Shanghai Flame / Counterspy Express - by A S Fleischman (Paperback)

About the Book

Two fast-paced, cinematic thrillers from the 1950s. Shanghai Flame is set in the newly-established Communist China and involves a newspaperman who is trying to rescue a former-lover. Counterspy Express is a race across Europe as a U.S. spy is tries to locate a defecting Russian scientist before the Reds catch up with him first.

Book Synopsis

SHANGHAI FLAME

Alex Cloud knows he's being followed. He only has a short period of time to find Flame and bring her back to the ship in order to leave Shanghai alive. China has turned Red, and an American newspaperman's life has turned worthless. Dodging from one risky situation to the next, Cloud runs into Haigmann, a canny middle-man who seems to think Cloud has something of value. Eventually Cloud finds Flame, but she wants nothing to do with him. Undaunted, he's sworn to get her out of Shanghai, but now finds himself carrying a lethal pack of cards with a microfilm of names glued into them. Now they're both on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of the spies and thieves who want that film--ready and willing to kill anyone to get it.

COUNTERSPY EXPRESS

"Don't get ... mixed up with a woman. My mistake..." The dying words of Jim Cabot's European contact ring in his ears as finds himself being trailed by one woman and tempted by another. His mission is to locate Borsilov, a defected Russian scientist. His predecessor, Max Becker, died trying. And already Cabot has been knocked senseless and his life threatened by two gunmen as he tries to track down the missing scientist. Behind the threats is an Italian Red named Major Racasoli. Pitted against them all is an English opportunist, Sydney Jardine, who wants to sell Borsilov to the highest bidder. But those dying words of warning mean nothing to Cabot now, because he has met Pia--and all bets are off.

Review Quotes

"The kind of book that's increasingly difficult to find these days-the pure adventure thriller written for the fun of it."-Steve Lewis, Mystery*File on Shanghai Flame "Exotica noir!"-Bill Cunningham, Amazon.com "[Fleischman] doesn't waste any time dropping the reader right into the middle of the action... highly recommended." -James Reasoner, Rough Edges