Има ли нещо по-хубаво от парите?

by James Hadley Chase, Тодор Стоянов (translator)

Джеф Холидей един ден ще съжалява, че познава Рима Маршал, на която се опитва да помогне. Тя е жена "със сребърен глас", с който може да се спечели милиони, но е и жена, която няма какво да губи - стигнала е до дъното. Тя може да сложи Джеф на електрическия стол и го знае. Но той не е лек обект за изнудване и минава през преизподнята на шантажа.

Genres: Crime, Novels, Thriller, Fiction, Noir, Mystery

242 pages

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

René Lodge Brabazon Raymond was born on 24th December 1906 in London, England, the son of Colonel Francis Raymond of the colonial Indian Army, a veterinary surgeon. His father intended his son to have a scientific career, was initially educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent. He left home at the age of 18 and became at different times a children's encyclopedia salesman, a salesman in a bookshop, and executive for a book wholesaler before turning to a writing career that produced more than 90 mystery books. His interests included photography (he was up to professional standard), reading and listening to classical music, being a particularly enthusiastic opera lover. Also as a form of relaxation between novels, he put together highly complicated and sophisticated Meccano models.

In 1932, Raymond married Sylvia Ray, who gave him a son. They were together until his death fifty three years later. Prohibition and the ensuing US Great Depression (1929–1939), had given rise to the Chicago gangster culture just prior to World War II. This, combined with her book trade experience, made him realise that there was a big demand for gangster stories. He wrote as R. Raymond, James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant and Raymond Marshall.

During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force, achieving the rank of Squadron Leader. Chase edited the RAF Journal with David Langdon and had several stories from it published after the war in the book Slipstream: A Royal Air Force Anthology.

Raymond moved to France in 1956 and then to Switzerland in 1969, living a secluded life in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, on Lake Geneva, from 1974. He eventually died there peacefully on 6 February 1985.

Reviews

[Paul Lothane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rima Marshall - a disgusting woman who has reached the lowest rung on the ladder of degeneracy. A ruthless liar, whore, drug addict, killer - and blackmailer. She proceeds to blackmail Jefferson Halliday who has moved on in every way since he first met this odious woman many years ago. And how she takes him to the cleaners, collecting very large amounts of money from him! Yet Jefferson on the whole is a fine gentleman who made mistakes whilst a young man (mainly getting involved with Rima) and it looks as if his whole life and future will be ruined because of this. Rima however is brutally killed later on, and Jefferson who had planned to kill her (not by himself) blames himself for this, and even hands himself over to (a blackmailing!) police officer. This is a thrilling novel as one would expect from the author, and the conclusion is more hopeful than bleak. Chase is often undermined by critics and purists, but he is a very fine writer who introduces convincing characters quickly. In this work eg, see how the dangerous Wilbur is introduced from the beginning: "The man who came in looked like something straight out of a nightmare...small, fine-boned with a thin pointed face that was as white as cold mutton fat. His black hair was long and plastered to his head by the rain. It hung down either side of his face in limp strands. It was his eyes that gave him his nightmarish appearance. The pupils were enormous, almost filling the entire iris..."

[Ionuț Anastasiu · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 stele.
Cu siguranță cel mai prost roman al scriitorului britanic pe care l-am citit. Dat fiind faptul că a scris nu mai puțin de 90 de romane cu diverse pseudonime (de altfel, însuși James Hadley Chase este la rândul lui un pseudonim), e posibil să fie altele și mai proaste. Dar, cu siguranță, sunt o sumedenie mult mai bune decât acesta.
În general, nu mi-a plăcut aproape nimic, nici intriga, nici personajul principal, ce este și narator în același timp, nici personajele secundare; într-un cuvânt, nimic nu stă în picioare. Singurul lucru interesant ,ce m-a făcut să-i acord o jumătate de stea în plus este citatul următor:
"— Ce poate exista mai bun decât banii? îmi spusese ea odată.
Asta era filozofia ei". Oricine poate să obiecteze, pe bună dreptate, de altfel, că ideea este foarte simplistă; de acord, însă ea rezumă cel mai bine felul de a fi al unor oameni, pentru care banii sunt nu un mijloc, ci un scop în sine. Inutil de precizat, marea majoritate a eroilor lui James Hadley Chase (și nu numai) nu sunt deloc niște inși sofisticați, ci unii care sunt dispuși să facă orice pentru a avea bani. Mulți bani. Iar de multe ori, nici măcar nu apucă să cheltuie nimic din ei. De parcă ar fi blestemați.
Intriga romanului este împărțită în două mari secțiuni, dintre care prima are loc în timpul celui de-al doilea război mondial, iar a doua la unsprezece ani distanță.
Jeff Gordon/Halliday este în primă instanță un pianist ce cântă prin baruri și nu pare să-și dorească nimic de la viață. Războiul i-a dat viața complet peste cap. În mod neașteptat, vom descoperi că Jeff este un ins îngrozitor de meschin. Singura lui convingere este faptul că toate nenorocirile sale se trag de la o femeie, fără să realizeze că problema este el însuși. Lectură plăcută!

[Shawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A paint by numbers blackmail case with padding bursting from the seams. I don't blame Chase. Everybody has to eat.

[Md Ehtasham · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a crime thriller. even though this was my second book in this genre i liked it. the thing that i found the best in the book was the ending. it was so interesting that i finished it within two days of time.overall i would say its the kind of book a person who is not a bookworm should read coz then he'll become a bookworm.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each time Jeff Halliday comes to an important crossroads involving crime or immorality he makes the wrong choice. He becomes involved. Had he elected to do nothing, every time, he would never have had a problem. Instead, this Chase story is not a story about the folly of making bad choices; it's about the folly of making any choices whatsoever.

This is another strong novel by Chase. Quickly read, it actually spans an 11 year period in its protagonist's life. I think this is the first time I've encountered Chase taking the action over such a long period of time. It works wonderfully, except in one regard, with the protagonist, Jeff. It seems he has not learned anything over 11 years, and is just as easily manipulated and mislead toward the end as at the beginning. But . . . then there is the end of the book. Suddenly, Jeff figures it all out. It was fun seeing him get to that point.

[Mehak · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have come across Chase's description as the 'best thriller writer' and the like, this book won't let you down.
With every page you will gasp for more air in anticipation of what's going to happen next.
The protagonist is smart, who knows how to get his work done, though with a past he has hidden from his family and friends. All hell breaks loose in his life when his past returns with a vengeance.

He plans and plots ways to get rid of it. So much happens in a little reading that it's difficult to stop to ponder and weigh the right and the wrong doings of the characters (including the protagonist's). But, that's how thrillers are supposed to be and Chase does a great job at that.
The book's ending isn't disappointingly cliché, so it may leave you with questions (still) and definitely a satisfying feeling in the end.

[Kakha · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the main characters in this magnificent book is Jeff Gordon. I emphasize this because Jeffery Michael Gordon is my favorite legendary former professional stock car racing driver. A very familiar, sonorous name for such a cool story by my favorite crime fiction author.
This Jeff saves a certain Rimma Marshall from her furious friend with a knife. But this Rima Marshall is such a rubbish, difficult person, in the end, she is a drug addict... So, by an unfortunate coincidence, the fate of Jeff because of this woman cannot be envied. This is an excellent story. Yоу will not be distracted from reading.

[Paritosh Vyas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book which I have completed in 2026 after having read 61 books in 2025.

This edition is the 1986 edition hard copy which I am in possession of.

This one tells the story about a guy who did not complete his education and went to the war and after the war he had no reason to complete his education and went on to play a piano. very meets Rima who has got an angel-like voice but is a druggie.

And then there is a murder.

11 years pass and our hero has become a successful engineer and gets married and has got a big contract from the city.

And boom! Rima returns with a blackmail.

What happened next is what you would love to find for yourself by reading this book.

[Tumelo Gadinabokao · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a well written book. The main male character (Jeff) was quite frustrating a lot of the times and for someone who was smart, he sure isn't street smart at all (at least for the most part). This book had me actually (verbally) screaming out of frustration because of the decisions the main character was taking.

