What do you think?
Rate this book
Tom Lepski #6
Like a Hole in the Head by Hadley Chase, James (2000) Paperback
Ex-army musketry trainer, Jay Benson and his wife Lucy's dream of running a shooting school turns sour as the school heads towards certain closure. They need money - quickly, and a lot of it. At the eleventh hour Augusto Savanto, head of a vast corporation in Venezuela, walks into their lives with a proposition they can scarcely refuse - he will pay them $50,000 to turn his son into an expert marksman, in nine days. Desperate for money they accept the challenge but find themselves in a deadly game of ruthless vendettas and vengeful murder.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
76 people are currently reading
1985 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
August 20, 2020
Here, things are rarely what they seem to be; what we take or assume as facts are hardly so...and this is sustained to the very end.
What is clear is that most of the characters here are shady and sinister; head honcho Savanto, and his men. The narrator, Jay Benson also has a past that would make many grimace, a top sniper who had killed many men whilst in the army; his wife, Lucy vapid to a point, is hardly transparent.
As for Timoteo, son of Savanto, supposed to be taught to be a top marksman quickly, he is in a class of his own. He is in turns an abject coward, a vicious boxer, and a young man who can hardly talk.
Yet as the story unfolds we see that Timoteo is essentially a kindly, sentimental man. An intellectual too, who apparently signs his own death warrant by defying his ruthless father. And the way the young man brilliantly and swiftly handles a deadly snake would spark ovation. A coward?
The story is largely about power, its ramifications, the misuse of power, and how the masses (peasants here) might perceive it. All is fair in love and war...and power? hmmm. Sadly, at the end Mr Benson loses it all. One of those Chases' that makes one feel dissatisfied as it peters to an end. Par for the course?
April 11, 2022
Like A Hole in the Head, first published in 1970, is set near the fictional city of Paradise City, Florida and includes a brief cameo by Detective Tom Lepski, who frequents a number of James Hadley Chase’s later books.
It’s the story of a couple in the Florida marshlands and how they found themselves facing off against organized criminals from Latin America. Jay Benson is a Vietnam Vet and achieved a bit of fame there as a sniper. Now out of the Army, Jay has hopes of harnessing his reputation by running a shooting school. There are of course few takers and he and his wife Lucy have little in their hands but time. Jay’s eyes light up When he’s promised a small fortune to teach a wealthy patron’s son how to shoot like an expert in nine days.
But, of course, there is always a catch. And, this kind of dough doesn’t just fall into one’s hands easily. Indeed, there’s more than a few catches. First off, the whole reason Jay is hired makes almost no sense at all. The idea that the kid has nine days to become an expert shooter in payment of a gambling debt is ludicrous. As is other stories that Savanto offers such as the honor killing that his son has to do. Moreover, not only is Savanto a piece of work who thinks he is Scarface with armed thugs surrounding him and camping on the Benson’s property, but Timoteo is always a strange man. Not a good shot and barely a willing student, Timoteo is some kind of boxing or judo expert and a charmer of women as well. Nevertheless, most of the time the reader is given the impression that Timoteo is like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.
Chase does a great job of building up the suspense here so that the setup itself is not so important. As the story goes on, Jay knows he is isolated and has to play along with Savanto’s demands at least until Jay can figure a way out. But, the end does kind of come up a bit short. As to the model on the book cover, she is just there to sell books and has nothing to do with the story whatsoever.
It’s the story of a couple in the Florida marshlands and how they found themselves facing off against organized criminals from Latin America. Jay Benson is a Vietnam Vet and achieved a bit of fame there as a sniper. Now out of the Army, Jay has hopes of harnessing his reputation by running a shooting school. There are of course few takers and he and his wife Lucy have little in their hands but time. Jay’s eyes light up When he’s promised a small fortune to teach a wealthy patron’s son how to shoot like an expert in nine days.
But, of course, there is always a catch. And, this kind of dough doesn’t just fall into one’s hands easily. Indeed, there’s more than a few catches. First off, the whole reason Jay is hired makes almost no sense at all. The idea that the kid has nine days to become an expert shooter in payment of a gambling debt is ludicrous. As is other stories that Savanto offers such as the honor killing that his son has to do. Moreover, not only is Savanto a piece of work who thinks he is Scarface with armed thugs surrounding him and camping on the Benson’s property, but Timoteo is always a strange man. Not a good shot and barely a willing student, Timoteo is some kind of boxing or judo expert and a charmer of women as well. Nevertheless, most of the time the reader is given the impression that Timoteo is like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.
Chase does a great job of building up the suspense here so that the setup itself is not so important. As the story goes on, Jay knows he is isolated and has to play along with Savanto’s demands at least until Jay can figure a way out. But, the end does kind of come up a bit short. As to the model on the book cover, she is just there to sell books and has nothing to do with the story whatsoever.
