The Flesh Of The Orchid by James Hadley Chase

Sequel to No Orchids For Miss Blandish

Carol Blandish was the daughter of Miss Blandish and a maniac killer. She was beautiful and was the heir to six million dollar. And she was a prisoner in a mental home. All she had to do to inherit the money was to escape, and stay out for fourteen days.... But a whole lot other people were after the Blandish fortune and that meant after Carol. Once outside the mental home, she found herself mixed up in a deadly hide and seek of violence and sudden death...... There was Roy Larson, who couldn't keep his hands off that beautiful body. And there were the Sullivans, professional killers who'd rather have their hands on the money.....

Printing History

Written by René Lodge Brabazon Raymond (1906-1985)

Jarrolds Publishers Ltd.
1948

Transworld Publishers Limited
Corgi Books
ISBN 552 10858
Reprinted 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982

Nerve by Dick Francis

Nerve

by Dick Francis

Rob Finn was a bit of a misfit, a struggling young jockey in a family of accomplished musicians and a man in love with a beautiful woman who wouldn't have him. He suddenly looked like a rider who had lost his nerve. Could it be that the horses were unusually sluggish, and that there was something more sinister attempting to sabotage him...?

Robert Finn watches a fellow steeplechase jockey blow his brains out in the parade ring at Dunstable races, just before a race. As Finn and the other jockeys cope with the stress of their jobs, other incidents lead him to conclude that someone is trying to destroy the lives of jockeys all over England. Finn is not the average jockey. He is the only child of famous virtuoso musicians, and the single family member to not be gifted musically, he followed a different path than that of his family's vocation. He has inherited other skills that will help him as he unravels a sad and warped trail. And he has been remarkably successful jockey for a man with only 2 years experience. Soon, he is the next target. A losing streak that lasts weeks threatens his job until he takes it upon himself to do a little sleuthing and uncovering the identity of the culprit. Now, Finn wants his revenge, and he takes his time setting it up.

Printing History

Written by Richard Stanley Francis (1920-2010)

Michael Joseph Ltd

1964

Miss Called Murder by Carter Brown

Miss Called Murder

Joe Stanton is the sort of refined private eye, all four eyes are, including his hornrims. If he had only stayed sober he would never been mixed up in this thing in the first place. Sober, Joe wouldn't have found the corpse, he wouldn't have had to listen to all that modern poetry that does not rhyme. He wouldn't even have had that Lieutenant not trusting Joe and that racketeer not trusting him either.  Joe would not have had that Bugsy Jones breathing down his back while he rammed his gun into Joe's spine. Joe wouldn't have even met that lush brunette with the figure 8. Has one ever tried to get rid of a corpse? One might be embarrassed a little because it's the second corpse in ones apartment inside of two days? Then, maybe one would like to stand in for Joe......

Printing History

Written by Alan G Yates (1922-1985)

Horwitz Publications Inc

Novel Series

 #4

1955

Second Collectors' Series 

Volume 1 #13

1958

 

Reprint by Demand Series

#24

1960

Dr Phibes Rises Again (1972)

Dr Phibes Rises Again!

Long believed dead, Anton Phibes arises from a state of suspended animation, in search of the means to bring his deceased wife back to the land of the living. With the aid of the enigmatic, never-speaking Vulnavia, Phibes follows an Egyptian expedition, seeking out an ancient elixir of life and killing everyone who gets in his way. In the original film, all of the doctor's grisly but ingenious murders were motivated, and all were linked by a Seven Deadly Plagues throughline. In the sequel, Phibes kills whenever he feels like it, and utilizes an impressive array of death-dealing contraptions. This marks one of the only films ever made to wrap with Vincent Price singing "Somewhere, Over the Rainbow".

Cast 

Vincent Price as Dr. Anton Phibes
Robert Quarry as Darius Biederbeck
Valli Kemp as Vulnavia
Peter Jeffrey as Inspecter Trout
Fiona Lewis as Diana Trowbridge
Hugh Griffith as Harry Ambrose
Peter Cushing as Captain
Beryl Reid as Miss Ambrose
Terry-Thomas as Lombardo

A Job Of Murder by Frank Gruber

Blonde Bait Traps A Killer

 

The body behind the barrel

The corpse of a man lay in a corner of the fifth floor of the giant Towner Leather Company factory. Certainly enough to upset the routine in any factory, much less one just invaded by two zany operatives, Johnny Fletcher and Sam Gragg. They signed up for manual labor and were handed murder instead. Fletcher takes command and gives all the suspicious characters the once over, from Boss Harry Towner on down to a particularly tempting phone operator. Then he sets a trap that was sure to catch the killer.

Printing History

Written by Frank Gruber (1904-1969)

Signet Books

#827

1950

Original Title

The Leather Duke

1949