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Frank Terrell #1
Ο εφιάλτης
Τι είχε κάνει ο Κρις Μπάρνετ εκείνο το βράδυ που είχε εξαφανιστεί από το ξενοδοχείο του; Που είχε πάει φεύγοντας με το αυτοκίνητο της γυναίκας του; Ποιον είχε συναντήσει; Και τι είχε μεσολαβήσει μεταξύ τους;
Οι αστυνομικοί δεν μπορούσαν να πουν. Ο ίδιος ο Κρις δεν μιλούσε. Το μυαλό του, εδώ και μήνες δεν τον βοηθούσε να θυμάται τις πράξεις του...
Μπορούσε όμως, να μιλήσει κάποιος άλλος, και είχε τον τρόπο του να γίνει πιστευτός. Είχε στα χέρια του τον αναπτήρα και το σακκάκι του Κρις. Κι έλεγε, πως τα είχε βρει στον τόπο όπου είχε δολοφονηθή μια γυναίκα...
Για να κρατήσει το στόμα του κλειστό, ζητούσε μισό εκατομμύριο δολλάρια. Και η Βάλερυ Μπάρνετ, η γυναίκα του Κρις, αποφάσισες να πληρώσει. Μολονότι ήξερε πως έτσι, άρχιζε γι' αυτήν ο εφιάλτης.
Οι αστυνομικοί δεν μπορούσαν να πουν. Ο ίδιος ο Κρις δεν μιλούσε. Το μυαλό του, εδώ και μήνες δεν τον βοηθούσε να θυμάται τις πράξεις του...
Μπορούσε όμως, να μιλήσει κάποιος άλλος, και είχε τον τρόπο του να γίνει πιστευτός. Είχε στα χέρια του τον αναπτήρα και το σακκάκι του Κρις. Κι έλεγε, πως τα είχε βρει στον τόπο όπου είχε δολοφονηθή μια γυναίκα...
Για να κρατήσει το στόμα του κλειστό, ζητούσε μισό εκατομμύριο δολλάρια. Και η Βάλερυ Μπάρνετ, η γυναίκα του Κρις, αποφάσισες να πληρώσει. Μολονότι ήξερε πως έτσι, άρχιζε γι' αυτήν ο εφιάλτης.
193 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
15 people are currently reading
398 people want to read
About the author
James Hadley Chase
645 books1,005 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 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 21, 2022
In his Florida thriller, James Hadley Chase offers a novel about a rich but troubled married couple. From the outside, they are American royalty, rich, well-dressed, well-mannered, and oozing all kinds of sex appeal. Val and Chris Burnett may be on the cover of every fashion magazine, but as is so often the case, once you scratch the surface, that pound of gold is only gold plated. See the thing is Chris isn’t right and hasn’t been for a long time. He’s lost interest in everything including Val, who loyally sticks by him. She still goes to the resort bar and orders her martinis but they know Chris only drinks juice. Little do they know Chris has been certifiable since a car crash two years ago and has been in a sanitarium. He hasn’t been behind the wheel of a car in that long either and it’s no t a good thing when he grabs the car keys and takes off and disappears.
Though what Chase does so well here is that the novel doesn’t center around the Burnetts so much as it does the swirling maelstrom of violence, murder, and blackmail that all coalesces on the night Chris disappears. Indeed, through much of the novel Chris and Val become almost bit characters as the sharks start circling sensing the blood in the water till they go into their feeding frenzy in one of the bloodiest climaxes in any of Chase’s novels.
Though what Chase does so well here is that the novel doesn’t center around the Burnetts so much as it does the swirling maelstrom of violence, murder, and blackmail that all coalesces on the night Chris disappears. Indeed, through much of the novel Chris and Val become almost bit characters as the sharks start circling sensing the blood in the water till they go into their feeding frenzy in one of the bloodiest climaxes in any of Chase’s novels.
November 29, 2020
Val Burnett is a rich woman.Her husband,Chris, has suffered a brain injury and his behaviour has become very erratic and unpredictable.
