Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Pick Any Title
    Pick Any Title
    Pick Any Title
    Ebook437 pages6 hours

    Pick Any Title

    By Russell James

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    ‘Lord Clive’ bought his lordship at a ‘Lord of the Manor’ sale where titles fetch anything from two thousand to two hundred thousand pounds. Why not buy another cheap and sell it high? Why stop at only one customer? When some of his American buyers, each of whom imagines himself an English lord, come to England to inspect their property Clive leaves the beautiful Jane Strachey to handle them.
    But Clive was careless who he sold to, and among his victims are a shrewd businessman and his glamorous girlfriend, a hell-fire preacher and a vicious New York gangster. So when lawyers pounce and guns slide from their holsters, Strachey finds she needs more than good looks and a silver tongue to save her skin. Will she lose her shirt too?

    “A brilliant page-turner from "the best of Britain's darker crime writers" - The Times

    “A fast-paced caper, full of black humour and double-crossing action of the highest calibre... James has a knack for the vernacular of his larger-than-life villains and provides laughs by the barrelfull. Could make a great movie, in the right hands.” - The Guardian

    “Although he is better known for his work in noir, this is a much lighter read. Skilfully he reveals his characters' motives both good and bad, and then playfully subverts them. It is refreshing to read a thriller that is not weighed down by the bleak worldview held by Patricia Cornwell, Barbara Vine et al. A real rollicking romp of a book with interesting twists and turns. A light, humorous, very readable book.” - NewBooks magazine

    “I haven't laughed so much in years. A really brilliant read.” - Mike Jecks, medieval crime author

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRussell James
    Release dateMar 2, 2011
    ISBN9781458031075
    Pick Any Title
    Author

    Russell James

    Russell has been a published writer for some 25 years, is an ex-Chairman of the Crime Writers Association, and has written a dozen and a half novels in the crime and historical genres. He has also published various non-fiction works, including 4 illustrated biographical encyclopaedias: Great British Fictional Detectives and its companion work, Great British Fictional Villains, followed by the Pocket Guide to Victorian Writers & Poets, and its companion, the Pocket Guide to Victorian Artists & Their Models. His books include: IN A TOWN NEAR YOU (Prospero) THE CAPTAIN'S WARD (Prospero) AFTER SHE DROWNED (Prospero) STORIES I CAN'T TELL (with Maggie King) (Prospero) THE NEWLY DISCOVERED DIARIES OF DOCTOR KRISTAL (Prospero) EXIT 39 (Prospero) RAFAEL'S GOLD (Prospero) THE EXHIBITIONISTS (G-Press) POCKET GUIDE TO VICTORIAN ARTISTS & MODELS (Pen & Sword) POCKET GUIDE TO VICTORIAN WRITERS & POETS (Pen & Sword) GREAT BRITISH FICTIONAL VILLAINS (Pen & Sword) GREAT BRITISH FICTIONAL DETECTIVES (Pen & Sword) THE MAUD ALLAN AFFAIR (Pen & Sword) MY BULLET SWEETLY SINGS (Prospero) REQUIEM FOR A DAUGHTER (Prospero) NO ONE GETS HURT (Do Not Press) PICK ANY TITLE (Do Not Press) THE ANNEX (Five Star Mysteries) PAINTING IN THE DARK (Do Not Press) OH NO, NOT MY BABY (Do Not Press) COUNT ME OUT (Serpent's Tail) SLAUGHTER MUSIC (Alison & Busby) PAYBACK (Gollancz) DAYLIGHT (Gollancz) UNDERGROUND (Gollancz)

    Read more from Russell James

    Related to Pick Any Title

    Related ebooks

    Mystery For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Scoundrel’s Lair

      Jul 9, 2023

      Scoundrel’s Lair
      5 min read

    • Article

      La Otra Historia

      Jun 30, 2022

      La Otra Historia
      14 min read

    • Article

      A Pre-loved Treasure House

      Oct 14, 2019

      A Pre-loved Treasure House
      9 min read

    • Article

      Quotients

      May 7, 2020

      Quotients
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Strange History Of Plastic Paddies

      Jun 2, 2021

      Just before he died, John le Carré, an embodiment of Englishness in his writing, took Irish citizenship. In one of the last photographs of the spy author, he was wrapped in an Irish flag. Le Carré – real name David Cornwell – joins a tradition of Eng

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un's Notes

      Jan 11, 2023

      Just before Christmas, historian Lady Antonia Fraser composed a verse on confronting that age-old companion to faith – doubt – at Farm Street Church, Mayfair. Nick Downes is one of the most treasured cartoonists at Oldie Towers (see above right for a

      4 min read

    • Article

      Roger's PROFANISAURUS

      Nov 19, 2020

      Roger's PROFANISAURUS
      8 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Oct 18, 2021

      by Gigi Fenster Text Publishing — $38 Alarm bells may be set off by the first few lines of this novel: “The baby, Michael, grew healthy and strong. Strong enough to be difficult. Strong enough to have tantrums … And it wasn’t so bad for the baby’s mo

      7 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Apr 20, 2023

      Alan Murdie’s article “Spirits of Glencoe” [FT428:18-21] describes the infamous massacre, along with latterday commemorations of the event, and the general atmosphere of foreboding that seems to pervade the Glen and surrounding area. Glen Coe is an a

      15 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un's Notes

      Jun 28, 2023

      If you want to be a bestselling writer, get on the GCSE syllabus. That's the message from the Bookseller magazine. It reports that the top-selling book on the syllabus is An Inspector Calls (1945) by J B Priestley, selling 123,059 copies this year th

      6 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Aug 7, 2019

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      Hello, Grim Reaper

      Dec 15, 2021

      She was a babe. A fully paid-up, card-carrying babe. There was absolutely no doubt about it, and she was heading straight for me. She was almost sprinting towards me across the recently reimagined lobby of Claridge’s. She looked up, her scarlet-anoin

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un’s Notes

      Oct 20, 2021

      The Old Un’s Notes
      6 min read

    • Article

      Giving Lincolnshire Its Due

      Jun 29, 2022

      MAY we play a word-association game? I say ‘Lincolnshire’ and you reply... Yes, you might struggle to find anything to say about the ancient shire of that name. Perhaps ‘cathedral’ and ‘cabbages’ will float up through the mist of memory. I doubt many

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un's Notes

      Feb 8, 2023

      The Old Un's Notes
      4 min read

    • Article

      When I Find Hidden Gems, I Destroy Them

      Jul 28, 2021

      Three people may keep a secret if two of them are dead, said Benjamin Franklin. The sickening truth about travel writers is that they reveal secret locations in exchange for a free trip. It’s a Faustian pact and I must admit I bear some guilt in this

      3 min read

    • Article

      Grey Pride

      Oct 12, 2018

      Grey Pride
      15 min read

    • Article

      Grey Pride

      Jun 21, 2017

      Grey Pride
      16 min read

    • Article

      Woke The Plank! Were Pirate Ships Actually Beacons Of Diversity And Democracy?

      Apr 4, 2023

      In September 1695, the Plymouth-born “king of pirates”, Henry Avery, seized treasure worth £600,000 (in today’s terms, nearly £100m) from the Grand Mughal fleet in the Red Sea. What happened next is uncertain. The most boring legend has Avery – AKA H

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Literary Odd Couple

      Jan 4, 2022

      A Literary Odd Couple
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Pick Any Title

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Pick Any Title - Russell James

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1