Kek Huuygens, Smuggler

Robert L. Fish

abr 2015 · The Kek Huuygens Mysteries Libro 5 · Open Road Media

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When you need something stolen, smuggled, or made to disappear, Kek Huuygens is your man

In the aftermath of World War II, young couples stroll through Brussels, but they do not speak of love. Instead, they might talk about papers, passports, or relocation—and most of all, they speak of currency. As Europe rebuilds itself, fortunes are made and lost in hours, and money is worthless until it is converted into dollars.
 
When Kek Huuygens, a Polish-born smuggler lurking among the Brussels cocktail set, hears that a wealthy industrialist is desperate to convert $5 million of Belgian francs into American currency, he offers to help. For $1 million, he will liberate the man’s fortune. All the magnate has to do is let Kek steal it.
 
In these seven elegant short stories, Kek battles customs agents and police across Western Europe. For this dapper Pole, there is no object too large to smuggle—so long as the price is right.

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Robert L. Fish, the youngest of three children, was born on August 21, 1912, in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the local schools in Cleveland and went to Case University (now Case Western Reserve), from which he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. He married Mamie Kates, also from Cleveland, and together they have two daughters. Fish worked as a civil engineer, traveling and moving throughout the United States. In 1953 he was asked to set up a plastics factory in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He and his family moved to Brazil, where they remained for nine years. He played golf and bridge in the little spare time he had. One rainy weekend in the late 1950s, when the weather prohibited him from playing golf, he sat down and wrote a short story that he submitted to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. When the story was accepted, Fish continued to write short stories. In 1962 he returned to the United States; he took one year to write full time and then returned to engineering and writing. His first novel, The Fugitive, won an Edgar Award for Best First Mystery. When his health prevented him from pursuing both careers, Fish retired from engineering and spent his time writing. His published works include more than forty books and countless short stories. Mute Witness was made into a movie starring Steve McQueen.
 
Fish died February 23, 1981, at his home in Connecticut. Each year at the annual Mystery Writers of America dinner, a memorial award is presented in his name for the best first short story. This is a fitting tribute, as Fish was always eager to assist young writers with their craft.