A prostitute gets murdered.Chris disappears at the same time and is recovered by the police sometime after the murder.
As police investigate,the corpses begin to pile up.People with even the remotest connection to the murder start getting murdered themselves.Cops join the ranks of the dead.
An unscrupluous private eye hatches a plan to make half a million bucks through blackmail,but it's not so easy.
The killers get their just desserts and the blackmail plan is foiled,as the action moves at a breakneck pace.
An entertaining thriller,I read this first when I had just discovered Chase.It hooked me and made me a collector of his books.
A prostitute gets murdered.Chris disappears at the same time and is recovered by the police sometime after the murder.
As police investigate,the corpses begin to pile up.People with even the remotest connection to the murder start getting murdered themselves.Cops join the ranks of the dead.
An unscrupluous private eye hatches a plan to make half a million bucks through blackmail,but it's not so easy.
The killers get their just desserts and the blackmail plan is foiled,as the action moves at a breakneck pace.
An entertaining thriller,I read this first when I had just discovered Chase.It hooked me and made me a collector of his books.
January 31, 2018
Originally Published in 1964 (my edition, 1974), The Soft Centre could arguably be relevant among modern day popular mysteries, albeit with a slight slant towards the sleazier side of fiction. At its core, the premise is pure murder mystery; the mutilated body of a murdered prostitute is found in a hotel room during the same period of time in which Chris Burnett, a wealthy heir-apparent to a prosperous business, goes missing, only to be found without any memory of the past 24hrs.
Shady bookmakers, questionable intentions, a private eye on the take, and a prime suspect without his mind make for the perfect proverbial boiling pot of a pulp.
The Soft Centre switches gears along with its characters to enhance the story; there isn't one thread which dictates proceedings nor one character at the deadly soft centre. One of the few books I've had the pleasure of reading where the point of view is equally spread among victim, suspect, and ancillary players.
My rating: 5/5, I enjoyed this pulp from start to finish. I'll be sure to read more James Hadley Chase in the near future.
http://justaguywholikes2read.blogspot...
Shady bookmakers, questionable intentions, a private eye on the take, and a prime suspect without his mind make for the perfect proverbial boiling pot of a pulp.
The Soft Centre switches gears along with its characters to enhance the story; there isn't one thread which dictates proceedings nor one character at the deadly soft centre. One of the few books I've had the pleasure of reading where the point of view is equally spread among victim, suspect, and ancillary players.
My rating: 5/5, I enjoyed this pulp from start to finish. I'll be sure to read more James Hadley Chase in the near future.
http://justaguywholikes2read.blogspot...
December 22, 2020
Downright thrilling. I like the way JHC constructs his novels, with a crescendo of kinetic activity that explodes at the end. I'm four or five books into his output and I can see a pattern emerging. It clearly works. A hook on the first few pages, followed by a somewhat drawn out character sketch (albeit not too much of one), crime layout, comic relief chapter, and then hurtling towards the final conflict. It's a classic structure. And I enjoy his comic chapters. Here, it is with the young child, Angel Prescott, who generates more politically incorrect thoughts and words in her few moments on the page than most people today would get off in a lifetime. Even when the book was published, 1964, she would have been offensive--and JHC clearly delights in her being so. The list of wrongly placed terms and words continues: no American child then or today would ever refer to a "flashlight" as a "torch;" nobody in America drinks "cartons" of fresh coffee. But that's okay. In fact, it's become part of the charm of reading a JHC book. His Americans don't quite sound like Americans.
February 3, 2013
Not the usual James Hadley chase treat as it entirely lacks suspense.Everything is crystal clear which makes it boring.Only saving grace are dialog which are presented in usual james style like "you are the filthiest creature who ever crawled out of stinging piece of meat".
I would not recommend it,its plain and boring.
I would not recommend it,its plain and boring.
January 23, 2014
Not the classic James piece I was hoping for. Enough said I guess.