July 7, 2019
Bought it yesterday, finished it today.
Chase really knows how to hook you from the first paragrah. His characters are not always very complex but within a sometimes simplistic psychological frame their interactions keep the story moving forward, and his fluid style keeps you reading....That's enough for me to enjoy a book, and not all books have that (I'm currently trying to read some heroic-fantasy whose author could learn a few things from Chase).
Generally, I think Chase is underrated as a stylist, and some of his best work is as good as Chandler or Hammett.
Chase really knows how to hook you from the first paragrah. His characters are not always very complex but within a sometimes simplistic psychological frame their interactions keep the story moving forward, and his fluid style keeps you reading....That's enough for me to enjoy a book, and not all books have that (I'm currently trying to read some heroic-fantasy whose author could learn a few things from Chase).
Generally, I think Chase is underrated as a stylist, and some of his best work is as good as Chandler or Hammett.
October 14, 2020
The protagonist Mr Benson loses it all in the end, quite painfully to the readers, I think. He needlessly dies in the end too. The dramatic moment when he sets 50 000 quids, as it were, on fire illustrates the tragedy that follows him around. I think he should have taken the money, even if some might say that is the African in me talking! He certainly deserves some compensation after all he has been through, losing his wife too, etc. But what about the so called big man or boss, ruthless Savanto. He gets away with all his lies, manipulations, deceit, crimes and much more. Who says it's not a cruel world?
September 13, 2017
wow. good read. the story line is taut and keeps you engaged. I see a marked difference in the writing style as compared to authors who write thrillers today, james hadley chase is more languid and builds the tension in the last few chapters. suddenly something happens and the story zooms into a different level all together.
September 30, 2018
This was fairly mediocre.Several times while reading it I thought that I had read elements of this story in several of Chase' s other novels.It was a relief when it finally came to an end,and even the ending had been used in another of his books.
June 26, 2021
Like a Hole in the Head just cannot overcome its sluggish start. For almost the first half of this novel, the action takes place at one location. A gun range. It's there that a series of deceptive plot twists and turns are initiated. And to be fair, once things get away from the gun range owned by ex-Army sniper Jay Benson things do pick up. Ordinarily, I enjoy these JHC stories set in Paradise City. But this one just seemed too filled with artifice. And everything led to a letdown at the end, even with the surprise outcome regarding Benson's wife and his one time gun pupil.
April 8, 2020
I found it in my father's bookshelf a few years ago. As soon as I started I just couldn't let go of it, the plotting is marvelous, the story is so gripping, you can't hold your nerves. The ending may disappoint, but you will never forget it. I finished it in like 3 days, definitely worth it.
November 22, 2012
Read this book many years ago .I don't remember how many and it has stayed with me ever since .
Were I a film director this would be my debut feature.
Were I a film director this would be my debut feature.
Read
January 19, 2017The book was captivating yet sad. Captivting because i could not drop it halfway, because i was hoping somehow, everything will turn out okay for the main character. Sad, because it didn't.
May 13, 2014
'Hole' isn't one of Chase's best books, but I wouldn't call it a write-off either. The plot starts off at a medium pace and carries on that way till the final quarter where things really pick up. If you stick till the final quarter (never that difficult with this author), you will be rewarded. The final leg of the story is brilliant.
My only critique for this book is, it's a bit dissatisfying. Elaborating on this would be a spoiler.
Recommended for Chase fans, but if you're trying this brilliant author for the first time, you might do better reading one of his other books.
My only critique for this book is, it's a bit dissatisfying. Elaborating on this would be a spoiler.
Recommended for Chase fans, but if you're trying this brilliant author for the first time, you might do better reading one of his other books.
December 8, 2022
ΒΙΠΕΡ Νο 491
ο Μαύρος Κύκλος.
μετάφραση Τασσώς Καββαδία.
Το μπλέξιμο. Oι περιπλοκές του.
Το ανατρεπτικό, απρόβλεπτο τέλος.
Μα πάνω απ'όλα, η σπεσιαλιτέ του σεφ, το cul-de-sac* μου φέραν αναγνωστικό πυρετό.
Αυτός είναι ο J.C. που ξέρω και λατρεύω. Ο Πατριάρχης του θρίλερ.
*Cul-de-sac= Σταδιακό αδιέξοδο - σαν θηλιά που σφίγγει -των εμπλεκομένων.
Βιπεράκι του 1972.
ο Μαύρος Κύκλος.
μετάφραση Τασσώς Καββαδία.
Το μπλέξιμο. Oι περιπλοκές του.
Το ανατρεπτικό, απρόβλεπτο τέλος.
