Delitto ad opera d'arte

Tom Lepski #12

by James Hadley Chase

L'avventura di una preziosissima icona della Grande Caterina e di un'assortita combutta di balordi. Non ci sono cadaveri, questa volta, ma c'è una tensione continua e c'è un continuo divertimento...

Genres: Thriller, Novels, Crime, Fiction, Noir, Mystery

155 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

René 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.

Reviews

[W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detective Tom Lepski and his wife Carol are on their way to Europe for a vacation.But a very valuable piece of art has been stolen,and the culprits want to use the couple to get it to Zurich.

Bad guys Claude Kendrick,the fence,and Herman Radnitz,the art collector are back.Detective Lepski has to contend with their machinations.

It is a light-hearted thriller which can be read in one sitting.It is full of double-crosses,a fair bit of humour and a nice little twist in the tale at the very end.

[Paul Lothane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The winner takes it all... but what if eventually there is no winner at all despite the high stakes? Chase is onr of the few writers who can pull such a scenario off! Another brilliant plot with a priceless icon involved; with international ripples. Many characters made famous by the author are present here; including proficient art thieves, the notorious, ruthless Herman Radnitz, and Tom Lepski the indomitable Cop. As the story unfolds, with the icon stolen, it becomes clear that all the parties involved hardly trust each other, and are ready to double cross each other. We are introduced to a new, young unconscionable killer, the younger Holtz whose evil mien startles even the cruel Radnitz himself. "Radnitz stubbed out his cigar (shaken). It was as if death had walked out of the room, and Radnitz feared death..." The action reaches a peak - with everybody somehow losing!

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm guessing JHC got the inspiration for Try This One for Size from the King Tut exhibit that travelled across the United States from 1976 to 1978. Changed to an exhibit from Russia's Hermitage, Chase's story is one of his better comic pieces. It wasn't easy, because he brought in half a dozen of the characters he has already developed in earlier novels, and integrated many of them into a common story for the first time. The story itself is about an art heist and all the complications you could possibly imagine. Centered around Detective Tom Lepski of the Paradise City police and his wife, Carroll, some elements are just inches away from becoming slapstick. The Lepskis make Lucy and Desi look respectable and dignified. And they are the key agents of the crime! And, finally, for once, the planning of the crime does not fall to pieces. All goes as intended. Almost. Nobody gets hurt, although a lot of people miss out on the riches they thought they were going to get.

[Laura L. Van Dam · Rating 3 out of 5]

De todos los libros de Chase que leí, es el que menos me gusta.
Muchos giros argumentales pero no me atrapó, y el final parece apresurado y para nada original.

[Kakha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still remember this magnificent, dynamic, incredibly interesting novel. This is one of the very latest creations of Mr. Chase. In this book, we again find ourselves in the wonderful world of the fictional, beloved by many, Paradise City on the Florida coast. In the book, we meet with many colorful people from the world of the work of our dear author. This time we also meet with a powerful villain, Herman Radnitz. Here, a unique plot develops around the famous, very expensive Russian Orthodox Christian icon. Anyone who is familiar with the work of this unforgettable writer, who has not read this particular book but knows Paradise City, is familiar with famous characters who usually visit or live in this glorious city, will immediately guess what delight awaits them ahead of reading this magnificent book.

[Nikhil Kasarpalkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of the best JHC book simply because it is hilarious. There is heist at the center of it and the story revolves around the heist. The characters involved are so well created that once reading them one instantly becomes a part of the story through them. Everyone is trying to swindle almost everyone else and that is where the plot gets fun and acts like the page turner. The central characters, the Lepskis, are a gorgeous couple and their interactions are LOL. The end itself is so perfect.


Surely give it a try.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scarce Russian icon of Catherine the Great is loaned to an exhibition in Washington and when it is very cleverly stolen there is an almighty fuss with the American President getting involved and the Russians most upset that one of their cherished items has disappeared.

The theft has been arranged by Ed Haddon, the King of art thieves, and he then needs to find a buyer for the priceless icon. He approaches Claude Kendrick, owner of a shadily run art gallery in Paradise City, to find a buyer and Herman Radnitz, a multimillionaire and serious art collector, is decided upon as being the man prepared to pay six million dollars for the stolen icon. But in agreeing to the price he has one condition in that he requires the icon delivered to an address in Zurich, Switzerland ... and getting the icon out of the country safely is fraught with danger.

There follows a taut thrilling tale that sees the various protagonists travel across Europe in order to deliver the goods and make their cut from doing so. But nothing is as straight forward as it seems and the unexpected twists and turns are superbly orchestrated and the disparate group of characters are amusing as well as desperate.

It is an excellent read and a disappointment when it comes to it unexpected end!

[Prabhat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending is quite unimaginative that's why I reduced 1 star

[Akinola Akinyemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read!

If you are looking for pure classic entertainment, just pick a copy of James H Chase books. This book included. Have fun!

[Joydeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is first time I read a JHC thriller without any murders.

[Katka Olajcová · Rating 3 out of 5]

K tejto knihe (a aj druhej od tohto autora, ktorú idem čítať teraz) som sa dostala náhodou, keď mi bývalá kolegyňa ponúkla na predaj zopár kníh zo svojej zbierky. Autorovo meno mi vzdialene niečo hovorilo, ale jeho tvorbu som nepoznala...
ALE (!) presvedčilo ma, že na zadnej strane knihy je okrem iného napísané, citujem: "Chase... patril medzi popredných predstaviteľov americkej drsnej školy a pokračovateľov takých majstrov pera, akými boli napr. Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler či James Cain." Hmm. Tešila som sa hlavne kvôli tomu, že sa spomenulo meno Raymonda Chandlera a tak som čakala kvalitnú detektívku.
Bola som sklamaná.
Kendrick sa dohodne s boháčom Radnitzom, že preňho ukradne veľmi vzácnu ikonu ruskej cárovnej Kataríny Veľkej a on mu za to dá 8 miliónov dolárov. Podmienka je, že predanie neprebehne v USA, ale v Zürichu. Lenže po krádeži sú hranice USA uzavreté a všetka batožina sa prehľadáva, tak ako dostaneme ikonu von zo štátov?
Ľahko!
Pretože čírou náhodou v rovnakom čase ide na dovolenku do Európy (alias Francúzsko a Švajčiarsko) policajný detektív Tom Lepski so ženou Caroll. Ikonu im zašijú bez ich vedomia do kozmetického kufríka a všetko ide ako po masle.
A vo Švajčiarsku sa má ich kufrík s ikonou vymeniť za identický kufrík bez ikony. A voila! Dokonalá lúpež.
Lenže zlodeji si neveria a dokonca predvídajú veci, ktoré by nemali ako predvídať. Vedia presne, ako bude iná postava reagovať, dokonca vedia odhadnúť aj presnú sumu, ktorú si konkurencia vypýta. Akože wtf?
A tak som čakala na koniec... Akože dobre, postavy vedia o všetkom bez toho, aby sa o tom rozprávali, asi sú na seba telepaticky napojené alebo čo, ale čo chvíľu Lepski zistí, že nechtiac pašuje ikonu, zachráni ju a zhrabne tú niekoľko stotisícovú odmenu za jej nájdenie (lebo o nej na začiatku až podozrivo často točil, tak ak toto nie je forshadowing, tak už nič.... ale evidentne to boli len keci do vetra). Ale hovno! Lepski family na nič neprišli a ani nikdy neprídu. Takže...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Napísané to ale nebolo zle. Bolo to také ľahké rýchle čítanie s občasným pokusom o vtip, ktorý prešiel okolo mojej hlavy, zakýval mi a letel ďalej svojou cestou na planétu Naprd-vtipov.
Vyvrcholenie tiež nebolo bohviečo, lebo spoiler... tá ikona bola po celý čas falošná! Takže nevyhral nikto. Dokonca ani moje smutné čitateľské srdiečko...

[Srikanth R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book... keeps u on ur toes... just 150 pages.... but i was able to guess the climax a few pages ahead :)