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Mark Girland #4
The Whiff of Money
Secret Agent Mark Kirkland has been given the task of locating and retrieving three pornographic films. His mission must remain top secret as the films, rather embarrassingly, feature the daughter of the future president of the United States. His quest leads him to the depths of Bavaria where he finds Soviet agent, Malik, and sidekick Lu Silk also rather interested in the whereabouts of the films. Who will find them first? And once found, who's to say they won't immediately disappear again?
226 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
42 people are currently reading
827 people want to read
About the author
James Hadley Chase
653 books991 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 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 8, 2016
This novel brings today at least three or four of the author's most memorable creations: the larger than life powerful, fabulously rich, sinister and evil Herman Radnitz; the very tall, blond ruthless Soviet Agent, Malik; the unconscionable killer with the one cold glittering eye, Lu Silk; and Mark Girland who is in a class of his own as (ex) agent and operative. Most of the focus is on the charismatic Girland who will apparently do anything whilst the "whiff of money" is concerned. This is an exciting thriller with Malik unexpectedly deciding to help Girland with his assignment which involves a lovely young woman who happens to be the daughter of the possible next President of the United States. What she has done that triggers this story is likely to boggle the mind, though the ending might not satisfy many readers. I wonder though - whether the girl manages to survive it all even as the story peters to an end.
October 12, 2024
Mark Girland, a one time secret agent and now a freelance, negotiates a sum of money from his former boss to undertake a dangerous mission to find a young lady and also lay his hands on three films that she made. The lady Gillian Sherman, the daughter of an American Presidential candidate, is not on speaking terms with her father and is not bothered about helping his presidential quest so she has no desire to aid her father and, once Girland discovers her whereabouts, she is thus not prepared to assist him in his search and makes every effort to hamper him along the way.
Girland makes his way via Paris to the forests and castles of Bavaria where he encounters foes such as the master Soviet agent Malik and the known assassin Lu Silk who, along with others, make his quest for the films nigh impossible as well as hampering his search by making their own efforts to locate the films to use them for their own nefarious purposes.
Girland's life is endangered on numerous occasions and he has some breath-taking escapes in this edge-of-the-seat suspenseful thriller that also suggests the occasional romantic interlude between Girland and Gillian, who, despite their antagonism towards each other seem to have some sort of magnetic attraction between them. First-rate throughout.
12 October 2024
And it's just as good second time around as Mark Girland, who only acts as a private eye for the money he is able to earn, chases down three pornographic films made by a young lady whose father is in the running for being President of the United States. Blackmail is involved of course so Girland has to be careful who he upsets.
He comes across a master Soviet agent in Malik, who is on the fringes of the plot and a trained killer in Lu Silk, who is out to harm anybody who gets in his way. Girland's task in tracking down the films is hampered by the fact that he always has an eye for the ladies and is, therefore, easily distracted.
But James Hadley Chase was not known as 'The king of Thriller writers' for nothing and he keeps the reader on the edge of the seat with all the thrills and spills that occur... and I feel sure you will be able to work out the ending! I will repeat a comment from my first review - first-rate throughout.
Girland makes his way via Paris to the forests and castles of Bavaria where he encounters foes such as the master Soviet agent Malik and the known assassin Lu Silk who, along with others, make his quest for the films nigh impossible as well as hampering his search by making their own efforts to locate the films to use them for their own nefarious purposes.
Girland's life is endangered on numerous occasions and he has some breath-taking escapes in this edge-of-the-seat suspenseful thriller that also suggests the occasional romantic interlude between Girland and Gillian, who, despite their antagonism towards each other seem to have some sort of magnetic attraction between them. First-rate throughout.
12 October 2024
And it's just as good second time around as Mark Girland, who only acts as a private eye for the money he is able to earn, chases down three pornographic films made by a young lady whose father is in the running for being President of the United States. Blackmail is involved of course so Girland has to be careful who he upsets.
He comes across a master Soviet agent in Malik, who is on the fringes of the plot and a trained killer in Lu Silk, who is out to harm anybody who gets in his way. Girland's task in tracking down the films is hampered by the fact that he always has an eye for the ladies and is, therefore, easily distracted.
