New Releases by James M. Cain

«La morte paga doppio» uscì per la prima volta a puntate sulla rivista «Liberty» – uno dei tanti «pulp magazine» dell’epoca – tra il febbraio e l’aprile del 1936. Quando, poche settimane dopo, Joe Sistrom della Paramount entrò nell’ufficio di Billy Wilder ingiungendogli di leggere subito quel «thriller su una donna che uccide suo marito per riscuotere l’assicurazione», ignorava di avere innescato, oltre alla lavorazione di un grande film quale «La fiamma del peccato», un’inesauribile vena di leggende. Come quella del curioso record stabilito da Wilder stesso, che divorò il romanzo di Cain in cinquantotto minuti contro le due ore, cinquanta minuti e sette secondi indicati dalla rivista come tempo necessario alla lettura. E si potrebbe continuare a lungo, se non altro per spiegarsi il profumo di scandalo che ancora oggi avvolge questo archetipo del «noir», che ci attrae allo stesso modo in cui il protagonista, pur sapendo che sarebbe più prudente «mollarla come un attizzatoio rovente», è attratto dalla sua «dark lady».

A naïve young man follows a fallen woman to a Nevada mining town and risks his life to win her: “Entertaining . . . Cain [has a] flair for realistic detail.” —The New York Times Early in the Civil War, the Confederacy sends Roger Duval to Sacramento to keep an eye on the situation in California in hopes of turning the Western territory toward the Southern cause. It’s a plush assignment, well out of the line of fire, but he hasn’t been there long before he comes into mortal danger.Duval nearly drowns in the Sacramento River but is saved by Morina, a quick-witted sex worker, who tosses him a rope. Suffocated by instant, irresistible love, Roger follows Morina to Virginia City, Nevada. For the silver miners, gamblers, and gunfighters who populate this hardscrabble town, her price is negotiable. But for a man in love, she charges a thousand dollars. Roger will sacrifice body, mind, and soul to get that money—but will any sacrifice be enough to make her love him? “A classic.” —Newsweek “[Cain is] one of the greats of American noir.” —The Guardian

A twisted tale of heinous crimes and hidden motives by the legendary author of Double Indemnity. Graham meets Sonya outside of his real estate office. She is sixteen, beautiful, and drops a bombshell—she’s there because Graham’s half-brother, Burl, raped her, leaving her frightened, pregnant, and very much alone. All she wants is the $1,111 it will cost to hide out for the next few months in a convalescent home before she gives the baby up for adoption, but Burl won’t give her the money. Sonya’s vengeful father, meanwhile, wants far more from Burl—he is determined to make the scoundrel pay for harming his daughter. Graham offers Sonya a better choice: He’ll marry her so that she can get a legal abortion. The plan will save the family, and the business, from scandal. But Graham has no idea that, as he asks for Sonya’s hand, he will be risking much more than just local gossip . . . Praise for James M. Cain’s fiction “Swift and absorbing.” —The Wall Street Journal “Lean, racing . . . stripped of inessentials.” —The New York Times “Nobody has quite pulled it off the way Cain does . . . not even Raymond Chandler.” —Tom Wolfe

An academic looking for money finds a seductive woman—and trouble—in this suspenseful tale by the Edgar Award–winning crime writer. Professor Lloyd Palmer loves a good biography. His fantasy is to start an institute to teach young scholars the biographical arts, and it will take old money to make his dreams come true. In the Washington area, the oldest money is found not in the District, but in Delaware, a land of wealth so astonishing that even the Du Ponts are considered nouveau riche. But when Professor Palmer goes to Wilmington, he comes away not with old money, but young trouble by the name of Hortense Garrett. She is his benefactor''s wife, a twenty-something beauty trapped in an unhappy marriage, whose good looks conceal the most cunning mind on this side of the Potomac. She needs a ride to Washington, and Lloyd offers to give her a lift. They''ve barely left Delaware before he falls for her. By the time the pair hits the beltway, the ending of his biography will be in her hands. Praise for James M. Cain''s fiction "Lean, racing . . . stripped of inessentials." — The New York Times "Nobody has quite pulled it off the way Cain does . . . not even Raymond Chandler." —Tom Wolfe

