotel, the last thing she expects is a date with death.

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...

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

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 Barts investigation progresses, he discovers that he has opened up a can of worms - for Nancy is not the faithful wife her husband assumes ...The thriller maestro of the generationManchester Evening News