Blackmail

Stanley Hastings #9

by Parnell Hall

Complications arise when Stanley Hastings handles a blackmail payment involving pornographic pictures. Not only does he fail to stop the blackmailer, but everyone he talks to dies.“Every page quivers with comic frustration and the result is an absolute joy.”—Kirkus (starred)“Parnell Hall succeeds in making Stanley Hastings one of a kind …. BLACKMAIL is pleasantly reminiscent of an earlier era, when detectives like Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin brought some humor to their chores.”—The Wall Street Journal “Here is that rare and highly readable type of novel, the one told mostly in dialogue–and very good dialogue it is, too…. Blackmail is a fun page-turner.”—The Denver Post “Stanley’s cases also have going for them some of the deftest and trickiest puzzle-plotting in the field today.”—Jon L. Breen, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine“The characters are funny, the dialogue sings, and Hall continually confounds the reader’s expectations.”—Sparkle Hayter, Toronto Star

Genres: Mystery

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1994

Reviews

[Erik Deckers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blurb on the cover of the book said it was funny, but it was not. Still it was light and entertaining and interesting to read.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

the husband of the woman hires a man to hire her and have the two of them hire stanly in a blackmail scheme. stanly just has to deliver the money and pick up the photos which he does

then she calls him to do it again when she didnt get the negatives. but it didnt make sense as she didnt think of it at first plus she didnt look at the photos when she got them

then they send him driving all over calling from phone booths for the second drop off. he finds her dead body and the other blackmailers body is found the next day

the husband is cleared

so stanly tries to hunt down the faces in the porno photos, he actually finds the woman who is now 20 yrs older and married to a cop and has nothing to do with the whole thing

it was actually the woman who hired stanly to do the blackmails husband, to get her money and have his girlfriend who didnt know any of it

stanly was thrown in the drunk tank and beat by the cop who isnt very bright.

it was good and you have to pay attention to these plots! im trying to read them in order but the library isnt sending them to me in order, but you can still 'get it'.

his wife is playing more of a part now. she does things on the computer which is just starting, these books are old so theres no cells and he has to go find payphones which he wouldnt be able to do now. wonder how that works in the more recent books...

i love this series and im glad theres enough of them to read at this time

[Ronnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all the books, in the entire world, ever written, I had to choose this one. I chose this one to read, on this dark and stormy night.
Well, it really wasn't quite like that, but I hope you get where I am going with this. Blackmail has the feel of the cliche filled, bumbling detective type, books and movies of the past.
Read along as Stanley, the intrepid ( sometimes ) PI, gets involved in a blackmail scheme that leaves 3 people dead. Will he be able to solve the murders and clear his name? Will he ever win an argument with his wife? I guess you will have to read the book and find out!
A fast and enjoyable read!

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

More fun with Stanley. This time Alice, his wife, helps out. There's smutty pictures and murder and, as the title says, blackmail.