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Don Micklem #2
Мисия в Сиена
„Мисия в Сиена“ е криминален роман.
Джеймс Хадли Чейс, роден на 24 декември 1906 г. в Лондон, е един от най-популярните представители на криминалния жанр „черен роман“ и може би най-продуктивният. Написал е над осемдесет романа, от които у нас са преведени: „Няма орхидеи за мис Бландиш“ (първият му роман, публикуван в Англия през 1939 г.), „Още един глупак“ и „Свидетели няма да има“. За творчеството си той казва: „Има автори, които обичат да говорят за себе си и за работата си. Аз — не. Ако създаденото от един писател се продава непрекъснато и добре, той няма защо да си губи времето да дава интервюта, да пише предговори, нито да се тревожи какво щели да кажат критиците. Работата ми е да напиша книга, която да е интересна за широк кръг читатели. Извършвам тази работа добросъвестно. Въведения към написаното едва ли ще заинтригуват мнозинството от читателите ми. Никак не ги е грижа. Те искат едно: увлекателно четиво. Тъкмо това се опитвам да им дам.“
Джеймс Хадли Чейс, роден на 24 декември 1906 г. в Лондон, е един от най-популярните представители на криминалния жанр „черен роман“ и може би най-продуктивният. Написал е над осемдесет романа, от които у нас са преведени: „Няма орхидеи за мис Бландиш“ (първият му роман, публикуван в Англия през 1939 г.), „Още един глупак“ и „Свидетели няма да има“. За творчеството си той казва: „Има автори, които обичат да говорят за себе си и за работата си. Аз — не. Ако създаденото от един писател се продава непрекъснато и добре, той няма защо да си губи времето да дава интервюта, да пише предговори, нито да се тревожи какво щели да кажат критиците. Работата ми е да напиша книга, която да е интересна за широк кръг читатели. Извършвам тази работа добросъвестно. Въведения към написаното едва ли ще заинтригуват мнозинството от читателите ми. Никак не ги е грижа. Те искат едно: увлекателно четиво. Тъкмо това се опитвам да им дам.“
164 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
19 people are currently reading
409 people want to read
About the author
James Hadley Chase
638 books1,006 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 - 24 of 24 reviews
October 20, 2018
A typical fast-paced James Hadley Chase thriller in which the action switches from London to the city of Siena in Italy as the search for a criminal mastermind, known only as The Tortoise, widens.
The action begins with a well dressed woman named Lorelli finds her way to a seedy hotel where she meets up with her criminal contact Ed Shapiro. Shapiro is later killed off for not fulfilling his role correctly and Lorelli gets deeper and deeper enmeshed in the activities of the criminal gang with which she is involved.
Don Micklem, a millionaire, and his assistant Harry Mason are going about their everyday business when they spy a friend, Mrs Ferenci, and they give her a lift home. This proves to be the catalyst for the action that follows because it transpires that Mrs Ferenci's husband, Guido, has been threatened in a strange way. First of all he receives
a blackmail letter from someone who calls himself 'The Tortoise' and then a live tortoise is deposited in his home with a note attached to its shell.
Guido is eventually killed as he refuses to pay the blackmailer and this starts Micklem and company on a crusade to discover who the mysterious Tortoise is. They trawl the London underworld with little success but plenty of danger and threats before a lead points them to Siena, so of they go.
In Italy the action hots up as all the gangsters gather at the Tortoise's mansion. Micklem eventually inveigles his way into the mansion but then gets trapped in a secret cave underneath the place. This leads to all sorts of problems, not least of which is how he is to get out once he is spotted and captured. But he does discover who the Tortoise is and what his game is - blackmailing well known people all over the world.
Initially it looks as though there will be a major disaster for Micklem and some of the Tortoise's cohorts as the master criminal has finished with them and wants to get rid of them and escape to South America alone. But in a thrilling, and someway unexpected, climax things work out right and the goodies triumph!
