Blonde's Requiem

James Hadley Chase is probably the best know synonym of René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, an English writer also known by other pen names, including James L. Docherty, Raymond Marshall, R. Raymond, and Ambrose Grant. He is one of the best known thriller writers of all time. He was influenced by American crime writes and writers of hardboiled pulp fiction, but he rarely visited the United States and the books are based on knowledge acquired by reading and using reference materials. He has written some 90 books, almost half of which have been made into movies.

In "Blonde’s Requiem," a private investigator is hired by an industrialist to find three missing girls; all blondes and all disappeared mysteriously. Their disappearances have become an election issue as the industrialist, an undertaker, and a gangster are all three aiming to become the next town’s mayor. To complicate things, a second private investigator is hired by the undertaker to look for the missing girls, and, while the two argue, another girl disappears. Now, it is time for the two to join efforts, solve the mystery, and prevent other disappearances.