June 23, 2022
കോടീശ്വരനായ ചാൾസ് ട്രാവേഴ്സ് ൻ്റ മകൾ വലേറിയ ബർനെറ്റ് ഉം മരുമകൻ ക്രിസ് ഉം സ്പാനിഷ് ബേ ഹോട്ടലിൽ താമസിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു. ഒരു കാർ അപകടത്തിൽ പരിക്കേറ്റ ക്രിസ് ൻ്റ ചികിത്സക്ക് വേണ്ടിയാണ് അവർ അവിടെ താമസിച്ചത്. അവിടെവെച്ച് ക്രിസ് നെ കാണാതാവുന്നു, ആ വിവരം മകൾ ഫോൺ വഴി ചാൾസിനെ അറിയിക്കുന്നു.
ക്യാപ്റ്റൻ ടെറലും സഹായി ജോ ബിഗ്ലറർ ഉം കേസ് ഏറ്റെടുക്കുന്നു. ക്രിസ്നെ അന്വേഷിച്ചു നടക്കുന്നതിനിടയിൽ മറ്റൊരു വാർത്ത അവരെ തേടിയെത്തുന്നു. പാർക്ക് ഹോട്ടലിൽ സൂ പെർണൽ എന്ന യുവതി ശരീരം മുഴുവൻ കീറി മുറിക്കപ്പെട്ടു രീതിയിൽ മരിച്ചു കിടക്കുന്നു. ക്രിസ്ൻ്റ ഒരു ദിവസത്തെ അപ്രത്യക്ഷമാകലും ആ യുവതിയുടെ മരണവും തമ്മിൽ ബന്ധമുണ്ടെന്ന് ബർനെറ്റ് ന് സംശയം ഉണ്ടാകുന്നു. അതിനാൽ ക്രിസ്നെ രക്ഷിക്കാൻ വേണ്ടി ബർനെറ്റ് ഒറ്റയ്ക്ക് കേസന്വേഷണം നടത്തുന്നു.
വായന - 60
The soft centre
മർഡർ റൂം
വിവർത്തനം - കെ കെ ഭാസ്കരൻ പയ്യന്നൂർ
Grass Roots
247p,280 rs
ക്യാപ്റ്റൻ ടെറലും സഹായി ജോ ബിഗ്ലറർ ഉം കേസ് ഏറ്റെടുക്കുന്നു. ക്രിസ്നെ അന്വേഷിച്ചു നടക്കുന്നതിനിടയിൽ മറ്റൊരു വാർത്ത അവരെ തേടിയെത്തുന്നു. പാർക്ക് ഹോട്ടലിൽ സൂ പെർണൽ എന്ന യുവതി ശരീരം മുഴുവൻ കീറി മുറിക്കപ്പെട്ടു രീതിയിൽ മരിച്ചു കിടക്കുന്നു. ക്രിസ്ൻ്റ ഒരു ദിവസത്തെ അപ്രത്യക്ഷമാകലും ആ യുവതിയുടെ മരണവും തമ്മിൽ ബന്ധമുണ്ടെന്ന് ബർനെറ്റ് ന് സംശയം ഉണ്ടാകുന്നു. അതിനാൽ ക്രിസ്നെ രക്ഷിക്കാൻ വേണ്ടി ബർനെറ്റ് ഒറ്റയ്ക്ക് കേസന്വേഷണം നടത്തുന്നു.
വായന - 60
The soft centre
മർഡർ റൂം
വിവർത്തനം - കെ കെ ഭാസ്കരൻ പയ്യന്നൂർ
Grass Roots
247p,280 rs
February 19, 2020
Well, i guess i liked the book. I don't know how much, but i know i liked it. The moment i had a grip on it i never put it down until i closed the last page. However, i think there is a continuity to the book, from how and where it ended. I am not sure though. And again I wonder why JHC never came to my knowledge three or four years ago.... Life!
