Peril Is My Pay continues Stephen Marlowe's gripping Chester Drum detective series, thrusting the hardboiled private eye into a world where danger is not the exception but the wage he earns for every case. Drum, known for his sardonic wit and relentless determination, once again finds himself navigating a labyrinth of treachery, international intrigue, and personal risk. In this installment, Drum's investigation leads him far beyond the comfort zones of ordinary detective work and into a perilous web of espionage, blackmail, and high-stakes crime. Marlowe's prose, taut and fast-paced, propels the narrative through shadowed back alleys and glittering foreign capitals, where Drum is forced to confront both ruthless criminals and the darker corners of his own conscience. The novel epitomizes what made Marlowe's work stand out: the seamless merging of traditional pulp detective tropes with Cold War anxieties, producing a story that feels both timelessly noir and uniquely tied to its era. Violence, deception, and moral compromise abound, yet Drum's unwavering code of honor drives him through the chaos. Peril Is My Pay is noir fiction at its leanest and most urgent—a reminder of why Stephen Marlowe's Chester Drum novels carved out their own corner in the pulp tradition, offering readers a heady mix of action, style, and substance.