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Paul Chavasse #3
The Keys of Hell
'A rediscovered gem of international suspense from the man Tom Clancy calls "the master..."
Paul Chavasse makes his living running arms and intelligence from Italy to the oppressive communist country of Albania. But when the Albanian government begins a religious purge, he finds himself in a deadly race to recover a priceless relic that has protected the faithful for generations.
Now he must outrun--and outwit--an entire army to save the lives of thousands of believers.
Paul Chavasse makes his living running arms and intelligence from Italy to the oppressive communist country of Albania. But when the Albanian government begins a religious purge, he finds himself in a deadly race to recover a priceless relic that has protected the faithful for generations.
Now he must outrun--and outwit--an entire army to save the lives of thousands of believers.
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First published January 1, 1965
64 people are currently reading
402 people want to read
About the author
Martin Fallon
21 books6 followersOne of the many pseudonyms used by Henry Patterson. See Jack Higgins for more complete information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
January 20, 2019
This was not up to Higgins' regular standard. Most of it is set in 1965 in Italy and Albania. This is more of a fun action read with a straight-forward plot with very few twists and turns.
November 4, 2010
The Jack Higgins character Paul Chavasse appears in several novels and is essentially a James Bond-style action hero. In this one, he has various cut-throat adventures in eastern Italy and the swamplands of Albania while trying to help a beautiful agent in her quest to recover a priceless religious artefact, the Black Madonna.
The entire book is best summed up as fast-moving trash. Barely a word of it is believable or rooted in reality, but it's never so bad that you feel the urge to give up and read no further. The dialogue is alternately cliched and just plain wooden, and some of the action sequences end up provoking unintentional amusement.
The Albanian locale is, at least, unusual and interesting, and Higgins manages a handful of memorable scenes in his story. It's also mercifully brief nonsense, and therefore won't take too much of your time to finish! I can't honestly recommend this book to anyone, but I wouldn't say it's fair to go around warning people to steer clear either. It is what it is - simple-minded action fodder which you can read without needing to tax your brain too severely!
The entire book is best summed up as fast-moving trash. Barely a word of it is believable or rooted in reality, but it's never so bad that you feel the urge to give up and read no further. The dialogue is alternately cliched and just plain wooden, and some of the action sequences end up provoking unintentional amusement.
The Albanian locale is, at least, unusual and interesting, and Higgins manages a handful of memorable scenes in his story. It's also mercifully brief nonsense, and therefore won't take too much of your time to finish! I can't honestly recommend this book to anyone, but I wouldn't say it's fair to go around warning people to steer clear either. It is what it is - simple-minded action fodder which you can read without needing to tax your brain too severely!
December 20, 2022
This Jack Higgins novel was first published in 1965. However, in 2001 Higgins revisited the book (which had long been out of print) and tacked book-end chapters, the first and last taking place in Manhattan, 1995. The rest of the book is shown as occurring in 1965.
It’s Higgins’s third novel featuring his ‘super-spy’ Paul Chavasse, following from The Testament of Caspar Schultz (1961) and Year of the Tiger (1963).
Only recently returned from a hair-raising adventure in Albania, Paul is meeting his boss, The Chief of the Bureau, in the embassy in Rome.
Paul is tasked with going back into Albania and assassinating a double agent, Noci.
Shortly after disposing of Noci, he saves an attractive woman who is being assaulted in the street. It’s Francesca Minetti – he met her at the embassy. She’s Italian-Albanian and works for the Bureau. She has a private problem – her village’s Black Madonna was spirited away before the secret police could steal it. Unfortunately, it sank with her brother and his boat in the marshes and she barely escaped. Would he help her retrieve the statue? It is a symbol of faith against the repressive Communist regime.
He can’t resist the offer.
Higgins paints an interesting picture of the politics of the period, and the search amidst the marshes is masterfully evoked. Inevitably, there is betrayal, courage, capture and escape, the pace rarely letting up.
The tacked-on end chapter works well, too – cleverly done.
I could not find any reference to the keys of Hell in the text; there is a quotation at the front, an Arabic proverb: There are no keys to Hell –the doors are open to all men.
If I had one issue: I lost count of the number of times Paul – and others – lit cigarettes; a veritable commercial for tobacco or a lazy method of breaking up speech or having the protagonist do something.
A fast read.
It’s Higgins’s third novel featuring his ‘super-spy’ Paul Chavasse, following from The Testament of Caspar Schultz (1961) and Year of the Tiger (1963).
