PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Eric Ambler (1909-98) was one of the most fascinating British writers of the late 1930s. His novels retain a remarkable sense of the dread and terror that filled Europe as world war broke out. Some were made into films (not least Orson Welles' superb version of Journey into Fear), all were bestsellers, inventing a new, more realistic form of spy novel, where the main protagonist is not so much a hero as a victim, pursued by malevolent Fascist forces of overwhelming power. These are paranoid stories, but written at a time when paranoia was disturbingly close to common sense.
A genuine classic The Times If you want to experience the feel of the Continent in the 1930s, you will find few better guides -- Robert Harris A sly variation on the traditional English country-house murder mystery Guardian An uncommonly good story of international intrigue Atlantic Unquestionably our best thriller writer -- Graham Greene The source on which we all draw -- John le Carre
