Death on the Riviera

Book excerpt: Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder "There are occasional splashes of witty dialogue and luscious descriptions of the French Riviera; also, every suspect has at least one guilty secret." —Publishers Weekly When a counterfeit currency racket comes to light on the French Riviera, Detective Inspector Meredith is sent speeding southwards—out of the London murk to the warmth and glitter of the Mediterranean. Along with Inspector Blampignon—an amiable policeman from Nice—Meredith must trace the whereabouts of Chalky Cobbett, crook and forger. Soon their interest centres on the Villa Paloma, the residence of Nesta Hedderwick, an eccentric Englishwoman, and her bohemian house guests—among them her niece, an artist, and a playboy. Before long, it becomes evident that more than one of the occupants of the Villa Paloma has something to hide, and the stage is set for murder. This classic crime novel from 1952 evokes all the sunlit glamour of life on the Riviera, and combines deft plotting with a dash of humour. This is the first edition to have been published in more than sixty years and follows the rediscovery of Bude's long-neglected detective writing by the British Library.