Rene Raymond, known throughout the world under the pseudonym James Hadley Chase, came from the family of a retired British officer, and his father envisioned a career as a scientist for Rene. But at the age of 18, the future writer left his studies and left his parents’ home forever. He tried many professions before becoming a book distribution agent and thoroughly studying the book business from the inside. Chase subsequently recalled: “...I had to knock on a hundred thousand doors, and behind each of them I could meet any of the characters in my future novels...” Over the course of almost half a century of writing, Chase created about ninety novels that enjoyed constant success among readers in different countries , and about fifty of them were filmed.