Μα πάνω απ'όλα, η σπεσιαλιτέ του σεφ, το cul-de-sac* μου φέραν αναγνωστικό πυρετό.
Αυτός είναι ο J.C. που ξέρω και λατρεύω. Ο Πατριάρχης του θρίλερ.
*Cul-de-sac= Σταδιακό αδιέξοδο - σαν θηλιά που σφίγγει -των εμπλεκομένων.
Βιπεράκι του 1972.
March 28, 2019
Další oprášení starého autora - Jamese Hadleye Chase. Jeho oblíbeným tématem byl muž pod tlakem. Obvykle muž, který podlehl pokušení a buď spáchal zločin... nebo se aspoň stal alespoň podezřelým ze spáchání zločinu. A snažil se z toho po zbytek knihy dostat. Někdy úspěšně, někdy ne. A teď nevím, jestli už jsou přece jen ty jeho knížky na dnešní dobu moc jednoduché, nebo jestli mi tohle prostě nesedlo. Možná je to tím, že tady je hrdina v podstatě hodně pasivní a od začátku do konce to schytává. Jeho jediný hřích je, že vezme práci - má naučit syna boháče střílet. A pak už jen slouží jako fackovací panák. Okolo něj jsou většinou jen psychopati a ženy se dělí na emocemi zmítané slepice a nadržené magorky. A nemohl jsem se zbavit pocitu, že ani sám Chase netušil, co bude dál, takže častokrát buduje napětí, aby to pak celé vyšumělo a vlastně se vůbec nic nestalo.
Možná ještě nějakého Chase časem zkusím, ale teď si dám spíš chvíli pauzu.
Možná ještě nějakého Chase časem zkusím, ale teď si dám spíš chvíli pauzu.
November 22, 2013
This one is another ripper by JHC, Jay Benson, one of america's top snipers has killed 80 plus Vietcong. He and his wife open their own shooting school and then the action really starts. So when a sinister father offers fifty grand for Jay to make his son an expert shot in nine days, he accepts. By the time he realizes the reason he's in too deep to abandon the deal, his beautiful wife is being held hostage for his cooperation...
November 12, 2015
Excellent story telling.
June 21, 2025
Tiger by the Tail is one of those crime thrillers that starts with a casual, almost laughable mistake—and then spirals so fast and so violently, you're gasping by Chapter Three. The plot follows Ken Holland, a respectable, dull accountant with a routine life and a wife who thinks he’s about as thrilling as cold toast. So, naturally, he makes the fatal decision to try and spice things up by visiting a call girl.
Big mistake. Huge.
When Ken arrives at her apartment, he finds her dead—and himself caught in a web of suspicion, blackmail, and cold-blooded killers. With no alibi, no allies, and no idea how to navigate this jungle, Ken becomes the mouse in a game where every cat has claws and none of them are cute. As the police close in and gangsters start circling, Ken has to decide whether he’ll stay prey—or become something even more dangerous.
Chase’s writing is fast, brutal, and razor-clean. Dialogue zips, bullets fly, and every twist comes like a punch to the ribs. But what really hooks you is how ordinary Ken is—and how quickly his carefully built life unravels. It’s not about the crime, really. It’s about how easy it is to fall.
I remember reading this one during a family trip—half-asleep on a creaky train, with a flask of lukewarm tea, the windows foggy with Bengal monsoon drizzle. The tension in the story matched the clack-clack of the rails perfectly. Somewhere around the chapter where Ken starts panicking and considering suicide, I realized: Chase knew how to trap you in the character’s fear. I was hooked—and I think I stayed up till Bardhaman just to finish it.
There’s a grim poetry to the way Chase dismantles his protagonist. And yet, there’s hope too—a flicker of fight, of someone trying to claw back his life from the abyss.
Big mistake. Huge.
When Ken arrives at her apartment, he finds her dead—and himself caught in a web of suspicion, blackmail, and cold-blooded killers. With no alibi, no allies, and no idea how to navigate this jungle, Ken becomes the mouse in a game where every cat has claws and none of them are cute. As the police close in and gangsters start circling, Ken has to decide whether he’ll stay prey—or become something even more dangerous.
Chase’s writing is fast, brutal, and razor-clean. Dialogue zips, bullets fly, and every twist comes like a punch to the ribs. But what really hooks you is how ordinary Ken is—and how quickly his carefully built life unravels. It’s not about the crime, really. It’s about how easy it is to fall.
I remember reading this one during a family trip—half-asleep on a creaky train, with a flask of lukewarm tea, the windows foggy with Bengal monsoon drizzle. The tension in the story matched the clack-clack of the rails perfectly. Somewhere around the chapter where Ken starts panicking and considering suicide, I realized: Chase knew how to trap you in the character’s fear. I was hooked—and I think I stayed up till Bardhaman just to finish it.
There’s a grim poetry to the way Chase dismantles his protagonist. And yet, there’s hope too—a flicker of fight, of someone trying to claw back his life from the abyss.
October 10, 2020
(Tạm dịch: Một lỗ trên đầu)
Jay Benson trước đây từng là một lính bắn tỉa ở chiến trường VN, anh cùng vợ là Lucy mở trường dạy bắn. Một ngày nọ, một người khách là Augusto Sanvato đến đề nghị anh huấn luyện con mình là Timoteo trong vòng 9 ngày có thể trở thành một xạ thủ. Benson biết rằng huấn luyện một người không có năng khiếu cũng không có khát khao bắn tỉa như Tim là không thể nên anh từ chối. Cái gì không mua được bằng tiền thì sẽ mua được bằng nhiều tiền hơn. Sau khi Savanto đưa ra hàng loạt những lời mời hấp dẫn không thể cưỡng lại, anh đã nhận lời bất chấp sự nghi ngờ của Lucy rằng có gì không ổn trong vụ này.
Lúc đầu Benson cũng có lúc tự hỏi tại sao Sanvato lại đưa ra đề nghị kỳ quặc thế này. Con trai lão không hề hứng thú với súng đạn, thế tại sao lão lại chấp nhận tốn tiền để đào tạo cho Tim trở thành thiện xạ, lão muốn thằng nhóc trở thành thiện xạ để làm gì, nhưng lý do mà Savanto đưa ra rất hợp lý, cộng với món tiền thơm tho kia khiến Benson dẹp bỏ mọi nghi ngờ. Anh quyết không bỏ lỡ thương vụ béo bở này mà không hề biết rằng mình đang chui vào một cái bẫy do lão đặt ra…
Truyện này (có lẽ) chẳng bao giờ được dịch và xuất bản ở Việt Nam…
Jay Benson trước đây từng là một lính bắn tỉa ở chiến trường VN, anh cùng vợ là Lucy mở trường dạy bắn. Một ngày nọ, một người khách là Augusto Sanvato đến đề nghị anh huấn luyện con mình là Timoteo trong vòng 9 ngày có thể trở thành một xạ thủ. Benson biết rằng huấn luyện một người không có năng khiếu cũng không có khát khao bắn tỉa như Tim là không thể nên anh từ chối. Cái gì không mua được bằng tiền thì sẽ mua được bằng nhiều tiền hơn. Sau khi Savanto đưa ra hàng loạt những lời mời hấp dẫn không thể cưỡng lại, anh đã nhận lời bất chấp sự nghi ngờ của Lucy rằng có gì không ổn trong vụ này.
Lúc đầu Benson cũng có lúc tự hỏi tại sao Sanvato lại đưa ra đề nghị kỳ quặc thế này. Con trai lão không hề hứng thú với súng đạn, thế tại sao lão lại chấp nhận tốn tiền để đào tạo cho Tim trở thành thiện xạ, lão muốn thằng nhóc trở thành thiện xạ để làm gì, nhưng lý do mà Savanto đưa ra rất hợp lý, cộng với món tiền thơm tho kia khiến Benson dẹp bỏ mọi nghi ngờ. Anh quyết không bỏ lỡ thương vụ béo bở này mà không hề biết rằng mình đang chui vào một cái bẫy do lão đặt ra…
Truyện này (có lẽ) chẳng bao giờ được dịch và xuất bản ở Việt Nam…
March 29, 2022
The Tamil edition was an awful translation. Perhaps, I should try reading this in English some other day. However, I got to enjoy the story. It was engaging writing from JHC, but I was expecting an action thriller than a family drama in disguise. Tom Lepski has very little scope in this book.
November 13, 2024
This is below mediocre. Anything happens anytime. Nothing executes perfectly here. Everything is like it starts good and ends bad, am talking about small sub plots and even the overall ending. It was utter disappointment.
July 4, 2025
It just doesn't turn out how you'd expect. James Hadley Chase books always have a funny ending but this one took so many turns. This is the first book I've started and finished in a single day cause I just couldn't put it down. You simply have to read it to make sense of all I'm saying
October 2, 2017
Great noir fiction by a master of the genre .
May 5, 2019
What an ending! Was not expecting this.. but with every page...
July 21, 2019
How do you read
Want to read
January 28, 20208
December 31, 2020
I hated the ending. I hated Lucy
December 25, 2021
Poor Jay Benson 😢
February 16, 2022
The way my heart pained at the end just says how hooked i was to Jay's character.
Want to read
June 16, 2022Very captivating
February 28, 2023
Amazing story and amazing author!!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews