Shock Treatment – James Hadley Chase

Edition Details:
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 128
Publication: Master Mind Books
ISBN:9788184680461
Series: Steve Harmas #4

Shock Treatment – James Hadley Chase

First Sentence: 
All this I am to tell you about could probably never have happened in any other town except Glyn Camp.

Terry Regan used to sell and service custom made Televisions in  Glyn Camp.Things were going pretty smooth for Terry until he was told about the Delany’s.

Delaney’s had newly settled in the town. Jack Delaney, the husband, was wheel chair bound and so Terry was told he might be interested in a Television to pass his time. Delaney had money to afford it. So,when Terry had gone to Blue Jay Cabin to meet Delany’s, he had only business in his mind.

But everything changed when he saw Gilda, Jack’s wife. He knew then that he had to have her.

The good thing was, the attraction seemed mutual. Gilda said she fell in love with Terry the moment she saw him. The bad thing was, Gilda was not willing to leave her husband as she felt it was she who was responsible for her husband’s present condition.

Terry knew he could not live without Gilda now and he also knew the only thing sitting between them was the wheel chair bound husband.

Why didn’t Gilda wanted to leave her husband? What did Terry had in his mind? 


Main Characters:
Terry Regan – Protagonist and narrator
Sheriff Jefferson- Sherriff at Glynn Camp
Doc Mallard – Only Doctor at Glynn Camp
Jack Delaney – A guy who had come to settle in a cabin near Blue Jay Lake
Gilda Delaney- Wife of Jack
Matt Lawson – An insurance agent
Lieutenant John Boos- La homicide squad
Joe Strickland- The coroner at Glyn Camp
Hamish – Writer who lived near Jack Delaney
Macklin- Jack’s lawyer
Steve Harmas – Detective at National Fidelity Insurance
Maddox – Head of claims Department
Henry Fuller – A rich seventy year old
Doctor Studdley – Jack’s Doctor
Maria – Delaney’s mexican Maid

Shock treatment is the fourth novel featuring Steve Harmas, a detective that works for National Fidelity Insuarance.  I didn’t knew this when i started reading this book and i don’t think it matters much as it’s an stand alone story plus it’s not a detective novel. The detection part does come but it’s not the main point in the story. The story is about Terry and his love for Gilda.

The book is an entertaining read. The story is being told by Terry Regan. We see through his eyes how the things happened and how did it ended. The story was very simple. I could guess what was going to happen in the end and i was not that wrong. I mean, if a woman tells you she fell in love with you the moment she saw you then that is something that  you need to stay away from. And if you don’t then you are responsible for the consequences.

The book has 128 pages and half of it is spent in the build up. This build up was interesting to read as we see how things came to be. But i think it could have been shortened. The plot picks up speed when Steve Harmas makes his entry and from there it becomes something which is hard to put down.

I liked Steve Harmas and Maddox’s characters a lot. I think i have read one or two novels featuring this duo but as it’s with most Chase novels  i tend to forget their titles. Anyways, the point here is that i liked these two characters and would definitely read more novels featuring them. There are six in total.

The rest of the characters were good.  I could see Terry was fool who couldn’t see what was being done with him. But i have met lovers like him. Infatuation does that to people. So what he was doing doesn’t seem outlandish.

The story is simple as i have told and may be laughable but it has been set in a place where it can be plausible. I think the author was aware of it and hence makes it clear in the the first sentence. This thing does make you appreciate him.

It was an entertaining read. There are few twists in the story which i didn’t saw them coming, so it surprised me there. The basic plot was predictable but it doesn’t matter much. The ending was class though, I loved it. It plants a seed of doubt in reader’s mind and there the author has left it so that the readers could make their own conclusions.

Once you have read or if you have already read the book then i would be interested in hearing what did you think about these two questions:

What had actually happened to Jack?
What had happened to Henry Fuller?

Some lines from the book that i liked:

Her eyes were big and as blue as forget-me-nots and there was that look in them that a man who is anything of a man,must react to, the way a fighting bull reacts when the matador flicks his cape in the moment of incitement.


A conscience is a torment prision than anything in the world.


When a man is in love with a woman as i was with Gilda I reckon he is a little out of his head.


If you have read this one then do tell me what did you thought about this. If you haven’t then you can get it from the following link:
Paperback

My rating: 3/5