No Business of Mine / Miss Shumway Waves a Wand - by James Hadley Chase (Paperback)

About the Book

"Two hardboiled 1940s novels which have never been previously published in U.S. paperback. In No Business of Mine, an American newspaperman tries to solve a London mystery involving the apparent suicide of his wartime lover. In Miss Shumway Waves a Wand, Chase creates a wild mixture of wisecracking humor and Mexican magic."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

NO BUSINESS OF MINE

American foreign correspondent Steve Harmas returns to post-WWII London to visit his old flame, Netta Scott, but quickly learns that Netta has just committed suicide. Harmas is so sure that Netta couldn't possibly have killed herself that he starts investigating, enlisting the aid of Scotland Yard Inspector Corridan. The first thing they discover is that Netta's body has disappeared from the morgue. Then Harmas is attacked outside her flat. Could her nosey neighbor, Julius Cole, be involved? He certainly seems to know more than he's telling the police. And then there's Madge Kennit, a neighbor who offers to trade information for a bottle of whisky. And what of Netta's sister, Anne, who also seems to have disappeared? Harmas and Corridan soon find themselves at odds as they both investigate a suicide that begins to look at lot more like murder.

MISS SHUMWAY WAVES A WAND

It all starts when Ross Millan, newspaper reporter at large, is assigned to find Myra Shumway, who may or may not have been kidnapped by Mexican bandits. His boss wants it to look like she's been kidnapped anyway, so that Millan can rescue her. It's all supposed to be a big publicity stunt. Millan finds Myra alright, and then runs into Doc Ansell and Bogle, two con artists who are understandably miffed that she has just pickpocketed them. Things get interesting when the four of them pool their resources around a better scheme involving an Indian cure for snake bite. That's when Myra encounters some genuine Naguales magic, and the four of them run into real Mexican bandits. Before long, Myra is levitating, a dog starts talking, a bandit turns into a sausage ... and all hell breaks loose.

Review Quotes

"Brilliantly plotted and told with rare skill."--South Wales Argus

"A terrific thriller of the kind one can expect from Chase ... one great read that is hard to put down."--Dave Wilde

"Very good story in the postwar London ... You never know how the story is going to unfold."--GoodReads