An ambitious Reno salesman. A wealthy would-be divorcée. An insurance policy. It''s a toxic combination in this noir thriller by an MWA Grand Master . . . If Las Vegas is a city of lovers, in Reno, the business is divorce. Six weeks in Reno can erase the darkest marriages, and the only question is how to pass the time—craps or roulette? Jane Delavan is a roulette woman, a stately beauty from back East who is too classy for the motel where she''s shacked up. She''s come for a divorce, but her husband has other ideas. He wants an annulment, and in exchange offers to take out a $100,000 insurance policy on himself—just in case something happens to him before their paperwork goes through. Jane is cunning enough to make sure that if she wants something to happen, it will. Ed Horner is the insurance agent sent to settle the agreement, and it doesn''t take long for Jane to settle him. They fall in love over twenty-five-cent roulette and soon have a bigger score in mind. In the Biggest Little City in the World, a king-size scheme is brewing . . . Praise for James M. Cain''s fiction "Cleverly plotted." — The New York Times "Swift and absorbing." — The Wall Street Journal

From the author of Double Indemnity, a tale of an ambitious young waitress whose fairy-tale romance may have an unhappy ending . . . Carrie Selden is not at all like the woman you’ve read about in the papers. Though she spent time in an orphanage, she isn’t an orphan. She didn’t finish high school until she was nineteen, not because she struggled to make the grade but because she was waitressing tomake the money she needed. . And though Carrie is very cunning, well, she’s no femme fatale. But her beauty . . . oh yes, her beauty is everything you’ve heard. At twenty-one, Carrie takes her savings and moves to New York City, landing a job at a diner called Karb’s, at the bottom rung of the restaurant chain’s tall corporate ladder. Though she makes minimum wage, Carrie is smart, and it isn’t long before she starts to climb. When her coworkers unionize, they choose her as president, and from there, the sky is the limit. But just as the union gets underway, she meets a mysterious intellectual named Grant—who will either help her rise to the top, or drag her straight down to hell. “James M. Cain is one novelist who has something to teach just about any writer, and delight just about any reader.” —Anne Rice, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Interview with a Vampire

"Vintage Cain . . . it''s all here—the big money, the unusual circumstances, the spare, tight style, and the staccato dialogue." — The Miami Herald Since his father died, every Saturday night has been the same for Dave and his mother. She starts to talk, weaving aimless, weird fantasies about get-rich-quick schemes that never amount to anything. But when, finally, she is silent, Dave becomes afraid. Because his mother has a way of getting very close that is repellent and appealing all at once, and he''s terrified of where it might lead . . . One Saturday, a noise outside breaks the silence. A hijacker has parachuted from a stolen plane with a parachute, a hundred thousand dollars in cash, and one very frightened stewardess. Against all the odds, the thief thinks he''s gotten away with it. But he doesn''t know just what Dave''s mother will do for an easy payday—and a chance to make her son a happy man... "[Cain is] one of the greats of American noir." — The Guardian

While searching for her real father, a runaway stumbles into a deadly mess in this gritty noir novel by the author of The Postman Always Rings Twice. With just seventy-four bucks in her pocket, Mandy packs her things and buys the bus ticket that will get her away from the stepfather who''s been abusing her for years—and the mother who lets it happen. She plans to head to Baltimore and find her biological father—someone she hopes will finally stand up for her. At the bus stop, Mandy meets Rick—a handsome young thug who''s a few days removed from his last bath. He''s charming and sympathetic, so she buys him a ticket and tells him her story. But wouldn''t it be better, Rick suggests, to greet Daddy in style? Of course, a mink coat would cost a little money, but Rick knows just where to get it. His plan is daring, foolish, and highly dangerous. What teenage runaway could resist? Praise for James M. Cain''s fiction "Cleverly plotted." — The New York Times "Swift and absorbing." — The Wall Street Journal

A novel of a privileged young man’s twisting, troubled journey through Depression-era America: “A great book by a great author.” —Los Angeles Daily News Jack Dillon has been a golden child since birth. Blessed with blond locks, glittering eyes, and a perfect voice, he is the most popular child singer in Baltimore. But when puberty robs him of his voice and the stock market wipes out his family fortune, Jack is forced to rebuild. Over the next fifteen years, Jack will see it all. From Maryland to California and back again, he will become a football star, a soldier, and a tramp. Despite all that life throws at him, he never loses his eye for beauty, or his hunger for a woman he has known since childhood. But to find happiness in the face of the Depression, Jack must learn that no matter how the world has changed him, part of his soul remains as pure as the first note he sang. “James M. Cain is one novelist who has something to teach just about any writer, and delight just about any reader.” —Anne Rice, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Interview with a Vampire

A down-on-his-luck boxing trainer finds a woman worth fighting for in this "assured" novel by an MWA Grand Master Award winner ( Kirkus Reviews). It took some doing, but Duke Webster is out of prison. Val Valenty arranged the parole, and now the onetime prizefighter and boxing coach is his puppet, breaking his back on Valenty''s farm in exchange for a pittance. But Valenty is about to find out that boxing men never take orders without a scrap. The trouble begins when Webster meets Valenty''s wife. A barrel-shaped woman whose extreme weight makes her old before her time, Holly stays fat on Valenty''s cooking—meat, potatoes, and endless gravy. Webster puts her on a diet, slimming her down the way he would train an over-the-hill pro in search of a comeback. But as her waistline shrinks and her beauty emerges, Valenty gets jealous—putting them on course for a bloody confrontation where only the hungry will survive. This gritty, surprising tale comes from the acclaimed author of Double Indemnity and Mildred Pierce—a writer with "an empathy for losers and society''s lost souls" ( Quad-City Times). Praise for James M. Cain''s fiction "Cain is one novelist who has something to teach just about any writer, and delight just about any reader." —Anne Rice, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Interview with a Vampire "Entertaining and cleverly plotted." — The New York Times

For the love of a beautiful waitress, a meat salesman will turn butcher in this crime thriller by "one of the greats of American noir" ( The Guardian). Clay Lockwood. is a top distributing executive with Grant''s Meats, and the contract with the Portico restaurant chain is only the latest in a long line of boardroom coups. He arrives at the Portico for lunch, and eats his fill of his company''s beef, but leaves with an entirely different hunger gnawing at his gut—a volcanic passion that will tear him apart. Lockwood is mesmerized by hostess Sally Alexis, a magician''s wife. She rebuffs his first pass, but calls him up later.... Although Sally''s marriage is miserable, she won''t leave her husband in order to secure an inheritance for her little boy. And as the lovers get closer, Lockwood becomes an amateur illusionist himself, focusing on one very particular deadly trick—how to make a magician disappear. "James M. Cain is one novelist who has something to teach just about any writer, and delight just about any reader." —Anne Rice, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Interview with a Vampire

A collection of hardboiled crime fiction from the author of Double Indemnity, “one of the greats of American noir” (The Guardian). They call him Lucky—but he’s never had a lucky day in his life. A nineteen-year-old hobo just starting to ride the rails, he is hiding in the coal car when the railroad detective comes through. They get into a scuffle, and Lucky’s hand finds a railroad spike. . . . “Dead Man” is just one of the outstanding stories in this collection by the author renowned for insightful and exciting crime stories. Hailed as a “poet of the tabloid murder” by legendary critic Edmund Wilson and a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, James M. Cain, understood fear in all its forms—and knew better than anyone the terror of a killer on the run. This volume includes: “The Baby in the Icebox” • “Pay-Off Girl” • “Two o’Clock Blonde” • “The Birthday Party” * “Brush Fire” • “Coal Black” • “Career in C Major” • “Death on the Beach” • “Dead Man” • “The Girl in the Storm” • “Joy Ride to Glory” • “Pastorale” • “Mommy’s a Barfly” • “The Taking of Montfaucon” • “Cigarette Girl” • “The Robbery” • “Blackmail”

A szikár és dísztelen történet főhőse, Frank Chambers egy egyszerű csavargó. Kóborlása közben betér egy útszéli, poros fogadóba Kaliforniában. A tulajdonos, Nick Papadakis éppen segítséget keres, és ott marasztalja Franket. A férfi nem annyira a biztos jövedelem, mint inkább Nick felesége, Cora miatt fogadja el az állást. ***Rövid évődés után egymáséi is lesznek, és elhatározzák, hogy megölik az útjukban álló férjet. A merénylet, amelyet balesetnek akarnak álcázni, valóban balesetbe torkollik: Cora éppen fejbe vágja a kádban ülő Nicket, amikor kimegy a biztosíték, és a hirtelen támadt sötétben a vízbe fojtás elmarad. A férjnek csak megreped a koponyája, és később ő maga is úgy emlékszik az esetre, hogy megcsúszott a fürdőszobában. Frank és Cora útjai egy rövid időre elválnak, és amikor ismét találkoznak, újabb "baleset" történik, melyből Nick már nem menekülhet meg... "www.kello.hu © minden jog fenntartva"

