Epitaph for a Spy

Actually, six-and-a-half.

I enjoy Eric Ambler. Writes good English thrillers and and have just read this spy thriller. Delivered on time. Good condition. Thank you.

Eric Amblers has a trick of the trade: An amateur in matters of detection or espionage is made to stumble into a situation, where he has to prove his wit, sometimes his intelligence but always his courage in uncovering secret plots or, after having discovered the hidden scheme, in escaping from those who wish to again cover up what has been brought into the open. In most novels, the hero is not alone but will be supported by others who themselves are deep into the shady business. There are variations to this theme in Eric Amblers novels. The heroes may have more or less wit, more or less courage, more or less drive, more or less support.In the present novel the hero is out on his own. Suspected as a Gestapo agent while spending hard earned holidays in a remote hotel on the Riviera, the hero, Josef Vadassy, a Hungarian refugee and impecunious language teacher, is turned into a weapon against the hidden spy among the small community of the hotel. But what a blunt weapon he soon turns out to be. Detection and (counter-)espionage are not amateur's business, as Vadassy quickly discovers. His various attempts at uncovering the spy are fruitless and make him an almost ridiculous character. But so are the others: Two Americans, brother and sister, who have a story of their own to tell (but avoid doing so), a cheerful Swiss couple of no obvious depth which has a deep purpose of its own, a shy German who could be traitor or betrayed, a Monsieur Duclos who might be a comic character on the surface but something else below, the hotel manager with a past of his own, the police and its undisclosed scheme, and all the others among whom one must be the real spy.When at the end the real spy has been discovered and is killed, a story of mostly humorous confusion comes to an almost unexpected end. All the twists and turns along the way are not the result of careful thinking and scheming but appear as chance events which, with more circumspection on the part of the actors, might have lead on to a very different outcome. When the knot is eventually untied some things turn out well, but not all ends well: Among all those betraying or betrayed some will get what they deserve, others will escape lucky, but for some the end of the story is their personal doom. History, in this case the impending Second World War, is always there in the background, and not just to add colour and drive to the book: It is very real and in its consequences very sad for some of the characters.The very Aristotelian focus of the novel on a few days in a single location with a small cast of characters is reminiscent of much of Agatha Christie's writing. But there is more colour to the characters, more humour to the narrative and more real background in history to the story than in any of her novels. And unlike the super sleuths of Christie we are here looking at a story where chance and amusing stupidity do more to uncover the secrets than wit and intelligence. The story is no less captivating for this. It is all the more human.

An atmospheric, gripping story with almost all the necessary ingredients for a thoroughly enjoyable spy yarn set in wartime Europe. If you are an Eric Ambler fan, this is as typical as it gets .

This is an entertaining early Ambler with his stock plot at that time of the hapless innocent surrounded by villains with their own nefarious intentions.Vadassy, a language teacher, stays in a hotel in the south of France. By chance he picks up the wrong suitcase and a plot is born, because it belongs to a spy. He's arrested and agrees to become a police informer. It is very dangerous and very much an Agatha Christie type mystery-who are the villains? We only find out at the end as you may imagine. It is written with the usual Ambler word economy and I enjoyed it.