Although core themes reappear throughout his novels, Eric Ambler’s approach to each thriller was by no means formulaic, with distinct characters, settings and unique framing devices to tell each story. Here are a selection of novels, all in a different style, to give you a suggestion of which one to read next.
Epitaph for a Spy is a country house mystery, set on the riviera, but rather than finding a murderer, they are catching a spy.
Journey into Fear is a ‘Death on the Nile’ style thriller.
Doctor Frigo is framed in a diary format which becomes increasingly telegraphic, abbreviated and cynical as the narrator hurtles into more dramatic situations.
Comedy thrillers The Light of Day and Dirty Story are told by an unreliable narrator, a criminal anti-hero, who finds himself precariously out of his depth.
The Mask of Dimitrios tells the story of a notorious criminal by way of a travelogue as the protagonist traces his steps, crisscrossing across Europe interviewing people he meets and piecing together his career through a series of anecdotes.
Passage of Arms is an inverted thriller: the reader watches the crime play out in front of them and witnesses the butterfly effect of an Indian man’s discovery of a cache of weapons and his attempts to sell them illegally.
The Intercom Conspiracy is perhaps the most unusual of all Ambler’s novels. It is framed as a collection of notes and interviews, recorded by the protagonist who has since ‘disappeared’. Ambler inserts himself into this novel as the compiler of these notes to leave ‘an authentic record’ of the story.
