Bøger udgivet af Bruin Books, LLC

Back in print at last is Dr. Mabuse. This extremely rare English translation of the Norbert Jacques novel appeared only once in 1923 and then was lost for decades. And what a fantastic find it is! Molded as much by legendary film director Fritz Lang as by novelist Norbert Jacques, Dr. Mabuse remains one of the more enigmatic figures in crime fiction and cinema. Created between the Great War and World War II, he became an embodiment of the rising Nazi Party and the disintegration of Germany's Weimar Republic. The parallels were so close between Hitler and Mabuse that Lang's first two Mabuse films were banned in Germany by Joseph Goebbels' propaganda machine. There is a broad streak of the weird running through the Dr. Mabuse legacy. Is he an evil genius-a mere mortal with a malignant bent, or is he a demon spirit who carries on the dark crusade long after the human avatar is destroyed by his own maniacal ambitions? The plot is wickedly simple. Dr. Mabuse has a mad dream to create his own personal empire in Brazil, an empire called Citopomar. In Citopomar he can rule without constraint. He can be a god! . . . but even a god requires some start-up cash, so he regrettably returns to his hated Europe to raise funds by any criminal means necessary. Why make money when you can steal it? Why merely cheat somebody at cards when you can control their hand through telepathic hypnosis? Why be just another common criminal when you can be an evil genius mastermind bent on world domination? Man or devil, he is a prototype super-villain whose sinister incantations still resonate in fiction and film today. Fascinating parallels can be found in Ian Fleming's first James Bond outing, Casino Royale. In that novel, bad boy Le Chiffre trolls the high-roller casinos to fund his schemes and even dares to embezzle from SMERSH in order to fund his human trafficking pipeline. Le Chiffre is yet another reincarnation of Dr. Mabuse. Bruin Asylum is proud to announce the resurrection of Dr. Mabuse by Norbert Jacques. English translation by Lillian A. Clare.

Welcome to a little soirée that's long overdue: a celebration of the life and work of Hugh Walpole. Immensely popular in the first half of the twentieth century, Hugh Walpole was a prolific bestselling author who was equally adept at historical fiction, thrillers, the supernatural and macabre, and children's literature. A protégé of Henry James and appreciated by Joseph Conrad, Virginia Wolf, T. S. Eliot and John Buchan-to name a few, Walpole was a natural storyteller who inspired many young writers of the day. Volume I of WALPOLE'S FANTASTIC TALES contains three novels that share similar themes and settings: the British school experience (bullying), psychological suspense, the wild Cornish coastline, murder and the macabre. Walpole's character development, dialogue and description of the natural setting are so spot-on and engaging that the reader feels physically joined to the narrative. Volume I contains a trio of novels: THE KILLER AND THE SLAIN-a novel of possession and betrayal; MR. PERRIN AND MR. TRAILL-a biting story of school rivalry that leads to murderous intensions; and, finally, THE PRELUDE TO ADVENTURE, a psychological masterpiece about philosophy, God and the consequences of murder. Although he is virtually unknown to general reading public today, once read, Walpole is sure to become a favorite author to anyone who encounters his work. He is a lost treasure. Multiple Volumes of WALPOLE'S FANTASTIC TALES will follow, but Volume I has plenty to satisfy the curious for the time being. Introduction by Jonathan Eeds.

FEELS LIKE RAIN is the largest collection of Edward Anderson's fiction and true crime writing ever assembled. For a period of about three years Edward Anderson's writing garnered the attention of the highest literary circles. He quickly moved from pulp fiction to literature with a natural sort of ease, a self-assurance that can only be called brilliant. His authentic stories of dustbowl drifters captured the times in perfect pitch. He was the inheritor of London, brethren to Steinbeck. His work appeared side by side with Faulkner, Wolfe and Katherine Ann Porter. He was compared to Hemmingway by literary critics of the day and was lured by Hollywood like so many other hot talents. His voice was a proletariat spark, an igniter for the masses. Anderson presumed to speak for his generation, the Starvation Army whose faces were gaunt as skulls and whose ribcages, when stripped of their tattered coverings, looked like xylophones hung from boney rails. Just as he found his voice, his narrative, his landscape and the people who would populate it, his artistic output inexplicably fizzled. It was as if all the creative juices had been squeezed out of him. Most of the work he left behind can be found in this single volume, It Feels Like Rain. Today Anderson is primarily remembered as a crime writer (the great Raymond Chandler considered Thieves Like Us the best bandit novel ever written, ) but it is time to give him his due and afford him his proper place in the halls of American literature. Edward Anderson's earthy, naturalistic style, his humanist approach and focus on social issues, places him the company of our finest writers. Introduction by Jonathan Eeds. FEELS LIKE RAIN is illustrated with artwork and photographs evocative of the 1930's.

One of the best crime novels of the 50's, and a sublime example of American Noir, is BLACK WINGS HAS MY ANGEL by Elliott Chaze, whose earlier war novel, THE STAINLESS STEEL KIMONO, was much admired by Ernest Hemmingway. Chaze took the standard dime store crime novel and turned it into an edgy piece of literature. His use of complex sentences, long descriptive passages, and characters who continue to surprise us throughout the narrative prove that the American crime novel was capable of greater depths. The story follows the turbulent love affair of a pair of uprooted misfits, an ex-hooker and an ex-con, who are brought together by a mutual love of money. Adrift between the cracks of society, they form a bond that is less like love and more like fate. Left on their own they would have led lives of criminal mischief, misdemeanor and petty crime, but together, embarking on a dark journey across the American landscape, they create absolute mayhem.

All-star athlete Harry Wilde retreats to a remote rural village to escape the pain of a failed marriage and the recent loss of the national basketball championship. Seeking only peace of mind, he soon finds himself entangled in an intense and demeaning love affair with a strange and sullen woman whose primal power holds control over his most basic desires. Unable to stop himself from wandering down a path of darkness, the only thing that will save him is his instinct for survival. With its menacing undercurrents of psychological tor-ment, HOUSE OF FLESH crosses the boundaries of crime fiction and strays into the murkier depths of horror. This landmark crime novel is available again for the first time in many years.

Although DELIVER ME FROM EVA opens with the breeziness of a mystery/romance novel typical for the 1930's & 40's, it quickly descends into a tale of madness and depravity. Mark Allard, a young lawyer with bright prospects, has just married Eva. It was a whirlwind romance and following the nuptials he finds that he knows very little about his bride. After an all too brief honeymoon in San Francisco, Mark drives Eva to her family's estate in Pasadena so that he can meet his new in-laws. Mark is instantly struck by the cool, beguiling beauty of Thalamus. Expecting a pleasant weekend, he instead finds himself prisoner of a clan of brilliant New Age whackos who seek eternal enlightenment through addictive chiropractics. At turns grotesque, unpredictable and darkly humorous, DELIVER ME FROM EVA is regarded as one of the best horror/ crime novels of the 20th Century. It is a non-stop, head-spinning, cover-to-cover read.

Prester John is an exceptionally entertaining example of an early 20th century adventure story. Its hero is a young Scotsman who travels to South Africa to make his fortune. Expecting to settle down to a quiet life as a storekeeper, he instead finds himself embroiled in a hotbed of social unrest and violence. Part mystery, part travelogue, part spy novel, part treasure hunt, it has all the makings of a crackling good read. It is firm proof that John Buchan (The Thirty-Nine Steps, Green-mantle, and so many other novels of intrigue) remains a storyteller of the first order. Prester John is a thrilling story, full of daring heroes and wondrous villains-a forgotten gem of early 20th Century literature.

Written late in his career and while at the height of his powers, KNOCK-THREE-ONE-TWO is Fredric Brown's tour de force of suspense. Taking place over the span of a single evening, we find a city enflamed by fear. A serial killer is on the loose, and while the maniac ties the city into knots, the lives of ordinary citizens are drawn into an inescapable spiral of greed and chance. Brown, purveyor of the surprise ending, does not disappoint. Step now into a world of shadow and anxiety. You need only knock 3-1-2.

James Hadley Chase (René Brabazon Raymond) was born in London in 1906 and started his career as a bookseller. With the aid of a dictionary of American slang and reference books on the American underworld he wrote his first novel, NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH, over six weekends. The book achieved remarkable popularity and became one of the best-sold books of the decade. FLESH OF THE ORCHID is a wild, thrill-ride of a sequel to NO ORCHIDS. Taking up the story 22 years later, the central figure is once again a Blandish girl, but Carol Blandish is not the helpless victim that her mother was. Indeed, she is a volatile blend of simmering sexuality, strained innocence and hair-trigger cruelty. Her explosive outbursts of savage violence make her a force to be reckoned with. Escaping from a mental institute during a raging storm, and definitely off her meds, Carol Blandish is soon pursued by a seedy cast of characters who all want a piece of the Blandish fortune. The novel bristles with crazy plot twists, edge-of-the-seat suspense and intriguing low-life's who mix it up for an immensely enjoyable read.