Al llegar a un deprimente restaurante de carretera, Frank Chambers descubre que allí vive Cora. Él nunca hubiera imaginado que existían mujeres a las que se podía desear tan desesperadamente. La intensa atracción entre ambos solo topa con un enorme obstáculo: el marido de Cora, que también es propietario del negocio.

Séduit par la troublante Phyllis Dietrichson, l''agent d''assurance Walter Neff conspire avec elle le meurtre de son mari après lui avoir fait signer une police prévoyant une indemnité pharaonique en cas de mort accidentelle. Évidemment, la compagnie d''assurance va suspecter la fraude, mais Walter et Phyllis sont intelligents, déterminés et totalement sans scrupules. Le crime parfait existe-t-il ? Peut-on vraiment échapper à une vie rangée pour éprouver le grand frisson aux côtés d''une femme fatale ? Un roman qui fit scandale avant d''être à l''origine de l''un des plus grands films noirs de tous les temps.

Doris heeft er spijt van dat ze na haar huwelijk haar zangcarrière heeft opgegeven. Na jaren van eentonige huishoudelijke taken besluit ze om nog één poging te wagen om operazangeres te worden, ook al moet ze alles opgeven om haar droom te verwezenlijken. Haar echtgenoot, een aannemer, staat recht achter haar, maar heeft nog geen idee dat het echte muzikale talent van het gezin niet Doris is, maar hijzelf. James M. Cain (1892 - 1977) was een Amerikaans romanschrijver, scenarist en journalist. Hij was een van de bekendste schrijvers van hard-boiledromans, waarvan er ook verschillende verfilmd werden.

Texte intégral révisé suivi d''une biographie de James M. Cain. Chômeur, Frank Chambers trouve un emploi dans un relais routier dirigé par un couple. Il devient l''amant de la femme, qui le pousse à tuer son mari. Premier roman de James M. Cain, "Le facteur sonne toujours deux fois" est l''histoire de cette relation fatale et de ce crime racontés à la première personne par Frank Chambers après sa condamnation, alors qu''il attend son exécution. Un style apparemment objectif -- qui fut comparé à celui d''Ernest Hemingway -- donne à ce polar très noir, où dominent violence et sexualité, un ton tout à fait particulier. Albert Camus déclarera plus tard s''en être inspiré pour "L''Étranger". À l''époque, James M. Cain fut poursuivi en justice pour obscénité mais le livre est aujourd''hui classé parmi les meilleurs romans policiers de tous les temps et a été plusieurs fois porté à l''écran, notamment par Luchino Visconti ("Ossessione"), Tay Garnett (avec Lana Turner et John Garfield) et Bob Rafelson (avec Jessica Lange et Jack Nicholson).

Seventeen gripping tales from one of the toughest authors in the history of crime fiction They call him Lucky-but he has never had a lucky day in his life. A nineteen-year-old hobo just starting to ride the rails, he is hiding in the coal car when the railroad detective comes through. They get into a scuffle, and Lucky''s hand finds a railroad spike. Before he knows it, he has smashed the investigator''s head and shoved him out of the car. If he hurries, if he''s lucky, he will get back to Los Angeles in time to establish an alibi, burn his clothes, and avoid the electric chair. But as Lucky will discover, the deadliest threat is lurking within his own mind. "Dead Man" is just one of the outstanding stories included in this volume. The author of some of the most hard-boiled prose ever written, James M. Cain understood fear in all its forms-and knew better than anyone the terror of a killer on the run. "Nobody else has ever quite pulled it off the way Cain does, not Hemingway, and not even Raymond Chandler. Cain is a master of the change of pace." -Tom Wolfe "A poet of the tabloid murder." -Edmund Wilson "No one has ever stopped reading in the middle of one of Jim Cain''s books." -The Saturday Review of Literature James M. Cain (1892-1977) was one of the most important authors in the history of crime fiction. Born in Maryland, he became a journalist after giving up on a childhood dream of singing opera. After two decades writing for newspapers in Baltimore, New York, and the army-and a brief stint as the managing editor of the New Yorker-Cain moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s. While writing for the movies, he turned to fiction, penning the novella The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934). This tightly wound tale of passion, murder, and greed became one of the most controversial bestsellers of its day, and remains one of the foremost examples of American noir writing. It set the tone for Cain''s next few novels, including Serenade (1937), Mildred Pierce (1941), Double Indemnity (1943), and The Butterfly (1947). Several of his books became equally successful noir films, particularly the classic 1940s adaptations of Mildred Pierce and Double Indemnity. Cain moved back to Maryland in 1948. Though he wrote prolifically until his death, Cain remains most famous for his early work.