Only recently returned from a hair-raising adventure in Albania, Paul is meeting his boss, The Chief of the Bureau, in the embassy in Rome.
Paul is tasked with going back into Albania and assassinating a double agent, Noci.
Shortly after disposing of Noci, he saves an attractive woman who is being assaulted in the street. It’s Francesca Minetti – he met her at the embassy. She’s Italian-Albanian and works for the Bureau. She has a private problem – her village’s Black Madonna was spirited away before the secret police could steal it. Unfortunately, it sank with her brother and his boat in the marshes and she barely escaped. Would he help her retrieve the statue? It is a symbol of faith against the repressive Communist regime.
He can’t resist the offer.
Higgins paints an interesting picture of the politics of the period, and the search amidst the marshes is masterfully evoked. Inevitably, there is betrayal, courage, capture and escape, the pace rarely letting up.
The tacked-on end chapter works well, too – cleverly done.
I could not find any reference to the keys of Hell in the text; there is a quotation at the front, an Arabic proverb: There are no keys to Hell –the doors are open to all men.
If I had one issue: I lost count of the number of times Paul – and others – lit cigarettes; a veritable commercial for tobacco or a lazy method of breaking up speech or having the protagonist do something.
A fast read.
March 31, 2024
Paul Chavasse, New York'ta bir davete katılacaktır ama eski bir Sicilya mafyası şefi olan Don Vito'nun talebi üzerine onunla görüşmeye gider. Yolda bir kaç saldırgan etkisiz hale getirir ve Vito'num yeğeni ile görüşür. Burada kendisine eski bir dosya verirler. Yıllar önce yer aldığı bir görev.
Arnavutluk'ta bir görev alan ve hayatı başka bir İtalyan olan Guilio Orsini tarafından kurtarılan Chavasse, İtalyan büyükelçiliğinde Francesca Minetti ile karşılaşır. Şefin elemanlarından biridir ve onunla yakınlaşamadan şef yeni bir görev verir. Enrico Noci adında bir çift taraflı ajan idam edilecektir. Bunu başarıyla yapan Chavasse tatilini yaparken Francesca gelir. Abisi Arnavutluk simgelerinden biri olan Kara Madonna adlı Altın Heykeli saklarken öldürülmüştür. Bu heykelin bulunması gerekmektedir. Ramiz adında biri ile çalışacaktır. Chavasse, Orsini ile gönüllü olur. Ama Ramiz ölmüştür. Kapo adında bir Arnavut ajanı onu eline geçirir ama kaçar. Sonra Francesca ve Orsini'yi bir rahip ve Liri adlı bir kızın yardımıyla kurtarır. Ama Francesca düşmana çalışmaktadır. Noci onun kocasıdır. Kapo ise Enver Hoca'yı destekleyen Çin'e Tibet'te yaptıkları yüzünden Chavasse'yi verecektir. Kara Madonna da ortaya çıkınca kimse Francesca'dan şüphelenmeyecektir. Ama Toshka'yı öldüren Chavasse Liri ve Orsini'yi alıp kaçar. Denize çıkan ekibin amacı Kapo ve adamlarını bulmaktır. Tekne donar ve zor bir savaş sonrası Francesca hariç hepsi ölür. Francesca ise Chavasse'yi bıçakladıktan sonra Liri tarafından öldürülür. Peki Vito'nun yeğeni bunları nereden bilir? Acaba Noci veya Francesca ile ne ilgisi vardır? Chavasse ne yapacaktır? Don Vito yeğenlerine nasıl bir tepki verecektir? Chavasse bu işten sağ salim kurtulabilecek midir? Keyifle okunan bir roman..
