James Hadley Chase

James Hadley Chase, born as René Lodge Brabazon Raymond on December 24, 1906, in London, England, was a renowned English author of mystery, suspense, and romance novels. His father, Colonel Francis Raymond of the colonial Indian Army, a veterinary surgeon, had intended for his son to pursue a scientific career, but Chase had other plans. After leaving home at the age of 18, Chase worked various jobs, including a children's encyclopedia salesman, a salesman in a bookshop, and an executive for a book wholesaler. It was during this time that he realized the demand for gangster stories, which inspired his writing career.

Chase's writing career took off after he began working in sales, focusing on books and literature. He wrote under several pseudonyms, including James Hadley Chase, Ambrose Grant, R. Raymond, James Docherty, and Raymond Marshall. His first novel, "No Orchids for Miss Blandish," was published in 1939 and became a bestseller. During World War II, Chase served in the British Royal Air Force and achieved the rank of Squadron Leader. He edited the RAF journal and published several stories from it after the war in the book "Slipstream". Chase's writing was influenced by his experience during the war, as well as his friendship with Merrill Panitt, who provided him with a dictionary of American slang, reference books, and detailed maps of the American underworld.

Chase was married to Sylvia Ray for 53 years, and they had one son. He enjoyed photography, reading, listening to classical music, and opera. Chase passed away peacefully on February 6, 1985, in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, where he had been living a secluded life since 1974. His writing career produced over 90 mystery books, making him one of the most prolific thriller writers of all time. His books have been translated into 22 languages and have sold over 50 million copies worldwide.
Dave Fenner Books
# Title Year
1 No Orchids for Miss Blandish / The Villain and the Virgin 1939
2 The Doll's Bad News / Twelve C----- and a Woman 1941
Vic Malloy Books
# Title Year
1 You're Lonely When You're Dead 1949
2 Figure It Out for Yourself / The Marijuana Mob 1950
3 Lay Her Among Lilies / Too Dangerous to Be Free 1950
Steve Harmas Books
# Title Year
1 No Business of Mine 1947
2 Double Shuffle 1954
3 There's Always a Price Tag 1956
4 Shock Treatment 1959
5 Tell It to the Birds 1963
6 An Ear to the Ground 1968
Frank Terrell Books
# Title Year
1 The Soft Centre 1964
2 The Way the Cookie Crumbles 1965
3 Well Now, My Pretty .. 1967
4 Believed Violent 1968
5 There's a Hippie on the Highway 1970
Mark Girland Books
# Title Year
1 The Whiff of Money 1958
2 This Is for Real 1965
3 Have This One on Me 1967
4 You Have Yourself a Deal 1980
Helga Rolfe Books
# Title Year
1 Ace Up My Sleeve 1972
2 The Joker in the Pack 1975
3 I Hold the Four Aces 1977
Don Micklem Books (as Raymond Marshall)
# Title Year
1 Mission to Siena 1955
Tom Lepski Books
# Title Year
1 Like a Hole in the Head 1971
2 Have a Change of Scene 1973
3 Consider Yourself Dead 1977
4 Try This One for Size 1980
5 Hit Them Where It Hurts 1984
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 The Flesh of the Orchid 1940
2 Lady -- Here's Your Wreath 1940
3 The Dead Stay Dumb / Kiss My Fist! 1941
4 Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief 1941
5 Get a Load of This 1942
6 You Never Know with Women 1942
7 Eve 1942
8 Just the Way It Is 1944
9 Miss Shumway Waves a Wand 1944
10 Make the Corpse Walk 1946
11 I'll Get You for This 1946
12 Blonde's Requiem 1946
13 More Deadly Than the Male 1946
14 Trusted Like the Fox 1948
15 The Paw in the Bottle 1949
16 Why Pick On Me? 1950
17 In a Vain Shadow 1951
18 But a Short Time to Live 1951
19 Strictly for Cash 1951
20 The Fast Buck 1952
21 The Wary Transgressor 1952
22 I'll Bury My Dead 1953
23 The Things Men Do 1953
24 Safer Dead / Dead Ringer 1954
25 Mission to Venice 1954
26 Tiger by the Tail 1954
27 The Sucker Punch 1954
28 This Way for a Shroud 1954
29 You've Got It Coming 1955
30 The Pickup 1955
31 Ruthless 1955
32 You Find Him, I'll Fix Him 1956
33 The Guilty Are Afraid 1957
34 Never Trust a Woman 1957
35 Hit and Run 1958
36 The Case of the Strangled Starlet / Not So Safe to Be Free 1958
37 The World in My Pocket 1959
38 Just Another Sucker 1960
39 Come Easy, Go Easy 1960
40 What's Better Than Money? 1960
41 A Lotus for Miss Quon 1961
42 I Would Rather Stay Poor 1962
43 A Coffin from Hong Kong 1962
44 One Bright Summer Morning 1963
45 Cade 1966
46 The Vulture is a Patient Bird 1969
47 Mallory 1969
48 He Won't Need It Now 1972
49 Just a Matter of Time 1972
50 Want to Stay Alive? 1972
51 You're Dead Without Money 1972
52 Knock, Knock! Who's There? 1973
53 So What Happens to Me? 1973
54 Three of Spades 1974
55 Believe This... You'll Believe Anything 1975
56 Goldfish Have No Hiding Place 1975
57 So Soon to Die 1975
58 Do Me a Favour - Drop Dead 1976
59 My Laugh Comes Last 1976
60 Meet Mark Girland 1977
61 You Must Be Kidding 1978
62 A Can of Worms 1979
63 You Can Say That Again 1979
64 Have a Nice Night 1981
65 Hand Me a Fig Leaf 1981
66 We'll Share a Double Funeral 1982
67 Not My Thing 1983
James Hadley Chase Anthologies
# Title Year
1 Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories 1996
2 Slipstream: A Royal Air Force Anthology 2020