Лотос за мис Куон

by James Hadley Chase, Джеймс Хадли Чейс, Мария Ганчева Парушева (translator)

When Steve Jaffe discovered two million dollars worth of diamonds hidden in the wall of his villa in Saigon, he had no intention of giving up the loot. All he had to do was organize an exit visa and leave, until his houseboy threatened to go to the police. Jaffe had only meant to stop him, but instead he finds himself a felon with murder on his hands. With little chance to keep his secret, Jaffe becomes a man on the run, and the only person he can trust is a beautiful woman who is prepared to do anything to save him.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Crime, Thriller, Novels, Classics

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

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

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pure, unadulterated thriller which has no terrorist, no spy, no high-tech gadget and no exotic locale. Nostalgic and high adrenalin chase it keeps you glued till the end. The twisted climax has a feel of poetic justice at last.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong, tight story. The pace simply crescendos from the steady start to a frenzy at the end. Somehow, the writer brings a decent amount of Southeast Asian atmosphere into things--except, of course, the view of SE Asian women as submissive, obedient wives and girlfriends; Chase obviously never had one. Although, I would bet that like a great many second tier pulp fiction writers he used setting and feel from so-called first rank writers to pull things off. Here, it's the Viet Minh bombing of the police outpost, which is pulled directly from Graham Greene's The Quiet American. But don't feel too offended on the behalf of Greene, for he was "inspired" in much of his book by Norman Lewis' vastly underappreciated Southeast Asian novel, A Single Pilgrim, which just by chance, I guess, "anticipates" Greene's plot and political characterization. But, back to this work. It's quite a spectacle. And I'm amazed at how Chase kept all the loose ends tied up until the very big chasm at the very end.

And about the central protagonist, Steve Jaffe. He is a unique sort and gives this novel a special twist all its own. Jaffe quickly and convincingly descends from an everyday dullard, just another guy working in a foreign land to a scheming killer possessed with the notion of getting very rich very fast. Like the other characters, except for the innocent Miss Quon, he is without a moral center. There is nobody in this book to hold onto as a reader. Not Jaffe, not the corrupt and even more murderous police. Not the Chinese businessmen out to squeeze every penny they can any dubious opportunity that crosses their path. And not the doomed Miss Quon, who is only cut out to be a victim. There is a just the abyss facing everyone at the end of things in Chase's early 1960s Saigon. And that is remarkable. Because, in his own way, he seems to have seen how things would play out in the region over the next fifteen years. Without ever really being there, JHC drew quite an accurate portrait of the soon to be Southeast Asia of the 1970s and 1980s, where everyone loses, even when they win.

[Paul Ataua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finding lost and almost forgotten diamonds hidden in his house throws Jaffe’s world into chaos. Should he give them in or take them for himself? His answer to that question and subsequent events lead to him ending up on the run with unscrupulous characters closing in on him. His one hope is Nhan Quon, his Vietnamese girlfriend, who he intends to escape to Hong Kong with. Her commitment to him, and his to her, will be tested by the end. It is a simple story, tight and straightforward, and it is well told. It doesn’t have that extra existential depth that Graham Greene might have brought to it, but it is solid and Chase manages to raise it up above the generic pulp level with its interesting last few pages. I quite enjoyed it.

[Paul Lothane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The winner certainly takes it all here... Jaffe, rapacious and ruthless ensures that the diamonds he inadvertently finds in Vietnam, are his and follow him back to USA. The dead bodies pile up because of his discovery, including at least three people that he kills himself. Oh how his mistress, Miss Quon suffers since she genuinely loves him. One shudders just imagining the horrific tortures she is subjected to by the Security Police. But she protects Jaffe till she breathes her last. Incidentally in this work a young evil delinquent, Yo-Yo mirrors Jaffe on a smaller level as he successfully blackmails, steals and kills too. So, kudos. To two worthless individuals who "take it all"... I wonder sometimes why I read James Hadley Chase...