Arnavutluk'ta bir görev alan ve hayatı başka bir İtalyan olan Guilio Orsini tarafından kurtarılan Chavasse, İtalyan büyükelçiliğinde Francesca Minetti ile karşılaşır. Şefin elemanlarından biridir ve onunla yakınlaşamadan şef yeni bir görev verir. Enrico Noci adında bir çift taraflı ajan idam edilecektir. Bunu başarıyla yapan Chavasse tatilini yaparken Francesca gelir. Abisi Arnavutluk simgelerinden biri olan Kara Madonna adlı Altın Heykeli saklarken öldürülmüştür. Bu heykelin bulunması gerekmektedir. Ramiz adında biri ile çalışacaktır. Chavasse, Orsini ile gönüllü olur. Ama Ramiz ölmüştür. Kapo adında bir Arnavut ajanı onu eline geçirir ama kaçar. Sonra Francesca ve Orsini'yi bir rahip ve Liri adlı bir kızın yardımıyla kurtarır. Ama Francesca düşmana çalışmaktadır. Noci onun kocasıdır. Kapo ise Enver Hoca'yı destekleyen Çin'e Tibet'te yaptıkları yüzünden Chavasse'yi verecektir. Kara Madonna da ortaya çıkınca kimse Francesca'dan şüphelenmeyecektir. Ama Toshka'yı öldüren Chavasse Liri ve Orsini'yi alıp kaçar. Denize çıkan ekibin amacı Kapo ve adamlarını bulmaktır. Tekne donar ve zor bir savaş sonrası Francesca hariç hepsi ölür. Francesca ise Chavasse'yi bıçakladıktan sonra Liri tarafından öldürülür. Peki Vito'nun yeğeni bunları nereden bilir? Acaba Noci veya Francesca ile ne ilgisi vardır? Chavasse ne yapacaktır? Don Vito yeğenlerine nasıl bir tepki verecektir? Chavasse bu işten sağ salim kurtulabilecek midir? Keyifle okunan bir roman..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2024
Good old fashioned chauvanistic 1960's spy cheese.
And actually kind of a fun read.
And so much smoking! Light up everyone! This is 1960's cool on display here!
A fast easy read of a few hours. Reads a lot like a Tintin adventure with a lot of violence, but very few people actually die...until the end. There is a good show of blood though which is nice. A big difference is that in this book the dark-haired beauty runs into the arms of P.Chavasse when he rescues her, where as in a Tintin book, Tintin would run into the arms of Chaptain Haddock when he.....opps. Where was I?
Anyways, full of cliches and cheese and actually a better read than expected considering some other stuff by JH.
For instance...included in this printing is a "Special Preview" of a book being concurrently published called 'Edge of Danger'. Wow! Does it ever read like crap. I think I'll just give that one a pass.
Also...with this reprinting two framing chapters were added at the start and finish, which are unnecessary garbage and don't add sh*t to the story. The only reason they are there is to stretch the original novella into a novel. Publishers don't like to publish novellas anymore. They are utter trash and actually take away from the final story. Personally I'd give them a miss. The story has a much better and more satisfying ending without them. It's more fun just to close the book watching our heroes ride off into the sunrise.
And roll the credits.
And actually kind of a fun read.
And so much smoking! Light up everyone! This is 1960's cool on display here!
A fast easy read of a few hours. Reads a lot like a Tintin adventure with a lot of violence, but very few people actually die...until the end. There is a good show of blood though which is nice. A big difference is that in this book the dark-haired beauty runs into the arms of P.Chavasse when he rescues her, where as in a Tintin book, Tintin would run into the arms of Chaptain Haddock when he.....opps. Where was I?
Anyways, full of cliches and cheese and actually a better read than expected considering some other stuff by JH.
For instance...included in this printing is a "Special Preview" of a book being concurrently published called 'Edge of Danger'. Wow! Does it ever read like crap. I think I'll just give that one a pass.
Also...with this reprinting two framing chapters were added at the start and finish, which are unnecessary garbage and don't add sh*t to the story. The only reason they are there is to stretch the original novella into a novel. Publishers don't like to publish novellas anymore. They are utter trash and actually take away from the final story. Personally I'd give them a miss. The story has a much better and more satisfying ending without them. It's more fun just to close the book watching our heroes ride off into the sunrise.
And roll the credits.
Read
December 9, 2021The sixteenth jack higgins / martin fallon / harry patterson / henry patterson novel the keys of hell published in 1965 republished in 2001 with some slight amendments including some framing chapters set in 1995 giving the main events of the story a memory flashback tone with a nice unexpected twist at the very end. The third novel featuring paul chavasse in which while on his vacation he meets a pretty girl and decides to help her recover a sunken statue. The basic premise is remarkably similar to Higgins first novel #sadwindfromthesea but on the whole this one seems much more polished as you would hope given that he had a few years practice since his first attempt. It deviates a bit and involves a betrayal and a revenge subplot picking up from the events in the second Paul chavasse novel year of the tiger There are of course some of the usual Higgins tropes including medicinal brandy, instant romance and a wise and helpful man of the cloth
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July 13, 2021Questionable martial art description
The book was ok but not the best book I have read in the series. I taught martial art for over 20 years and some of the moves described are not correct. To kick a person in the groin from a cat stance you would use a front snap kick not a round house. This is just one of inaccurate moves described. The book in general was ok but seemed to get bogged down in cigarettes. The characters chain smoke in every book and drink enough to stay drunk most of the time. I would like to have the liquor and cigarette concession in these books.
