Book Review - 15

Hello, Steemheads. Welcome to book review week 15. Every week, I will be talking about one or two books I enjoyed reading. I call myself ‘irregular bookworm.’ I love books like that, I can’t help it. Bibliophile and nerd sound too serious. LOL. The books I’ll be talking about may be your best or worst books, so read with an open mind.

The previous weeks' reviews have been good so far. I’m kind of combining both African literature and books from all parts of the world. They are mostly literary fiction.

This week, I’ll do a little genre fiction, romance to be precise. I have two books by James Hadley Chase. Chase is a crime fiction writer who manages to fuse in real life situations while at it. I’ll give and overview of both books along with excerpts.

Enjoy

---

First is A Can of Worms.

This followed private detective Bart Anderson who was hired by Russ Hamel, a millionaire author to shadow his beautiful wife Nancy. For Hamel had been receiving poison pen letters, claiming that his wife was having an affair. But as Bart’s investigation progressed, he discovered that he had opened up a can of worms, for Nancy is not the faithful wife his husband presumes.

Excerpt:

_{All operations of the Parnell Detective Agency were members of the country club, the Yacht Club, the Casino, and all the night clubs, frequented by the rich. All operations carried The Parnell Credit Card which entitled them the free meals, free drinks, you-name-it-you-have-it in all these clubs. It must have cost Parnell a bomb, but it paid off. There was always steely eyed Charles Edwards, the accountant, to check on any excessive spending. The credit card gave us operators access to the clubs when working.
I was flicking through Times Magazine in the super-duper lounge of the Country Club, keeping my eyes on the restaurant exit when Nancy Hamel appeared. I recognized her from the photograph, but in flesh, she made the photograph a very poor imitation. She was wearing a white Tee shirt and white shorts, and she had a figure that made me prick up my eyes. There were loads of dishes and beauts in Paradise City, but she was exceptional.}

---

Second is Mission to Siena.

For years, the world wide operations of a mysterious and ruthless extortioner who called himself the Tortoise had baffled Scotland Yard and police faces of Europe. But, slippery though he was, he was no match for the fast thinking, fast acting Don Micklem, a wealthy American who got on the Tortoise's trial and tracked him to his lair.

Excerpt:

_{Police Constable Elliot stood in a shop doorway and surveyed the east side of the square with placid indifference. It was a dark , wet November night; the time was a few minutes after eleven o’clock, and because of the rain and the hour, the square was deserted. It has been raining steadily for the past three hours. Water gurgled in the gutters and dripped from the street lamps that made yellow pools on the glistening pavement. A cold wind added to the misery of the wet, and Elliot thought longingly of his comfortable sitting room, the bright fire that would be burning, and of his wife who he hope would be thinking of him.
He scowled at the dark sky, looking for a break in the clouds. A woman’s voice said, “Can you please direct me to the Piolsen's hotel?”
Elliot lowered his gaze and regarded the girl who stood before him. Her back was to the street lamp and he wasn’t able to see much of her. She was wearing a white mackintosh and a close fitting black hat, and she carried in her right hand a canvas and a leather hold-all. She spoke with a foreign accent that could have been Spanish or Italian. Elliot, who was no language scholar, couldn’t decide which it was.}

Images are from the e-books gallery.

---

Thanks for reading!
What are your thoughts?