But James Hadley Chase was not known as 'The king of Thriller writers' for nothing and he keeps the reader on the edge of the seat with all the thrills and spills that occur... and I feel sure you will be able to work out the ending! I will repeat a comment from my first review - first-rate throughout.
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March 7, 2025👍
A pure pulpy thriller that has a tight plot and is packed with cool sequences and very interesting characters, very fun to read, James Hadley Chase really is the maestro of his genre, first came to know about this book through this https://pin.it/49y3J9YoU poster for a film that is cool as hell, the book has nothing to do with the film except that the director loves JHC, and yeah, having a whole poster for a book you love in your movie is still one of the coolest things humanly possible, and that's the movie recommendation, :- Johhny Gaddaar, a masterpiece of a film with such a perfect blend of pulp and noir that I highly doubt can ever be created again.
A pure pulpy thriller that has a tight plot and is packed with cool sequences and very interesting characters, very fun to read, James Hadley Chase really is the maestro of his genre, first came to know about this book through this https://pin.it/49y3J9YoU poster for a film that is cool as hell, the book has nothing to do with the film except that the director loves JHC, and yeah, having a whole poster for a book you love in your movie is still one of the coolest things humanly possible, and that's the movie recommendation, :- Johhny Gaddaar, a masterpiece of a film with such a perfect blend of pulp and noir that I highly doubt can ever be created again.
June 22, 2021
Seems a sort of average JHC effort to me. Once again, Chase blends the spy genre with that of a crime thriller. In this case, it's a Soviet agent working with a CIA freelancer. Their goal? To thwart a blackmail scheme involving the leading candidate for the US presidency. The beginning is a bit sluggish, but things soon accelerate and roar along to a conclusion that even JHC seems anxious to get over and done with, leaving out several intervening situations to bring everything once more back to the Paris CIA headquarters. Mission accomplished. This is the last of the Mark Girland stories. And it's clear that JHC had become exhausted with him by this time. But he allows Girland to leave the series on his own terms, triumphant in more ways than one.
One other things gnaws at me. And it's this. With this book, I just get the sense that JHC has turned the corner, that his best efforts are behind him. He's on cruise control. I have read a few of his thrillers published post 1969, and some of them are good and interesting enough. But somewhere, something seems to have been sucked out of Chase with this novel. Maybe I'll find one later that proves me wrong (I'm reading them all as they were published chronologically). If so, it will prove that the exhaustion I see, here, was a fluke and not indicative of a career on an inevitable decline.
One other things gnaws at me. And it's this. With this book, I just get the sense that JHC has turned the corner, that his best efforts are behind him. He's on cruise control. I have read a few of his thrillers published post 1969, and some of them are good and interesting enough. But somewhere, something seems to have been sucked out of Chase with this novel. Maybe I'll find one later that proves me wrong (I'm reading them all as they were published chronologically). If so, it will prove that the exhaustion I see, here, was a fluke and not indicative of a career on an inevitable decline.
December 8, 2013
Another cracking novel from the maestro JHC, the CIA's top ex agent kirkland, the usual beautiful women, the russian spies and hitmen, pornographic films that will destroy the future president of the USA, a most unexpected ending.....
July 30, 2021
Кандидата в президенты США Генри Шермана шантажируют пикантными фильмами с участием его дочери Джилли. Шерман обращается за помощью к своему старому другу Дори, главе отделения ЦРУ в Париже. Дори не может воспользоваться «официальным ресурсом» в таком деле, а потому нанимает своего бывшего агента, Марка Гирланда.
Гирланду не составляет труда найти Джилли. Но дело осложняется тем, что в выборы Шермана вложил деньги преступник-миллионер Герман Радниц. И Радниц собирается решить проблему с Джилли радикально и окончательно. Да и к Гирланду у Радница есть старые счеты.
Заключительная часть похождений Гирланда получилась не столь эффектной, как первые романы о нем. Во-первых, нет географической экзотики, что было отличительной чертой серии — Африка, Азия и советский блок в первых романах. В «Запахе денег» всего лишь Германия, которая вообще никак не экзотична. Во-вторых, сами приключения выглядят очень и очень бледно. Гирланд долго ходит, разговаривает, втирается в доверие, попадает в ловушку. Из ловушки тихо-мирно выбирается, с помощью советского агента Малика (который был должен ему услугу по итогам романа «Предоставьте это мне»).
