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Mark Girland #2
Trato hecho
Encontrar en París a una sueca espléndida no es difícil. Encontrarla perdida y además amnésica aún lo es más. Pero es una auténtica casualidad hallarla si encima lleva tatuados tres ideogramas chinos donde su maravillosa espalda pierde ese casto nombre. Y allí está, en el Hospital Americano de París. Inmediatamente, los hombres de los servicios secretos de China, Estados Unidos y la URSS se ponen en campaña, y no porque la sueca sea un bocado apetecible —que lo es—, sino porque ha sido la amante del mejor científico chino en materia nuclear y espacial.
87 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
32 people are currently reading
854 people want to read
About the author
James Hadley Chase
638 books1,012 followersRené 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 3, 2022
For Chase fans this is a complete let down. The plot sets off at a fast pace with multiple entries that keeps you glued. But the plot loses steam as it reaches the climax. The climax is a huge let down. It seems Chase himself lost interest in the novel and decided to abruptly end it.
March 11, 2015
A Girland adventure. Surely a gripping book. High on violence. One of Chase's best. Not a single extra word in the whole book. Anyway, I am a Chase fan. What else can you expect from me? May be I am reading it for the 3rd time.
February 11, 2026
The book was written in 1966 and James Hadley Chase had a lot of fun writing this book. The chief protagonist in the novel even buys a Hadley Chase novel for a long flight.
The CIA agent who is the central character is a disgusting sexist pig but all the women seem to love him nonetheless. Almost all the women in the book are lovely, but this doesn't mean they don't get killed, as well as a few others, in a variety of ways. The sharks of Hong Kong are well fed.
Anyway, the tongue-in-cheek story is that Girland (anagram?), the CIA operative, must get a beautiful woman out of France and back to Hong Kong so she can locate a black pearl and then they'll return back to France to sell it for a large sum of money. The woman has some tattoos on her backside, which may or may not mean something, and this part of the story tails off.
Unfortunately for Girland, and a constant of the story, are that the Chinese and Soviets are on his trail and they'll shoot anyone at any time to find out information. The odd item is that the rather stereotypical Soviet agent called Malik, a supposed ruthless assassin, doesn't shoot Girland when he has the chance - this was slightly disappointing to me, but you can't have everything.
The CIA agent who is the central character is a disgusting sexist pig but all the women seem to love him nonetheless. Almost all the women in the book are lovely, but this doesn't mean they don't get killed, as well as a few others, in a variety of ways. The sharks of Hong Kong are well fed.
Anyway, the tongue-in-cheek story is that Girland (anagram?), the CIA operative, must get a beautiful woman out of France and back to Hong Kong so she can locate a black pearl and then they'll return back to France to sell it for a large sum of money. The woman has some tattoos on her backside, which may or may not mean something, and this part of the story tails off.
Unfortunately for Girland, and a constant of the story, are that the Chinese and Soviets are on his trail and they'll shoot anyone at any time to find out information. The odd item is that the rather stereotypical Soviet agent called Malik, a supposed ruthless assassin, doesn't shoot Girland when he has the chance - this was slightly disappointing to me, but you can't have everything.
March 31, 2020
It's just so ... wonderfully plotted, a story well told. You can't help but hold your breath in anticipation.
On a dark, sinister night, a woman is found wandering around Paris' 4th arrondissement suffering from amnesia. This appears at first to be a simple case of a missing person turned up - until the initials of the leading Chinese atomic scientist are found tattooed on her buttock. This is the beginning of a dramatic adventure into the world of international espionage and intrigue with a thrilling and breathtaking conclusion.
On a dark, sinister night, a woman is found wandering around Paris' 4th arrondissement suffering from amnesia. This appears at first to be a simple case of a missing person turned up - until the initials of the leading Chinese atomic scientist are found tattooed on her buttock. This is the beginning of a dramatic adventure into the world of international espionage and intrigue with a thrilling and breathtaking conclusion.
May 29, 2021
The Paris office of the CIA is back in action in You Have Yourself a Deal, a sequel to This Is for Real, published a year earlier. Often, I've found that Chase sequels fall short of their predecessors. But that is not the case, here. In an epic story, stretching from Paris to Nice and then to Hong Kong, this spy thriller is the equal of This Is for Real. Just as entertaining. Just as compelling. And just as much with a touch of humor mixed in amongst the violence. In this case, Malik and his Russian agents are once again after Mark Girland. But to compound the trouble, Chinese agents are also after Girland and his client, a blond haired Nordic vixen who has escaped from her Chinese lover with stolen secrets and perhaps a rare piece of treasure.
