The Most Successful Nation in the History of the World Book

Back in 1947 when Chase wrote this hardboiled thriller, the war had just ended and many protagonists in novels were returning war veterans, trying to make a life in the world they barely remembered. For the narrator of this novel, a reporter, who had spent several years as a war correspondent in London before the front moved on to France, he fondly remembers his war years in London. Back in the states, he remembers his long-lasting romance with a dancehall hostess and, when he wins it big at the track, he returns to London and seeks her out. But, alas, it turns out she had just committed suicide the day before, sticking her head in the oven with the windows all sealed and the gas full blast. The suicide doesn't make sense and we have a reporter investigating, sometimes alongside Scotland Yard, sometimes in spite of Scotland Yard and the story that follows is a terrific thriller of the kind one can expect from Chase. Between blonde bimbos and gangsters and thieves and muggers and the like, it is one great read that is hard to put down. This is a great read and makes one anxious to try another Hadley novel.