[Lupna Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mind boggles as one appreciates the terrible sacrifice Miss QUON makes for Jeff, her boyfriend, in this book. It is unfortunate that Jeff, American or not, is essentially a worthless selfish man. He can hardly imagine himself getting married to the young lady! (a Vietnamese). She is mainly just there for his pleasure. To try to ponder the way she suffered as she was tortured for hours on end is very harrowing. And what happens to her Mom, Uncle and siblings? ...

[Nguyễn Vũ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sách cũ, bìa hơi gớm nhưng vẫn mua vì là truyện trinh thám Mỹ lấy bối cảnh Sài Gòn thời VNCH, đọc lôi cuốn ngoài mong đợi.

[Crime Addict Sifat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another brilliant book from James Hadley Chase. What a filmy ending ! At the point when Steve Jaffe found two million dollars worth of jewels covered up in the mass of his manor in Saigon, he had no aim of surrendering the plunder. All he needed to do was arrange a leave visa and leave, until his houseboy undermined to go to the police. Jaffe had just intended to stop him, yet rather he gets himself a criminal with kill staring him in the face. With minimal opportunity to keep his mystery, Jaffe turns into a man on the run, and the main individual he can trust is a lovely lady who is set up to effectively spare him.

[Κώστας · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένας αμερικάνος βρίσκει διαμάντια στο βιετνάμ. Προσπαθεί να φύγει από τη χώρα με πλαστό διαβατήριο. Ο έρωτάς του για μια βιετναμέζα, ένας φόνος και η διαφθορά της αστυνομίας θα τον καθυστερήσουν κάνοντάς του το μέλλον αβέβαιο.

Μία απλή ιστορία που ο J.C την περιπλέκει κρατώντας σταθερά τον αναγνώστη.

Βιπερ Νο 495.
Τιτλος: Χωρίς οίκτο.
Μετάφραση Τασσώ Καββαδία

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's 1961 in Saigon. The Viet Cong are causing havoc at police checkpoints. Generals who are running the country are getting blown up. Americans and Europeans are still in town doing business. Steve Jaffe is such a businessman. He has a villa and servants and a mistress he found in a dancehall. So what happens one day when he tries to hang a painting and finds that there is a cache of diamonds hidden in the wall. His butler points out that, before the General was blown to bits, this was the home of the general's mistress. They belong to the government now. With dreams if wealth slipping through his fingers, greed takes over Jaffe, who loses his cool and ends up strangling his butler.
Jaffe is then on the run and engages his mistress (a taxi dancer) Nhan Lee Quon's help although he would never have considered bringing her back to the States. Of course, this is the corrupt Saigon of the early sixties and, when Jaffe disappears, other elements are out to find him and get the diamonds.
Unfortunately, this book is not up to Chase's normal standards. It is not noir. It is not hardboiled. And, it's not thrilling. Filled with caricatures of Vietnamese people and what would today be politically incorrect references, the story is simply not compelling, not even with the exotic location. It's a decent read plot wise, but the writing is neither crisp nor memorable.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The description of the plot is too long and uneventable, but it keeps you reading faster right till the end. I can't say i was astonished, but it's a good book to pass the evening and a very realistic one. Police can't be trusted. people can't be trusted. Diamonds are for ever and people will never probably stop dying, murdering and betraying for them and for money, killing their souls and the sense of further life. It's a pity the main hero escaped and it was not shown right till the end how miserable, or on the opposite which I doubt, was his life ever after.

[Ruchir Pathak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished my 2nd ever read of James Hadley Chase thriller, A LOTUS FOR MISS QUON, which was a decent thriller storytelling. I loved the pocketbooks type of books, which basically belongs to crime thriller genre, easy to read and quick to finish, because it generally were not more than 200 pages, same is the case with this one, my copy had 176 pages, however I’ve took longer time, a total of 52 days to finish it, and this is just my 4th read of 2025. This book was published in 1961.

An American living in Vietnam, Steve Jaffe, unexpectedly got his hands on some diamonds, and he is now planning to get out of Vietnam before anyone can get to him, and he have a girlfriend aka bar-girl Nhan Quon, can they escape Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh city.