Chase is in full form, here. Especially nice to see a fun bit when Girland stops over in Rome on the way to Hong Kong and decides to spend time waiting for his connecting flight by buying the latest Hadley Chase novel! Girland himself is even more of a challenge to hidebound authoritarians, including those in the CIA, as he was in the first Girland novel. And there is something about Girland. Every time I imagine him, I keep seeing William Holden. Despite the light moments, however, overall this is a dark work. Institutions are untrustworthy. While Russian and Chinese Communists may be worse, it is of a degree, not a kind.
Chase is in full form, here. Especially nice to see a fun bit when Girland stops over in Rome on the way to Hong Kong and decides to spend time waiting for his connecting flight by buying the latest Hadley Chase novel! Girland himself is even more of a challenge to hidebound authoritarians, including those in the CIA, as he was in the first Girland novel. And there is something about Girland. Every time I imagine him, I keep seeing William Holden. Despite the light moments, however, overall this is a dark work. Institutions are untrustworthy. While Russian and Chinese Communists may be worse, it is of a degree, not a kind.
January 23, 2021
The second (like all four) books about US Central Intelligence Agency agent Mark Girland is great. When I read this book and the other two (as well as absolutely all of James Chase's books), I did not want it to end. This story is gorgeous.
It tells that a blonde woman, who has lost her memory, was found in Paris. She has a tattoo of three Chinese hieroglyphs on her body, which represent the initials of the largest Chinese rocket scientist. Well, it's just an incredible basis for an extremely interesting plot, isn't it? The CIA, the KGB, and Chinese intelligence are involved. For them, the lady is of certain interest. The CIA, of course, assigns this case to Agent Mark Girland to take care of the blonde. Soviet KGB agent Malik must steal her and the Chinese must eliminate her. Oh, how wonderful it would be if I had not read this book already!
It tells that a blonde woman, who has lost her memory, was found in Paris. She has a tattoo of three Chinese hieroglyphs on her body, which represent the initials of the largest Chinese rocket scientist. Well, it's just an incredible basis for an extremely interesting plot, isn't it? The CIA, the KGB, and Chinese intelligence are involved. For them, the lady is of certain interest. The CIA, of course, assigns this case to Agent Mark Girland to take care of the blonde. Soviet KGB agent Malik must steal her and the Chinese must eliminate her. Oh, how wonderful it would be if I had not read this book already!
June 4, 2007
Mark Girland ... rocks...:-)
June 13, 2025
René Lodge Brabazon Raymond (1906-1985) was born in London and chose James Hadley Chase as his pen name. He earned a big reputation as a thriller writer, with 30 of his 90 works being turned into movies. He is known for fast-paced stories and not messing much with details about the weather and what the characters are wearing. "You Have Yourself a Deal" is my first plunge into his work.
The story centers around a beautiful, mysterious woman who has no memory. People believe she may have been the mistress of a Chinese man who has designed a powerful new weapon of war and may therefore have information about this weapon. For this reason, the Russians and British want to capture her and interrogate her, while the Chinese want to kill her and silence her. Mark Girland, a rogue-ish secret agent working for the British--a sort of poor man's James Bond--is tasked with finding her, protecting her, and getting information from her.
The book is well-done. Its pace is lightning fast because the author doesn't mess around telling you what color the carpet is or how the steak was cooked. But the best thing about the book is that it has several nice surprises built in. The story makes a sharp turn about 40 pages from the end and goes in a completely unexpected direction. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
The story centers around a beautiful, mysterious woman who has no memory. People believe she may have been the mistress of a Chinese man who has designed a powerful new weapon of war and may therefore have information about this weapon. For this reason, the Russians and British want to capture her and interrogate her, while the Chinese want to kill her and silence her. Mark Girland, a rogue-ish secret agent working for the British--a sort of poor man's James Bond--is tasked with finding her, protecting her, and getting information from her.
The book is well-done. Its pace is lightning fast because the author doesn't mess around telling you what color the carpet is or how the steak was cooked. But the best thing about the book is that it has several nice surprises built in. The story makes a sharp turn about 40 pages from the end and goes in a completely unexpected direction. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
May 22, 2024
Girland, Malik, chinese spys... A beautiful and mysterious girl with tatoo signs on her butt,... lost her memory... a black pearl... Paris, Nice, Hong Kong... Murders...
Not the best Chase, but a good one
Not the best Chase, but a good one
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December 6, 2019Nice
November 18, 2021
Mark Garland great character
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2024
When you are looking for a perfect espionage then you have yourself a deal
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July 29, 2011Décousu, improbable - du grand n'importe quoi...
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June 25, 2015Nice
November 15, 2015
The version I read was the UK edition featuring page 3 models in lingerie on the cover.
April 23, 2015
Unputdownable
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews