They Don't Make Them Like That Any More - James Leasor

‘Devoured at a sitting… racy, pungent and swift’ — The Sunday TimesA car worth killing for. A secret buried since Berlin fell.When the sharp-tongued proprietor of Aristo Autos is offered a rare 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K, he knows he has found the deal of a lifetime. Then his prospective buyer dies. The car’s elderly owner is found dead. And the Mercedes disappears. Unwilling to surrender either his investment or his curiosity, the vintage-car dealer sets off in pursuit. With the enigmatic Sara Greatheart beside him and some exceedingly dangerous men close behind, the trail leads from a London mews through France and Spain to Geneva—and back to unfinished business from the final days of Nazi Germany. Fast, funny and driven by James Leasor’s near-encyclopaedic knowledge of the world’s great motor cars, They Don’t Make Them Like That Any More is a classic European caper-thriller with a deadly mystery beneath the bonnet. First published in 1969, this is an unfiltered novel of its era: irreverent, politically incorrect and alive with language and attitudes that may offend modern readers.A note on this editionThis novel was written in the 1960s and reflects the language, attitudes and sexual politics of its period. Some elements may jar with modern readers and have been retained as part of the book’s historical character. Although the story is told through a distinctly male—and frequently self-deluding—perspective, its women are resourceful, independent and very often retain the upper hand.