Rene Raymond, known throughout the world under the pseudonym James Hadley Chase, became famous in the genre of “hard-boiled” detective. He came from the family of a retired British officer, and his father intended Rene to become a scientist. But at the age of 18, the future writer left his studies and left his parents’ home forever. He constantly changed jobs and tried many professions before becoming a book distributing agent, having thoroughly studied the book business from the inside. Subsequently, he recalled with irony: “...I had to knock on no less than a hundred thousand doors, and behind each of them I could meet any of the characters from my future novels... And I had to get wet in the rain so much that now no one can force me to leave the house in wet weather..." Over half a century of writing, Chase created about ninety novels that enjoyed constant success among readers in different countries, and about fifty of them were filmed. This edition publishes a novel about private detective Vic Malloy, created by Chase in 1949. Text is published in a new translation.