Talking about James, he is a master at telling stories. I like his way of cutting to the chase. No bullshit on the way. He only puts in the book what he is very certain that it is vital to the reader, and of course, the story itself. I would recommend this to all thriller fans. I won't go through the story, better if you all read it on your own and venture the journey of Val and Chris in those pages. You won't regret. At any rate!
Talking about James, he is a master at telling stories. I like his way of cutting to the chase. No bullshit on the way. He only puts in the book what he is very certain that it is vital to the reader, and of course, the story itself. I would recommend this to all thriller fans. I won't go through the story, better if you all read it on your own and venture the journey of Val and Chris in those pages. You won't regret. At any rate!
October 27, 2020
The works of our beloved author have been translated into many languages and eagerly read by millions of readers. Absolutely deserved. I am one of them. This is another novelette from a series of books about the glorious Paradise City, invented by the author.
In this greatly interesting story, the investigation of the brutal murder of a prostitute leads the incorruptible and intelligent police captain Terrell (who we know very well) to the idea that a maniac is operating in the city. And so it is, unfortunately... But this maniac will have a terribly hard time in the end! It is guaranteed to him.
In this greatly interesting story, the investigation of the brutal murder of a prostitute leads the incorruptible and intelligent police captain Terrell (who we know very well) to the idea that a maniac is operating in the city. And so it is, unfortunately... But this maniac will have a terribly hard time in the end! It is guaranteed to him.
January 26, 2023
It's a confusing one to rate.
The ending wasn't really what I was expecting, it reminded me of one of the Thanos's quotes, reality is often disappointing.
The plot is just good, that would be the best way to describe it. I loved his writing, look forward to read more of his works.
Character building isn't really something I expected, so yeah don't need to talk about it.
Overall, it's a good one to kill your time.
The ending wasn't really what I was expecting, it reminded me of one of the Thanos's quotes, reality is often disappointing.
The plot is just good, that would be the best way to describe it. I loved his writing, look forward to read more of his works.
Character building isn't really something I expected, so yeah don't need to talk about it.
Overall, it's a good one to kill your time.
January 23, 2021
Bang!
What a bang! Filled with so much emotions. It was almost so sentimental in spite of the horror of so many killings in the book. Another nice one from the master of arts of crime storytelling.
What a bang! Filled with so much emotions. It was almost so sentimental in spite of the horror of so many killings in the book. Another nice one from the master of arts of crime storytelling.
August 22, 2018
Haizzzz, nhiều người chết quá, đọc rất chi là đau đầu :((
April 1, 2020
An interesting thrilling complemented with love-drama.
December 28, 2021
Not like JHC.... Very tiring....
January 24, 2023
Chán :v
July 3, 2023
The first one with Terrel, chiel of police, Beigler and Lepski. not yet in Paradise City, but a terrible story, blood, violence, suspens, and immoral ending... A great one from JHC
December 15, 2020
Un Chase leggermente differente
In questo libro Chase ci mostra una parte della società americana degli anni 60. A differenza di altri libri, qui i due personaggi femminili agiscono per amore, cosa molto insolita nei romanzi di Chase nei quali normalmente agiscono per interesse personale o economico. Trama non banale e sempre ricca di suspance.
In questo libro Chase ci mostra una parte della società americana degli anni 60. A differenza di altri libri, qui i due personaggi femminili agiscono per amore, cosa molto insolita nei romanzi di Chase nei quali normalmente agiscono per interesse personale o economico. Trama non banale e sempre ricca di suspance.
April 25, 2014
Well what another ripsnorter from the maestro thriller writer about the daughter of a multi-millionaire who's husband suffers severe brain injuries in a car accident, while they're away for some rehabilitation, a prostitute is found brutally murdered..... a real beauty for all JHC fanatics.......
August 5, 2012
A typical (and good) Chase thriller. Gripping and exciting from start to finish. Never a dull moment.
April 7, 2013
The ending was quite disappointing but not a bad read.
July 30, 2014
Not the best book of James chase
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews