The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler

 

"The afternoon heat had set the air above the concrete quivering and Latimer began to wish that he had not come. It was not the weather for visiting corrugated-iron mortuaries."

Perhaps being stuck in Sydney’s lockdown is what is making reading a little difficult for me at the moment. The brain is on high alert for the latest information, preoccupied by statistics and the daily risk analysis that feels completely overwhelming, pared with the ultimate frustrations of conducting business via virtual means. Reading a high stakes thriller seemed to prove an even greater challenge than finishing some other less fraught tomes and yet, dear reader, I persisted, and it was worth it.

Last night, I downed my glass of red with hearty abandon and headed for doona town population 1, accompanied by this old school thriller. While reading in fits and starts had lacked any semblance of excitement, a dedicated hour of reading flung this imprisoned misery guts off into a world of adventure. Detective novelist Latimer unexpectedly finds himself on the trail of a man named Dimitrios, after making the acquaintance of the police inspector Colonel Haki in Istanbul. Haki takes Latimer to the city morgue for a taste of real-life murder mysteries, showing him the body of the mysterious, eponymous, Dimitrios and like any good author, Latimer recognises the opportunity for a great book about the shadowy figure.

Following leads from Istanbul to Sofia, Geneva and Paris, Latimer’s travels are a welcome respite for this shut-in, but chock full of impending dread. Who can be believed? What sort of people is Latimer getting himself mixed up with? White Slavery, espionage, drug trafficking – criminal activity abounds. Will our hapless author survive this adventure and who really was (or is?) Dimitrios? Strap yourself in for a wild ride and enjoy the reading journey this provides. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the 1944 movie version, as the novel lends itself so fantastically to a cinematic outing – think The Man who Knew Too Much or North by Northwest.

5 out of 5 thrilling adventures can befall an unsuspecting author.