It was really easy to get into the book though and it was difficult to put the book down.

There is a lot of suspense so if you like that then I would highly recommend it

[Emmanuel Wallart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pianist and world war II veteran, a woman with a golden voice but a drug addict. He saved her life and she robbed his money.
11 Years later, she will come from his past, and make him pay. The choice is 15 years in jail or a sky without a cloud.
An unusual. JHC story. Which way to choose, what option is the best?

[Akinola Akinyemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvellous!

Young people of today will find this book out of date, but I will encourage mine to read some of these books from JHC. I am still getting carried with how marvelous a storyteller JHC was. This is one is one of my favourites.

[Rural Soul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not among the best novels by Sir James Hedley Chase but a great treat in my journey.

[Δήμος Καραχάλιος · Rating 4 out of 5]

Απολαυστικός ο Chase σε μια κλασική ιστορία εκβιασμού.

[Hari Udayakumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naibiting thirller from chase. Read it one shot

[Keshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story.... this is 2nd novel from James Hadley. This is great crime and thriller novel ...

[L'amaca di Euterpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dire che sia finalmente un libro che finisce bene è un eufemismo, ma di certo per una volta mi è capitato di dover seguire le vicende del buono e non del delinquente di turno. E in questo buono possiamo o dobbiamo rispecchiarci tutti, visto che a chiunque può capitare in buona fede di incontrare la persona sbagliata e poi pagarne le conseguenze in un secondo momento.
Bello, stringato, secco, tutto preciso. Un'ottima lettura e uno scrittore scoperto grazie a un consiglio e davvero entrato nell'olimpo dei miei preferiti.

Qui il resto della mia recensione http://amacadieuterpe.wordpress.com/2...

[Ренета Кирова · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Има ли нещо по-хубаво от парите?" пита Джеймс Хадли Чейс и разкрива, че има много по-ценни неща от тях. Този роман е за изнудвания в името на парите. Не харесвам много книги на такава тематика. Според мен има нещо много долно да изнудваш други хора и да им причиняваш трудности и неприятности. Как ставаш такъв човек, не мога да го проумея. Нашият герой прави грешка като млад и това води до по-големи последици след години. Стила на писане на Чейс е забързано и увлекателно. Имайте предвид, че книгата е написана през 1960 година. За мен е много важно да знам това, защото тогава са живеели различно. Тази година ми помага да разбера по-добре атмосферата и романа като продукт на своето време.

[Κώστας · Rating 4 out of 5]

Έκδοση ΒΙΠΕΡ 1972 με Ελληνικό τίτλο "Συνέταιροι στο έγκλημα".

Άλλο ένα αγωνιώδες θρίλερ, άλλο ένα cul-de-sac* από τον μάγειρα τoυ είδους James Chase.
Το αδιέξοδο του πρωταγωνιστή πρώτου** προσώπου γραφής είναι απελπιστικό. Ως θύμα εκβιασμού, μόνη σωτηρία του φαίνεται ο φόνος. Αλλά αυτό δεν είναι τόσο απλό. Και αρχίζουν οι περιπλοκές. "Το πράγμα άρχιζε να αποκτά εφιαλτικές διαστάσεις. Η μια δυσκολία έφερνε την άλλη κι η άλλη κάποια άλλη".


* Σταδιακό αδιέξοδο - σαν θηλιά που σφίγγει -των εμπλεκομένων.

** Η πρωτοπρόσωπη γραφή, στα έργα του J.Chase δεν αποτελεί ασπίδα για το υποκείμενό της που, τις περισσότερες φορές, έχει τραγικό τέλος.

[Michelle Valencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

love it..it's mine

[Bala Subrahmanyam Nukala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am looking forward to read more of Hadley Chase as he has a lucid style, yet gripping which is perfect for passing time during journeys!

[Anapusim Okechukwu]

n

[Vikrant Barmate · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second most favorite CHASE novel.

I'd love to adopt it.
Learnt a few lessons in writing a tense scene.

[Mark Vickers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another thriller/ mystery by the master, JHC you just start to imagine that you are aware of the plot, but with each chapter comes the twists and the turns...

[Shuaib]

Good