Нет ни детективной интриги, которая могла бы развлечь читателя — все друзья/враги определяются еще в первой четверти романа и никто там не удивляет. То есть ни приключений, ни интриги — просто небольшой эпизод жизни Гирланда, который не сказать, чтобы очень интересный был. Зато в романе есть характерные черты Чейза — насилие над женщинами и презрительное отношение к антивоенным обществам и хиппи. Уже по этим его «классическим» оборотам авторство определяется на раз.
Может роман и планировался, как заключительный в серии. Может Чейз понял, что с этими персонажами он уже выдохся. Но продолжения не последовало.
Из «постоянных» персонажей Чейза в этом романе объявился Герман Радниц. С ним Гирланд «пересекался» в романе «Это серьезно». В этом романе они лично не встретились, но Гирланду пришлось разбираться с людьми Радница. В частности, с Лу Силком — наемным убийцей, который впервые появился в романе «Опасный пациент» 1968 года. (И появится еще раз в романе «Считай себя мертвым» 1978 года.) А Радниц «переживет» Гирланда и появится еще в нескольких романах Чейза.
Переводы. По большей части, роману везло с переводом названия — чаще всего он выходил под заголовком «Запах денег» (или, как вариант, «Запах золота»). В 90-е была пара изданий с идиотскими названиями — «Дочь президента» и «Прощальная гастроль». Когда в нулевых эксклюзив на Чейза получил «Центрполиграф», то они стали издавать этот роман под дурацкой вывеской «Иногда деньги пахнут». Когда в последние годы права отошли «Азбуке», то они вернулись к прежнему названию «Запах денег».
6/10
Оригинал отзыва - https://cahier.ru/chase-whiff-money-1...
Гирланду не составляет труда найти Джилли. Но дело осложняется тем, что в выборы Шермана вложил деньги преступник-миллионер Герман Радниц. И Радниц собирается решить проблему с Джилли радикально и окончательно. Да и к Гирланду у Радница есть старые счеты.
Заключительная часть похождений Гирланда получилась не столь эффектной, как первые романы о нем. Во-первых, нет географической экзотики, что было отличительной чертой серии — Африка, Азия и советский блок в первых романах. В «Запахе денег» всего лишь Германия, которая вообще никак не экзотична. Во-вторых, сами приключения выглядят очень и очень бледно. Гирланд долго ходит, разговаривает, втирается в доверие, попадает в ловушку. Из ловушки тихо-мирно выбирается, с помощью советского агента Малика (который был должен ему услугу по итогам романа «Предоставьте это мне»).
Нет ни детективной интриги, которая могла бы развлечь читателя — все друзья/враги определяются еще в первой четверти романа и никто там не удивляет. То есть ни приключений, ни интриги — просто небольшой эпизод жизни Гирланда, который не сказать, чтобы очень интересный был. Зато в романе есть характерные черты Чейза — насилие над женщинами и презрительное отношение к антивоенным обществам и хиппи. Уже по этим его «классическим» оборотам авторство определяется на раз.
Может роман и планировался, как заключительный в серии. Может Чейз понял, что с этими персонажами он уже выдохся. Но продолжения не последовало.
Из «постоянных» персонажей Чейза в этом романе объявился Герман Радниц. С ним Гирланд «пересекался» в романе «Это серьезно». В этом романе они лично не встретились, но Гирланду пришлось разбираться с людьми Радница. В частности, с Лу Силком — наемным убийцей, который впервые появился в романе «Опасный пациент» 1968 года. (И появится еще раз в романе «Считай себя мертвым» 1978 года.) А Радниц «переживет» Гирланда и появится еще в нескольких романах Чейза.
Переводы. По большей части, роману везло с переводом названия — чаще всего он выходил под заголовком «Запах денег» (или, как вариант, «Запах золота»). В 90-е была пара изданий с идиотскими названиями — «Дочь президента» и «Прощальная гастроль». Когда в нулевых эксклюзив на Чейза получил «Центрполиграф», то они стали издавать этот роман под дурацкой вывеской «Иногда деньги пахнут». Когда в последние годы права отошли «Азбуке», то они вернулись к прежнему названию «Запах денег».