The action begins with a well dressed woman named Lorelli finds her way to a seedy hotel where she meets up with her criminal contact Ed Shapiro. Shapiro is later killed off for not fulfilling his role correctly and Lorelli gets deeper and deeper enmeshed in the activities of the criminal gang with which she is involved.
Don Micklem, a millionaire, and his assistant Harry Mason are going about their everyday business when they spy a friend, Mrs Ferenci, and they give her a lift home. This proves to be the catalyst for the action that follows because it transpires that Mrs Ferenci's husband, Guido, has been threatened in a strange way. First of all he receives
a blackmail letter from someone who calls himself 'The Tortoise' and then a live tortoise is deposited in his home with a note attached to its shell.
Guido is eventually killed as he refuses to pay the blackmailer and this starts Micklem and company on a crusade to discover who the mysterious Tortoise is. They trawl the London underworld with little success but plenty of danger and threats before a lead points them to Siena, so of they go.
In Italy the action hots up as all the gangsters gather at the Tortoise's mansion. Micklem eventually inveigles his way into the mansion but then gets trapped in a secret cave underneath the place. This leads to all sorts of problems, not least of which is how he is to get out once he is spotted and captured. But he does discover who the Tortoise is and what his game is - blackmailing well known people all over the world.
Initially it looks as though there will be a major disaster for Micklem and some of the Tortoise's cohorts as the master criminal has finished with them and wants to get rid of them and escape to South America alone. But in a thrilling, and someway unexpected, climax things work out right and the goodies triumph!
October 16, 2018
There is a good deal of action,but the plot is nothing special.It is a predictable,routine thriller.Chase has written many better books than this one.
January 8, 2011
"Excellent Thriller". From start to finish, Chase kept the pace of the story. The climax is thrilling and racy like all his works.
March 12, 2021
The same principal characters from Mission to Venice return in this story, Mission to Siena. Don Micklem is one of Chase's better protagonists. Alas, the plot Chase surrounds him with in this instance is an inferior one. Whereas Mission to Venice was a bit of a groundbreaking espionage thriller in the vein of Eric Ambler's spy novels, Mission to Siena falls back into just another routine crime story. And not all that original, at that. The passage where Don finds himself chained in a cave and facing death is all too similar to the cave passage in Figure It Out for Yourself, except that dark and claustrophobic setting was much superior to this one.
No, I fear Mission to Siena is a bit of a disappointment, although there are some nice action scenes within it. This is the second time I've seen Chase introduce a character, Micklem, in this case, in a superb story, Mission to Venice, and then suffer an immediate drop off in the sequel. The first time was with Vic Malloy in the first book of the Vic Malloy trilogy. For some reason, interesting characters do not translate into subsequently interesting novels.
No, I fear Mission to Siena is a bit of a disappointment, although there are some nice action scenes within it. This is the second time I've seen Chase introduce a character, Micklem, in this case, in a superb story, Mission to Venice, and then suffer an immediate drop off in the sequel. The first time was with Vic Malloy in the first book of the Vic Malloy trilogy. For some reason, interesting characters do not translate into subsequently interesting novels.
May 29, 2017
My Rating: 2.5 stars
This was like watching a movie. I can't think of a better way to describe the experience of reading this book. It was exactly like watching an old fashioned Saturday night action-flick. This is the second appearance of the Don Micklem character, which was also mentioned in the book by some reference to the "Tregarth business " from Mission to Venice. I have grown fond of these references in Chase's stories of his other books. Especially if I've read the other book too.
This story was packed with a lot of happenings. There was murder, a kidnapping, a secret organization and a crackpot villain stroking a cat in his lap. Can you think of anything else that says old fashioned thriller movie quite like a crazy bad-guy that pets his cat while making evil plans. This concept is so cliche now that I almost couldn't believe I was reading it in a serious setting. Then I reminded myself that the book was published in the 1950's when things like this were quite the rage I imagine.