My earlier read of JHC “A Can of Worms” somehow was a better thriller, and got a lot to going on. This one was not bad but the story looked restricted to a few locations only, the characters are stuck in different places. But JHC was able to build tensions using all these stuck characters, and he also created conflicting situations, where everyone is behind everyone and no one is safe. However the end was left ambiguous, like hanging in between, which I felt. Nonetheless, it was a fine read, my rating for this one will be 3/5.

[Olutosin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another captivating read from my favorite, Hadley Chase! Does a love like Nhan's for Jaffe still exist? I often wonder if there’s anyone out there, aside from my late mother, who could love me so deeply—enough to sacrifice everything like Nhan did to defend Jaffe.

What about Steve? Did he manage to escape Saigno and make it to Hong Kong? And Charlie—who finally ended up with the diamonds?

Once again, Chase dazzles his readers with his unmatched ability to weave a violent yet romantically compelling story. Every page was a thrill, and I loved every bit of it!

[Gabbiadini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Racist, sexist, homophobic with murder and torture in spades. Just your usual JHC noir set in Vietnam about a variety of sleazy low life’s trying any get rich schemes they can , mainly involving diamonds and blackmail. If you forgive the attitudes and language of the time then this is a nasty little noir potboiler

[Lilian Chinwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good read, and as usual, you've got your leading man with a thirst for money, beautiful dame, and corrupt police. And I've got to say, I was quite anxious to get to the end of this book, and it left me wanting more.

[Shyam · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

[Nikhil Kasarpalkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the Better books from JHC.

[Prashanth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is really good, each character is well portrayed but I did not like ending where the actual culprit escaped with the fortune he found.

[Le Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

4*
Tựa khác của tác phẩm: Một bông sen cho cô gái nhảy Sài Gòn ( in 1000 cuốn khổ 14,5* 20,5 cm, năm 2005)

[Abitha Ganesan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thriller story with good twists and plot.

[Susanna Micheli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bombaaaaa

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found my copy, quite appropriately in a back-alley Rangoon bookshop. Hilarious that the cover depicts a platinum blonde when of course Miss Quon is a Vietnamese bar dancer.

As far as hard-boiled pulp fiction goes, James Hadley Chase is a top-notch writer who deserves greater recognition. This novel is a fully engaging thriller, in which one bad move leads to another, with increasingly horrific results. Surprisingly for this genre and this era, not only does the author not stoop to goofy Asian stereotypes, but the title character of Miss Quon comes across as well-rounded, and certainly the only sympathetic character throughout its pages.

[Mark Vickers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a little bit slow to get going but when it does it's another thriller/ mystery from the maestro JHC, after discovering two millions of diamonds in the wall of his saigon villa, he has no intention of giving them to authorities. All he had to do was get a visa to leave until his houseboy gets in the way. Jaffe had only meant to stop him but instead finds he's a felon for murder. With little chance to keep his secret he goes on the run and the only person who can save him is his beautiful woman but can she....

[Lade · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was very boring but it picked up towards the end.
Jaffe finds $2million worth of diamonds in his house and wants to keep it but his houseboy Hann wants him to report to the police. In a tussle, Jaffe accidentaly kills Hann.
He turns to his mistress Nhan for help. Nhan goes to Blackie(the owner of the club where she works).
Blackie will organize a fake passport and a way to leave the country.

[Dhiraj Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engrossing page turner. Story based in Vietnam unlike many of Chase's works which are based in US, UK or Europe. Surprised to find a funny disclaimer at the beginning.
Greed certainly isn't good and leads to death and destruction all around but not to the protagonist. A sad ended tale nevertheless.

[Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

another brilliant book from James Hadley Chase - this one in Vietnam where American expat Steve Jaffe has found some diamonds in his house and plans a getaway with his Vietnamese mistress. Rollicking fast thriller typical of James Hadley Chase.

[Maitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

absolute filmy stuff!

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love most of JHC's novels, but this is defifitely the best of them I've read. Love the suspense and just cant have enough of this novel. Wher can I get a copy? My email, vdubous@gmail.com

[Diksha · Rating 1 out of 5]