6/10
Оригинал отзыва - https://cahier.ru/chase-whiff-money-1...
June 21, 2025
In The Whiff of Money, Chase takes his usual cocktail of crime and lust and stirs in Cold War paranoia, Hollywood scandal, and Parisian shadows. The result? A sharp, sinister thriller that feels like James Bond checked into a seedy motel and forgot his morals.
Our narrator is Mark Girland, a world-weary ex-CIA agent with charm, cynicism, and a knack for getting involved in things he shouldn’t. He’s hired by a shady American mogul to rescue a runaway daughter from Paris. But of course, the girl—Cora Menendez—isn’t just partying in the Latin Quarter. She’s planning to blow the lid off a political scandal that could destroy a U.S. presidential candidate.
What starts as a babysitting job quickly spirals into a vicious game of blackmail, espionage, sex tapes (yep), assassins, and cold cash. Mark’s caught in the middle—too smart to walk away, too broke to say no, and too human to avoid caring.
The action shifts between the glittering surface of post-war Paris and its dirty underbelly, where everyone has a price and loyalty is a foreign language. Chase’s prose is tight, smooth, and morally grey—just how noir should be. The pacing? Relentless. Every chapter ends like a slammed door.
I read this during a trip to Shantiniketan, of all places—under the shade of a mango tree, surrounded by peace, while my mind was deep in bullets, betrayal, and blackmail. I remember chuckling when Mark Girland said something like, “Trust is for fools and lovers.” I closed the book for a second and thought, “Damn. He’s not wrong.” That line hit like a late-night phone call you shouldn’t answer.
And then I dove back in—because once Chase gets you into his trap, you read till the end or die trying.
In essence, The Whiff of Money is a savage, seductive Euro-noir that proves corruption isn’t just American—it’s global. It’s about the lengths people will go to protect their lies, and how one man’s job to stop it might cost him what little soul he has left.
Our narrator is Mark Girland, a world-weary ex-CIA agent with charm, cynicism, and a knack for getting involved in things he shouldn’t. He’s hired by a shady American mogul to rescue a runaway daughter from Paris. But of course, the girl—Cora Menendez—isn’t just partying in the Latin Quarter. She’s planning to blow the lid off a political scandal that could destroy a U.S. presidential candidate.
What starts as a babysitting job quickly spirals into a vicious game of blackmail, espionage, sex tapes (yep), assassins, and cold cash. Mark’s caught in the middle—too smart to walk away, too broke to say no, and too human to avoid caring.
The action shifts between the glittering surface of post-war Paris and its dirty underbelly, where everyone has a price and loyalty is a foreign language. Chase’s prose is tight, smooth, and morally grey—just how noir should be. The pacing? Relentless. Every chapter ends like a slammed door.
I read this during a trip to Shantiniketan, of all places—under the shade of a mango tree, surrounded by peace, while my mind was deep in bullets, betrayal, and blackmail. I remember chuckling when Mark Girland said something like, “Trust is for fools and lovers.” I closed the book for a second and thought, “Damn. He’s not wrong.” That line hit like a late-night phone call you shouldn’t answer.
And then I dove back in—because once Chase gets you into his trap, you read till the end or die trying.
In essence, The Whiff of Money is a savage, seductive Euro-noir that proves corruption isn’t just American—it’s global. It’s about the lengths people will go to protect their lies, and how one man’s job to stop it might cost him what little soul he has left.
September 25, 2020
In this gorgeous, truly incomparable tale of a unique master of the word of the coolest detective fiction, we say goodbye to legendary Central Intelligence Agency agent Mark Girland. I'm sure many readers of James Hadley Chase (René Lodge Brabazon Raymond) and the stories about secret service agents would love to see Mr. Chase write many more books about the secret services and the incredible adventures of their agents, but, unfortunately, this did not happen. The author has only four such stories (at least those that are clearly about world intelligence organizations and about Mark Girland). And all these four books are read instantly, without delay, the reader simply plunges headlong into the world of this incredibly magnificent author of gripping realistic crime stories.
