Slim Callaghan

Callaghan was five feet ten and thin. He had sevenpence halfpenny and a heavy smoker's cough. His arms were a little too long for his height and his face was surprising. Slim Callaghan had been hired by beautiful Cynthis Meraulton to stop her cousins getting her step-father's money. But when the old man is murdered, the only suspect with no alibi and a giant motive is Cynthis. Slim always played his cases the way they came, but it turned out the Meraulton job had more twists than a hangman's rope. The Urgent Hangman was originally published in 1938.

Callaghan awoke and looked at the ceiling. His lips were dry and his tongue felt like a yellow plush sofa. Outside he could hear the rain pattering on the windows. He looked at his wrist-watch. It was eight o'clock. Vivacious Mrs. Riverton has hired Slim to find her missing stepson, whom she admits she hates. A dame has to have more than beauty and breeding to stop Slim Callaghan doing things his way. Mrs. Riverton has plenty of both, but when she begins to interfere in Slim's search, things start to hot up. Slim's motto is: 'We get there somehow and who the hell cares'. The problem is that someone does... 'Dangerous Curves was originally published in 1939.'Peter Cheyney is the Damon Runyon of crime' The Times'Slim Callaghan's quick wit and knowledge of rough and tumble place him in the top ranks of private eyes. What a man!' New York Times

All sorts and conditions of ladies and gentlemen found their way into the expensively furnished, well-appointed Ventura Club. You could get anything you liked there if you knew how to ask for it. Slim Callaghan is called to Devonshire to investigate a burglary at Margraud Manor, where valuable jewels - heirlooms of the Vendayne family insured for £100,000 - have disappeared. With his assistant, Windemere Nikolls, he discovers some startling facts - particularly about the lovely Esme Vendayne - and the mystery leads Callaghan to a shady London nightclub and a violent underworld. You Can't Keep The Change was originally published in 1940.

"It's about that dame. I thought I oughta tell you. Somebody's bumped her." It's wartime London. Inspector Gringall of the Yard, long-time friendly rival of private detective Slim Callaghan, sends Slim on a mission to meet Doria Varette, a torch singer at Ferdie's Place. Callaghan knows Gringall has something up his sleeve. And when, backstage, Doria asks him to take on a job - to find her boyfriend Lionel Wilbery, a poet with the wrong friends and a drug problem - Callaghan finds Gringall has more than a missing person in his sights.

Effie said: 'You're expecting trouble?' She felt scared. Callaghan said: 'I've been expecting trouble all my life, Effie, and I usually get it.' Slim Callaghan, of Callaghan Investigations, the world-famous detective and connoisseur of women, is at work again. Ruthless, tough, cynical, Slim was just getting wise to the game of Nicky Starata, an overly smooth poker player, when he got involved in the mysterious Admiral Gardell case. No one asked Slim Callaghan to investigate - but they had to like it. A £40,000 insurance claim, two beautiful dames and possibly a fake suicide were at stake. Callaghan's motto was, 'We get there somehow and who the hell cares how'. He got there and got himself a client, eventually - an exquisitely lovely one... Sorry You've Been Troubled was originally published in 1942.

Nikolls held out two glasses. 'Which is it goin' to be?' he said. 'Seltzer or the hair of the dog?' Callaghan took the whisky. Slim Callaghan, private detective, is drawn into a particularly dubious case - even for him. A Mrs. Paula Denys says she paid a man to steal the priceless Denys Coronet from her husband's safe. Now the thief won't hand over the goods and is attempting to blackmail her. Callaghan solves the problem for his client but, too late, discovers the alluring Mrs. Denys might be taking him for a ride. Callaghan is determined to get to the bottom of it all - but will curiosity kill the cat this time? They Never Say When was originally published in 1944.

In a world where shadows loom larger than life, Slim Callaghan, private detective, finds himself ensnared in a web more tangled than any he's encountered before. "They Never Say When" thrusts Callaghan into the murky depths of deception and greed, courtesy of a client whose allure is as dangerous as the secret she harbours. When Mrs. Paula Denys walks into his office, her request is anything but ordinary: she's paid a man to steal the priceless Denys Coronet from her own husband's safe, but the deal has soured into blackmail. Callaghan, with his unshakable resolve, takes on the case, stepping into a quagmire of treachery that tests even his seasoned instincts. As Callaghan unravels the twisted skein, securing the coronet for his client, he's blindsided by the realisation that Mrs. Denys's intentions might be far from innocent. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted in a game of cat and mouse that could cost Callaghan more than he's willing to pay. Determined to uncover the truth, Callaghan plunges deeper, but in the shadows of a case that's dubious even by his standards, one question looms: will his insatiable curiosity be his downfall? Set against the backdrop of 1944, They Never Say When is a classic tale of intrigue and suspense that harks back to the golden age of detective fiction. With every turn of the page, Slim Callaghan reminds us that in the gritty underbelly of crime and betrayal, they never say when the game is up.

If you go to the pleece or try any funny bisness little Cecilia will get her throte cut so now you know. Slim Callaghan, the British answer to an American hard boiled private detective, is arguably Peter Cheyney's greatest creation. Callaghan has delighted readers from his first appearance in 1938, and all his adventures are now happily back in print. No investigation is too audacious for Callaghan, who finds time, in Calling Mr. Callaghan and between the obligations of booze and broads, to solve twelve piquant mysteries. He is aided of course by the redoubtable Windemere Nikolls and loyal secretary Effie Thompson.