English crime novelist Charles Latimer is travelling in Istanbul when he makes the acquaintance of Turkish police inspector Colonel Haki. It is from him that he first hears of the mysterious Dimitrios - an infamous master criminal, long wanted by the law, whose body has just been fished out of the Bosphorus. Fascinated by the story, Latimer decides to retrace Dimitrios' steps across Europe to gather material for a new book. But, as he gradually discovers more about his subject's shadowy history, fascination tips over into obsession. And, in entering Dimitrios' criminal underworld, Latimer realizes that his own life may be on the line.

Informationen zum Autor Eric Ambler (1909-98) was born in London to parents who were part-time entertainers. He studied engineering but left college without taking a degree and became a copywriter in the advertising industry. Between 1937 and 1940, he published his great anti-fascist spy thrillers: Uncommon Danger , Epitaph for a Spy , Cause for Alarm , The Mask of Dimitrios , and Journey into Fear . In 1940, he joined the Royal Artillery and was later transferred to the army film unit. After the war he worked as a screenwriter in England and Hollywood and married his second wife, a leading Hollywood producer. Ambler's post-war novels include Passage of Arms , The Light of Day and A Kind of Anger , and his profound influence on the genre has been acknowledged by writers including Graham Greene, Ian Fleming and John le Carré. Mark Mazower is Ira D. Wallach Professor of History at Columbia University, where he directs the Institute for Ideas and Imagination. His previous books include Inside Hitler's Greece , Dark Continent , The Balkans and Salonica, City of Ghosts. His most recent book, The Greek Revolution , won the Duff Cooper Prize. Klappentext 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. Zusammenfassung English crime novelist Charles Latimer is travelling in Istanbul when he makes the acquaintance of police inspector Colonel Haki, from whom he hears of Dimitrios - a criminal. Latimer decides to retrace Dimitrios' steps to gather material for a new book. In entering Dimitrios' criminal underworld, he realizes that his own life may be on the line....

Autorentext
Eric Ambler (1909-98) was born in London to parents who were part-time entertainers. He studied engineering but left college without taking a degree and became a copywriter in the advertising industry. Between 1937 and 1940, he published his great anti-fascist spy thrillers: Uncommon Danger, Epitaph for a Spy, Cause for Alarm, The Mask of Dimitrios, and Journey into Fear. In 1940, he joined the Royal Artillery and was later transferred to the army film unit. After the war he worked as a screenwriter in England and Hollywood and married his second wife, a leading Hollywood producer. Ambler's post-war novels include Passage of Arms, The Light of Day and A Kind of Anger, and his profound influence on the genre has been acknowledged by writers including Graham Greene, Ian Fleming and John le Carré. Mark Mazower is Ira D. Wallach Professor of History at Columbia University, where he directs the Institute for Ideas and Imagination. His previous books include Inside Hitler's Greece, Dark Continent, The Balkans and Salonica, City of Ghosts. His most recent book, The Greek Revolution, won the Duff Cooper Prize.

Klappentext
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.