The book was ok but not the best book I have read in the series. I taught martial art for over 20 years and some of the moves described are not correct. To kick a person in the groin from a cat stance you would use a front snap kick not a round house. This is just one of inaccurate moves described. The book in general was ok but seemed to get bogged down in cigarettes. The characters chain smoke in every book and drink enough to stay drunk most of the time. I would like to have the liquor and cigarette concession in these books.
September 29, 2024
Truly, an enjoyable read. Jack Higgins is famous for his adventures, thrills, physical matches, etc., etc., and this book held up to that. A short adventure, none the less, the story was interesting, twisting and turning with characters who had intermarried, the description of accomplishing their mission was extremely well written, and sounded very plausible. It is a short read, but highly recommended if you are a Jack Higgins fan.
February 8, 2019
Just north of 2.5.
October 14, 2019
Why is Jack Higgins so lauded? This book is so woefully underwritten that it fails to muster any tension. Rubbish.
September 3, 2021
Fantastic!
May 10, 2025
easy read
March 9, 2017
Many twists and turns. Great
June 9, 2012
This is a sub-par work for Higgins, I think. Timing was quite confusing. On page 51, the main character, Paul, notes, "Three o'clock in the morning on the waterfront of any kind of port was one hell of a time to start thinking like that.". After rescuing a woman from a physical attack, learning her story, planning a trip into Albania to retrieve the Black Madonna from marshes, being kidnapped,escaping from kidnappers, and getting on a boat headed for the Albanian marshes,he dozes off for a little, only to look at his watch & realize on page 106 that it was 2 AM. Is there a time zone difference between Italy & Albania?
Perhaps a publishing error, on page 82, the over-confident bad guy has his name spelled as Tasko. The name, in the rest of the story, is Tashko.
Perhaps a publishing error, on page 82, the over-confident bad guy has his name spelled as Tasko. The name, in the rest of the story, is Tashko.
September 6, 2008
Mundane thriller. Sexist and routine stereotypes. The only thing I appreciated was the martial arts fights. While the descriptions of the secret moves were silly and amusing (the dreaded karate reverse punch indeed!)at least the expertise didn't come out of nowhere; Chavasse trains three times a week with a "little japanese master" (another dated stereotype!!!)
January 10, 2009
Not one of Higgins' best. It is a brief current situation wrapped around the main tale of remembered action set in Albania in 1965. A story of intrigue and betrayal. The characters are shallowly developed and the writing is weaker than his usual. Still, a pleasant way to spend a few evening hours.(Even if you read slowly, this one can't take you more than 2-3 hours to read.)
November 17, 2014
This Higgins book is typical of the Sean Dillon books except in this case the her is Paul Chavasse, this tells of him going into Albania during the Cold War to try and retrieve a religious idol which will help mobilize the resistance. Tracked by the secret police will he be able to escape. OK read.
March 24, 2015
The 3rd of the Paul Chavasse series...probably the weakest of the Higgins franchise...involves Chavasse working with Italian partners working against the oppressive Albanian Cold War Regime seeking a significant religious relic...just OK!
April 28, 2015
The keys of Hell. Jack higgins
Takes place primarily in Albania, during Soviet occupation. Chavasse is tricked into recovering a religious relic. Full of action, suspense and intrigue. A very believable cast of characters. A first rate thriller!
Takes place primarily in Albania, during Soviet occupation. Chavasse is tricked into recovering a religious relic. Full of action, suspense and intrigue. A very believable cast of characters. A first rate thriller!
October 21, 2016
This is part of a series of Paul Chavasse, British operative, novels. I liked it, but it didn't appeal as much as Robert Ludlum books do. It was refreshing to have this type of novel without much vulgarity or language. Quick easy read...
September 22, 2007
A very simple plot. Not a very special one, unlike the other Jack Higgins' books.
August 24, 2009
bought it out of desperation at the airport - waste of time
October 21, 2009
The only reason I chose it was because it took place in Albania.
May 23, 2010
Unlike the previous Higgins I read, A Game For Heroes, this one just feels false. Poor characterizaton, cringe-inducing dialogue, terrible plot. A real shame, I was looking forward to it.
June 17, 2012
A quick read, full of action.
December 30, 2012
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11612913
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11612913
February 18, 2013
Not his best, but moves along quite nicely.
February 1, 2018
Second read of the book - good, but not great story...
November 2, 2014
It was just OK.
August 9, 2014
Typical good Jack Higgins novel.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews