---
product_id: 45710930
title: "Fifty-to-One (Hard Case Crime Novels)"
brand: "charles ardai"
price: "KD 4.50"
currency: KWD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.com.kw/products/45710930-fifty-to-one-hard-case-crime-novels
store_origin: KW
region: Kuwait
---

# Fifty-to-One (Hard Case Crime Novels)

**Brand:** charles ardai
**Price:** KD 4.50
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Fifty-to-One (Hard Case Crime Novels) by charles ardai
- **How much does it cost?** KD 4.50 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.kw](https://www.desertcart.com.kw/products/45710930-fifty-to-one-hard-case-crime-novels)

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- charles ardai enthusiasts

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## Description

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![Fifty-to-One (Hard Case Crime Novels) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Nb4pPEN2L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Terrific Fun Pulp
  

*by D***E on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2013*

Fifty To One by Charles ArdaiTo celebrate the publication of Hard Case Crime's fiftieth book, Ardai, the erstwhile founder of Hard Case Crime and author in his own right, decided to write a pulp novel that paid homage to all of the previous forty-nine books Hard Case Crime had already published.  He also decided to pay homage to the some of the masters of pulp fiction by including them in some manner in his book.  The result is a book that is part tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek parody and part terrific pulp novel.  It is hard enough to do one of these and no one knows how hard to do both of these things at once.  Hats off to Ardai for successfully pulling this clever feat off and writing a truly thrilling tale that was extremely hard to put down until one reached the end.This is the third Ardai book that I have read in the last two weeks, the previous two having been published under his pen name Richard Aleas.  I wholeheartedly recommend all three of these books to the pulp reader (Little Girl Lost, Songs of Innocence, and Fifty To One).  Besides terrific covers and terrific writing, what do these three have in common?  Ardai focuses all of these stories on a young, innocent small-town hick as his protagonist.  This young innocent hick comes to big bad New York City and encounters strippers and mobsters and, with the entire city seemingly against this protagonist, solves a deepening mystery.This book (Fifty To One) opens with Patricia Heverstadt arriving from South Dakota with two suitcases and a typewriter out to follow her older sister's footsteps in New York City.  Of course, her sister tells her to go home and, within moments of arriving, she is conned out of most of her funds by some sharp talking New Yorker.  She, still carrying her bags, follows the address on the business card left her by the con artist to an office building where she auditions for a dancing part.  Having no money left, she asks the producers for an advance and they give her a place to stay in the "Chateau," which turns out to be a converted office next door with bunks for a dozen would-be starlets.  Trixie, as she now calls herself, finds no other than her con man on the same floor and he is none other than "Charlie" who is running a new publishing house, Hard Case Crime and is also running from a beating by none other than Mickey Spillane.  Could "Charlie" be an alter ego for Charles Ardai?  Hard to tell.In addition to her dancing career (at a club run by mobsters, of course), it seems Trixie is an aspiring novelist who writes a novel (using the pen name "anonymous") telling the story about a how a famous mobster is robbed of $3 million.  Since truth is always stranger than fiction, it turns out that the mobster was actually robbed of $3 million and, of course, Trixie is the prime suspect since she bragged about it in her book.With that as a backdrop, Ardai takes the reader on a journey through late fifties New York and pits Trixie and Charlie against a mobster determined to get his money back.Ardai had a little fun with this one, throwing in odd bits of parody throughout the book.  He also named each chapter after a Hard Case Crime book.  The title refers not just to the book's number within the ranks of Hard Case publishing history, but also to a card game that a mobster likes to play.  One card is removed from the deck and the odds are fifty-to-one that the player can now guess the top card.  Guess it and maybe you live a little longer.  Fail to guess it and there might be a new bullet hole in your chest.It's a great fun novel to read in and of itself and the bits of parody that Ardai throws in actually do not take away from the finished product.  I really enjoyed reading this one.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Ardai Strikes Again
  

*by R***Z on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 11, 2011*

The premise suggests a gimmick.  Charles Ardai, renowned crime novelist and publisher of the Hard Case Crime series, wants to celebrate the fiftieth publication in the series.  He toys with the idea of a collection of short stories by the series' authors but instead decides to write a novel with fifty chapters, each using the title of one of the fifty novels (in sequence) in the series.This results in certain challenges, particularly with regard to plot and tone.  The bottom line, however, is that the chapter titles are cute and fun, but do not really shape the book.  The book stands on its own merits and it's a veritable gem.Paricia Heverstadt, aka Trixie, aka Tricia, has come to New York from South Dakota, following her sister Coral.  Coral has found work as a dancer and so does Tricia.  Discovering that she works for a Gotham criminal she also encounters Charles Borden, erstwhile publisher of `Hard Case Crime' books as well as some cash cow pornography.  He's looking for material and Tricia supplies a heist novel, the mark being her crime-family boss.  Then, lo and behold, it happens that the heist has actually been pulled off and Tricia's being threatened by `Uncle Nick', the crime boss as well as a host of subsidiary characters she encounters in her attempts to elude Nick, find the stolen swag, free her captured sister and her potential partner, Charles Borden and . . . well, you get the point.This is a breakneck romp, a tour of Gotham with lots of blood and lots of smiles.  One of the high points occurs at Aqueduct, where Tricia--good girl of the northern plains that she is--escapes the bad guys on a race horse which she promptly rides through the not so mean streets of Queens.Maintaining the balance between suspense, violence and lighthearted humor is the real challenge here, not the chapter titles, and Ardai succeeds beautifully.  One of the jacket blurbs suggests that the best writer in Ardai's (aka Richard Aleas) stable is Ardai himself.  That may just be true, but he's also enough of a pro here to feature a cameo appearance by Block and Westlake, two of his star authors.  Their appearance comes at just the right moment and in just the right, unanticipated fashion.Fifty-To-One is longer than the vast majority of Hard Case Crime novels and every page is a delight.  This is a don't miss.  And Charles--thanks for the series; how about a sequel for Tricia?

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A beautiful blending of comedy and mystery
  

*by W***G on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 21, 2009*

Not normally my genre of choice, I was pleasantly surprised in reading this mystery. There are quite a few comments that will discuss the author's ability to expertly tie in all the themes from the other 49 novels.  The story has lots of twists and turns.  I actually think the author - a male - did an amazing job at creating a very believable, spunky, incredibly likable female heroine.However, what makes this really different is that the book itself actually succeeds as a comedy. There is a certain wit that charms the reader and has him smiling and intrigued throughout this piece.  It is an easy read without being brainless, which is really not that easy to pull off.  For someone who normally is not thrilled about mysteries, this one is quite digestible.If you're considering this book, go ahead and go for it. You get a mystery and comedy rolled into one.

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*Product available on Desertcart Kuwait*
*Store origin: KW*
*Last updated: 2026-03-06*