As for the story itself, it was exciting. Yes it had the stereotypes common to it's time but since this is a time-pass novel and something probably read while travelling or looking for a quick-read, you can't really complain can you?
Despite the fact that the ending felt slightly abrupt and maybe a shade anti-climatic, this book cost me no more than a day's read and so all in all it was not a bad way to spend time.
This was like watching a movie. I can't think of a better way to describe the experience of reading this book. It was exactly like watching an old fashioned Saturday night action-flick. This is the second appearance of the Don Micklem character, which was also mentioned in the book by some reference to the "Tregarth business " from Mission to Venice. I have grown fond of these references in Chase's stories of his other books. Especially if I've read the other book too.
This story was packed with a lot of happenings. There was murder, a kidnapping, a secret organization and a crackpot villain stroking a cat in his lap. Can you think of anything else that says old fashioned thriller movie quite like a crazy bad-guy that pets his cat while making evil plans. This concept is so cliche now that I almost couldn't believe I was reading it in a serious setting. Then I reminded myself that the book was published in the 1950's when things like this were quite the rage I imagine.
As for the story itself, it was exciting. Yes it had the stereotypes common to it's time but since this is a time-pass novel and something probably read while travelling or looking for a quick-read, you can't really complain can you?
Despite the fact that the ending felt slightly abrupt and maybe a shade anti-climatic, this book cost me no more than a day's read and so all in all it was not a bad way to spend time.
July 27, 2017
Fast paced and high performance thriller. The book build its tempo right from the start till the climax. Its a nail biting series of events with the reader eager to know what will happen next. I however, feel the end could have been handled better as the book becomes quite predictable. I would suggest it to be a good to read in the airplane/ nothing else to do kind of book.
May 12, 2018
ΒΙΠΕΡ Νο.421
ΣΗΜΑ ΚΙΝΔΥΝΟΥ
ΣΗΜΑ ΚΙΝΔΥΝΟΥ
August 17, 2015
Total waste of time...
October 31, 2017
American millionaire Don Micklem, on a visit to his London home, is appealed to by compatriot and best friend Guido Ferenci’s wife to protect her husband from an extortioner threatening death. Both Don and Guido take the threat lightly and refuse to payup, though they do get together with Don’s ex-commando chauffer Harry Mitchel and Guido’s ex-navy quartermaster manservant Dixon, when the designated time of death nears. To everyone’s shock and horror, Guido is actually killed by a knife thrown through the window, and Don is plunged into a hunt for the extortionist-murderer, known as ‘The Tortoise’. Then follows a set of exciting chases, and the tracking down of the hired killer Shapiro, his contact, the repulsive Crantor, and the stunning redhead, Lorelli, who represents the gang. When hard tactics fail, Micklem’s secretary Marian Rigby turns to research and tracks “The Tortoise’ down to the ancient city of Sienna, and the action moves there. The search for the leader of the gang has support from the police in mamy countries as ‘The Tortoise’ has begun to extend his activities across Europe and America. Tracking ‘The Tortoise’ down to a villa on the outskirts of Sienna, Micklem is captured and imprisoned in the villa with its hidden doors, secret underground rooms and passages. The story continues at an exciting pace with a set of memorable characters, and an eminently satisfying conclusion. A really enjoyable and fast moving read.
October 14, 2017
Klassikaline põnevusromaan kõigi oma nauditavate klisheedega - miljonärist osav ja nutikas kangelane, kena ja taibukas sekretär, abivalmis (ent veidi juhm) politsei, hiiglaslik neegrist rusikakangelane jpm.
Igati mõnus, ühe hingetõmbega läbi loetav ajaviitejutustus.
Tegelikult võiks sellele vabalt ka 5/5 anda - midagi eriliselt säravat või meeldejäävat seal ei olnud, aga oma nishis on ta täpselt rusikas silmaauku.