In this latest book, the story is about Henry Sherman, the US presidential candidate, who is being blackmailed by recording a porn movie starring his daughter. Sherman turns to his old Parisian friend, John Dorey, head of the French division of the CIA, for help. Tom needs to find three more porno tapes, and along with Sherman's daughter. Mark Girland steps in – during the course of events, of course, he meets with the well-known Soviet agent Malik – and the inimitable cycle of events begins!
In this latest book, the story is about Henry Sherman, the US presidential candidate, who is being blackmailed by recording a porn movie starring his daughter. Sherman turns to his old Parisian friend, John Dorey, head of the French division of the CIA, for help. Tom needs to find three more porno tapes, and along with Sherman's daughter. Mark Girland steps in – during the course of events, of course, he meets with the well-known Soviet agent Malik – and the inimitable cycle of events begins!
September 12, 2020
ΒΙΠΕΡ Νο.505
Η οσμή του χρήματος.
Η άνεση του J.C. να σκιαγραφεί και να διαχειρίζεται χαρακτήρες μας έδωσε αυτό το βιπεράκι καλύπτοντας και τις 194 σελίδες του.
Πρόκειται για αστυνομική περιπέτεια χωρίς αστυνομία ενώ έχει και γαρνίρισμα κατασκοπίας αφού πρωταγωνιστούν πράκτορες.
Το βιβλιαράκι αυτό έχει την πρωτοτυπία να κλείνει τη σειρά μιάς άτυπης τριλογίας. Και λέω πρωτοτυπία επειδή ο συγγραφέας δεν το συνήθιζε να κάνει σειρές.
Κατά τα λοιπά υπάρχουν τα συνηθισμένα καλούδια που με έχει συνηθίσει ο πρύτανης: ένταση, αγωνία, μπόλικη δράση, απρόβλεπτες καταστάσεις, μπλεξίματα πολλά.
Δεν έβαλα πέμπτο αστεράκι λόγω απουσίας του cul-de-sac (για το τι εστί αυτό έχω αναφερθεί στο παρελθόν) το οποίο αποτελεί αναμφιβόλως τη σπεσιαλιτέ του καταστήματος. Ωστόσο είναι τραβηχτικό και χωρίς αυτό και απολαυστικό στην ανάγνωση. Απλά εμένα με έχει πολύ καλομάθει.
Η οσμή του χρήματος.
Η άνεση του J.C. να σκιαγραφεί και να διαχειρίζεται χαρακτήρες μας έδωσε αυτό το βιπεράκι καλύπτοντας και τις 194 σελίδες του.
Πρόκειται για αστυνομική περιπέτεια χωρίς αστυνομία ενώ έχει και γαρνίρισμα κατασκοπίας αφού πρωταγωνιστούν πράκτορες.
Το βιβλιαράκι αυτό έχει την πρωτοτυπία να κλείνει τη σειρά μιάς άτυπης τριλογίας. Και λέω πρωτοτυπία επειδή ο συγγραφέας δεν το συνήθιζε να κάνει σειρές.
Κατά τα λοιπά υπάρχουν τα συνηθισμένα καλούδια που με έχει συνηθίσει ο πρύτανης: ένταση, αγωνία, μπόλικη δράση, απρόβλεπτες καταστάσεις, μπλεξίματα πολλά.
Δεν έβαλα πέμπτο αστεράκι λόγω απουσίας του cul-de-sac (για το τι εστί αυτό έχω αναφερθεί στο παρελθόν) το οποίο αποτελεί αναμφιβόλως τη σπεσιαλιτέ του καταστήματος. Ωστόσο είναι τραβηχτικό και χωρίς αυτό και απολαυστικό στην ανάγνωση. Απλά εμένα με έχει πολύ καλομάθει.
April 18, 2020
У маминій бібліотеці є трохи Чейза. От люблю я гарні детективи :)
October 14, 2020
My first book by this author might very well be my last. Couldn't get past the misogyny.
June 2, 2021
Not the best book I ever read, not the worst either. Is a little bit sexist, and I dont enjoy that.
December 8, 2021
A Chase thriller after a long time. All the usual ingredients and a familiar protagonist. A racy, engaging thriller
March 15, 2025
Noir fiction at a very good level. Exiting story with some nice twists.
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November 10, 2024 Opening Sentence: On this brilliantly sunny May morning, Paris was looking at it's best.
Mark Girland is an ex CIA agent living is Paris who is hired to find the daughter of the future president of the United States and the 3 blue films she made, and to get the situation under control before they fall into the wrong hands and destroy the reputation of the candidate. ( This was back when scandalous and shameful information could actually stop someone from becoming the president of the United States.) Trouble was there were other people who were after the films (and the girl). People like the Russian Secret Service and a gang of very ruthless, very brutal, very determined international operators.
You can't win em all. This was one of James Hadley Chase's weaker works. There was too much male posturing and hubris for there to be any realistic substance to the story. First off, we're talking about the CIA and the Russian Secret Service, and these people are portrayed as mostly stupid individuals with a lot of pride and ego. The protagonist was also barely believable. He felt more like the manifestation of a male fantasy to have a well-paying secretive job where you make all the right moves and make everyone else look dumb, and sleep with a lot of women. Speaking of which, the women characters in the book were annoying at best, and extremely dumb at worst. Their only role seemed to be that off air-headed dolls who jump into bed with everyone. There's also the case of physical abuse. There seems to be a lot of that going on. It's not even an issue, that's how casually its mentioned. It's normal for them to get smacked around for as little as not answering a question. That really didn't sit well with me and had me disgusted with the whole story. Despite the fact that there were times I wanted to smack Gillian Sherman, the girl who the whole commotion is about, myself. As stupid as they come.
There were a lot of references to other Chase books throughout the story. The character of Herman Radnitz, who I have just been familiarized with in my previous Chase read,"You're Dead Without Money", is increasingly interesting and I am looking forward to seeing him again.
The other references made were to 'Have This One On Me", "This Is For Real" and "Believed Violent".
There was little I liked about this so it seems unfair to list things I didn't.
Mark Girland is an ex CIA agent living is Paris who is hired to find the daughter of the future president of the United States and the 3 blue films she made, and to get the situation under control before they fall into the wrong hands and destroy the reputation of the candidate. ( This was back when scandalous and shameful information could actually stop someone from becoming the president of the United States.) Trouble was there were other people who were after the films (and the girl). People like the Russian Secret Service and a gang of very ruthless, very brutal, very determined international operators.
You can't win em all. This was one of James Hadley Chase's weaker works. There was too much male posturing and hubris for there to be any realistic substance to the story. First off, we're talking about the CIA and the Russian Secret Service, and these people are portrayed as mostly stupid individuals with a lot of pride and ego. The protagonist was also barely believable. He felt more like the manifestation of a male fantasy to have a well-paying secretive job where you make all the right moves and make everyone else look dumb, and sleep with a lot of women. Speaking of which, the women characters in the book were annoying at best, and extremely dumb at worst. Their only role seemed to be that off air-headed dolls who jump into bed with everyone. There's also the case of physical abuse. There seems to be a lot of that going on. It's not even an issue, that's how casually its mentioned. It's normal for them to get smacked around for as little as not answering a question. That really didn't sit well with me and had me disgusted with the whole story. Despite the fact that there were times I wanted to smack Gillian Sherman, the girl who the whole commotion is about, myself. As stupid as they come.
There were a lot of references to other Chase books throughout the story. The character of Herman Radnitz, who I have just been familiarized with in my previous Chase read,"You're Dead Without Money", is increasingly interesting and I am looking forward to seeing him again.
The other references made were to 'Have This One On Me", "This Is For Real" and "Believed Violent".
There was little I liked about this so it seems unfair to list things I didn't.
July 12, 2016
Featuring Mark Garland, the plot is very much similar to that of Shane Black's 2016 'The Nice Guys'. Politician's daughter hates her father and so does a couple of porn movies to spite the man. Politician hires Garland to retrieve daughter and films. Russia (and Malik) becomes involved.
Not the best Chase I've read - but definitely worth reading.
April 17, 2009
Nice book. Kirkland is all tough and 'Agenty'. And the action all begins at the estate. This is a good GREAT book!
Currently reading
February 13, 2013interestine
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September 18, 2014to reading
November 22, 2015
The edition I read was the UK Corgi books one.
May 10, 2013
I think this is my best JHC book. Ended well :)
Read
May 16, 2018pato.
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