No Orchids for Miss Blandish was crime author James Hadley Chase’s first novel, and an experiment in adapting American hard-boiled crime fiction by a British author. Inspired by James Cain and The Postman Always Rings Twice, it worked so well that it launched the former salesman’s writing career. He went on to write over eighty novels sold worldwide with a huge American, Asian and European following.

Exciting, hard-hitting and gruesome by turn, Jeff Harding’s thrilling narration injects new energy to this fast-paced crime classic. Written in 1939, the book also inspired an essay on the mood of post-War Britain by George Orwell, Raffles and Miss Blandish (1944), noting the enthusiasm for violent, bloody fiction. No Orchids for Miss Blandish delivers on both counts. American heiress Miss Blandish is kidnapped by a gang of inept criminals trying their hand at big-time crime, whose plans are foiled when a rival mob, led by the sadist Slim Grisson, set their sights on the glamorous million-dollar hostage. Meanwhile, Private Detective Dave Fenner is hired to rescue her. Fenner is no stranger to the criminal underworld. If corruption and violence are necessary, Fenner will do what it takes to get the job done. Behind the scenes, Slim becomes obsessed with his hostage, lashing out at anyone who attempts to wrestle Miss Blandish from his charge. When Fenner makes his move, Slim won’t give her up without a fight.