A review by paul_cornelius
A Coffin from Hong Kong by James Hadley Chase

4.0

Alright. James Hadley Chase novels are addictive reading. But he is also an audacious "borrower" from other detective and thriller writers. And A Coffin from Hong Kong proves it. Throw in a little Maltese Falcon and Big Sleep, add in a touch of I, the Jury, and don't forget to put in some flavor from Eric Ambler's Passage of Arms, while topping things off with some neat atmosphere from World of Suzie Wong, and voila! You've got yourself quite a little thriller. And that's just in the first chapter or so!!! And guess what? I don't care. I still liked it. Because Chase still puts his own stamp on things. From the West Coast to Hong Kong and back again. A nice ride in this book. But there are these little glitches. Americans don't eat "meat pies." I'm not sure I even know what one is. Is it a pot pie? All sorts of small syntax oddities and a messed up gangster similes. But it's okay. This is fun reading, even if I feel guilty about it. Now, for the next one!