Crime Classic: 1:0 für Lemmy

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Peter Cheyney’s 1942 potboiler features his popular hero, FBI Chief Agent Lemmy Caution, who investigates crimes outside the US, often in familiar European settings. Despite their initial popularity, particularly in France through films starring Eddie Constantine, these novels have faded from memory, which is puzzling given their deliciously trashy, pulpy nature and over-the-top hard-boiled dialogue that almost veers into high camp. In this installment, Caution investigates the kidnapping of Julia Wayles, who has been taken to England by American mobsters Rudy Zimman and Tamara Phelps. However, the identities of the captors are questionable, adding to the convoluted plot that aligns with Cheyney’s tongue-in-cheek approach to the hard-boiled genre. The narrative is filled with dangerous dames, which Lemmy finds irresistible, contrasting sharply with the two-bit punks and swell guys he encounters. As always, the crime Caution unravels is layered with espionage and intrigue, making for entertaining, lightweight pulp fiction that showcases Cheyney's flair for blending danger and humor in a thrilling narrative.