DIVDIVFrom a famous tough-guy writer, a collection of shockingly funny stories/divDIV Ever since she got married, Doris has regretted giving up her singing career. After years of domestic drudgery, she decides to take one last crack at becoming an opera singer, even if it means sacrificing everything for the sake of her dream. Her contractor husband is fully supportive, having no idea that the family’s true musical genius isn’t Doris—it’s him./divDIV In this and other stories in Career in C Major, James M. Cain shows off a light comedic touch that will surprise readers who are familiar only with his crime novels The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity. But Cain had been publishing funny stories, articles, and satire since his early days as a reporter for H. L. Mencken’s Baltimore Sun, and was just as comfortable writing about singers as he was about killers. This collection of Cain’s lighter work shows that if an author is tough it doesn’t mean he can’t crack a smile./divDIV/div/div

A collection of stories, both early and late, that show how Mystery Writers of America Grand Master James M. Cain made his name There is a hungry tiger loose in the house, and that is not good news for anyone. A jealous husband let the animal out of his cage hoping he would eat his wife alive, but tigers aren’t used to taking orders. This jungle cat will get his meal, and he doesn’t care where it comes from. “The Baby in the Icebox” begins with a murdered wildcat and ends with a dead human—and what comes in between is some of the most striking prose James M. Cain ever put to paper. It is one of the first stories this master of crime fiction ever wrote, and it shows all the hallmarks of the novels that would later make him famous—namely Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. The tales in this collection are short, but Cain never needed more than a few pages to thrill.

A Union army invalid meets a comely Louisiana rebel and never looks back The Union has captured New Orleans, and Bill Cresap has come to reap the profits. A school friend has a line on some easy money, and Cresap is eager to turn carpetbagger. But when he lands in the Crescent City, still nursing a leg wound from Chancellorsville, he finds that his friend has vanished and taken their start-up capital with him. Just when despair threatens to overpower him, Mignon Fournet arrives to overwhelm him instead. A Creole widow with rebel sympathies and hopeful eyes, she has come to Cresap in desperate need. The army has arrested her father and she will do whatever it takes to find out where he’s detained and what he’s charged with. She begs Cresap to use his army connections to find him. Cresap soon discovers that Mignon’s father shipped supplies to the Confederate commander; he could pay for treason with his life. Dazzled by the flirtatious Mignon, Cresap agrees to help free him. Although the veteran’s army days are behind him, his war is just starting to heat up.

Stattdessen: eine Story mit Hand und Fuss, so schnörkellos heruntererzählt, wie das eben nur die ganz Grossen gekonnt haben. Und wenn einer dazugehört hat, dann war das doch wohl dieser James M. Cain, oder? ''Übersetzer sind gewöhnlich nur dann an der Reihe, wenn sie eins auf die Mütze bekommen müssen. Was ja leider viel zu oft der Fall ist. Das Duo (Simone Salitter und Gunter Blank), das hier am Werk war, darf dafür mal richtig gelobt werden. Die beiden treffen Cains Ton genau." CulturMag James M. Cain wurde am 1. Juli 1892 in Annapolis, Maryland geboren und wuchs in Chestertown, Maryland auf. Neben dem Schreiben von Romanen verfasste er auch Drehbücher in Hollywood. Berühmt wurde er durch die Romane "Wenn der Postmann zweimal klingelt" und "Doppelte Abfindung", die mehrfach verfilmt wurden.