Igati mõnus, ühe hingetõmbega läbi loetav ajaviitejutustus.
Tegelikult võiks sellele vabalt ka 5/5 anda - midagi eriliselt säravat või meeldejäävat seal ei olnud, aga oma nishis on ta täpselt rusikas silmaauku.
November 2, 2016
Fast paced with typical Chase Machine Gun action. My only gripe was that this so called ruthless extortion ring run by the guy called Tortoise started falling apart the minute Don Mickelm was on their toes. So much for avoiding the police for years and earning million throughout Europe.
July 30, 2017
This book was ok. Wasn't that gripping and the ending seemed rather abrupt!
November 30, 2011
This is a magnum opus of trashy literature.
July 19, 2012
Nice Thriller
December 21, 2012
good pace of story and good english
April 26, 2016
My first James Hadley Chase. Quite enjoyed the fast-paced story.
January 20, 2017
Crazy plot twists and pretty much interesting narrative techniques.
September 9, 2017
A good time pass. The plot was good but not quite riveting. A rich investigator with no bar money.
August 12, 2018
Page turner plot and lovable characters
March 15, 2021
This second book is about the unforgettable literary hero – Don Micklem – created by James Hadley Chase. It was published about 66 years ago, just a year after the publication of the first novella (Mission To Venice) about this character. Like that first book, and like absolutely all the books of this magnificent author of crime fiction literature, this work is simply completely interesting, cool and it is full of a cycle of unexpected incidents and adventures.
Actually, in this story, everything begins tragically. Don Miklem's friend receives threatening messages demanding money. He turns to Don for help. But soon this friend is killed... It turns out that one criminal organization is engaged in these terrible extortions. Don will have to deal with them in Italy.
Great delight awaits the reader.
Actually, in this story, everything begins tragically. Don Miklem's friend receives threatening messages demanding money. He turns to Don for help. But soon this friend is killed... It turns out that one criminal organization is engaged in these terrible extortions. Don will have to deal with them in Italy.
Great delight awaits the reader.
February 13, 2023
Not a typical Chase story. Instead, It reads like a Jules Verne novel. Starts with a murder but.. that's all. the rest of the book is an adventure containing elements of science fiction, complete with a Hollywood-esque crazy villain very similar to Dr. Evil and Zorg.
Ending chapters are like a cliche movie script. Chase doesn even maintain his trademark "anti-happy end" tradition. Even tho the ending is not exactly happy, not as pessimistic as most of his stories. Also, Ironically the very ending is the only time something unexpected happens.
Ending chapters are like a cliche movie script. Chase doesn even maintain his trademark "anti-happy end" tradition. Even tho the ending is not exactly happy, not as pessimistic as most of his stories. Also, Ironically the very ending is the only time something unexpected happens.
Read
June 27, 2020From my best author
March 27, 2021
Thriller!
June 4, 2020
Me he leído este libro sin saber que era parte de una saga, pero se puede leer primero este sin problemas, no se relacionan las historias.
El libro te engancha desde las primeras páginas y te lleva por el viaje de Don en busca de la persona que extorsionó y asesinó a su amigo Guido.
La trama está bien planteada pero desde las primeras páginas metieron muchos personajes irrelevantes, me he hecho un lío apuntando los nombres para distinguirlos para que solamente aparecieran en 5 páginas 🤦🏻♀️ a mi parecer el final estuvo un poco abierto y creo que dejaron algunos datos sin responder.
El libro te engancha desde las primeras páginas y te lleva por el viaje de Don en busca de la persona que extorsionó y asesinó a su amigo Guido.
La trama está bien planteada pero desde las primeras páginas metieron muchos personajes irrelevantes, me he hecho un lío apuntando los nombres para distinguirlos para que solamente aparecieran en 5 páginas 🤦🏻♀️ a mi parecer el final estuvo un poco abierto y creo que dejaron algunos datos sin responder.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews