Book description
For years the worldwide operations of a mysterious and ruthless
extortioner who calls himself the Tortoise have baffled Scotland Yard
and the police forces of Europe. But the Tortoise makes a mistake when
he interferes with wealthy American playboy Don Micklem, who has friends
in high places, and soon tracks him to his lair . . .
'The thriller maestro of the generation' Manchester Evening News
Born René Brabazon Raymond in London, the son of a British colonel in
the Indian Army, James Hadley Chase was educated at King's School in
Rochester, Kent, and left home at the age of 18. He initially worked in
book sales until, inspired by the rise of gangster culture during the
Depression and by reading James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice
, he wrote his first novel, No Orchids for Miss Blandish
. Despite the American setting of many of his novels, Chase (like Peter
Cheyney, another hugely successful British noir writer) never lived
there, writing with the aid of maps and a slang dictionary. He had
phenomenal success with the novel, which continued unabated throughout
his entire career, spanning 45 years and nearly 90 novels. His work was
published in dozens of languages and over thirty titles were adapted for
film. He served in the RAF during World War II, where he also edited the
RAF Journal. In 1956 he moved to France with his wife and son; they
later moved to Switzerland, where Chase lived until his death in 1985.
