In Eric Ambler’s slow-burning cat-and-mouse thriller, naval weapons expert Graham is pursued by German assassins shortly after the outbreak of World War Two. He secretly flees Turkey on a steamship, but his assassins are always a step ahead.

“A little melodrama is sometimes unavoidable, eh, Mr Graham?” (49)

There are some tense dialogues between Graham and his assassin, but despite being frequently described as a brilliant engineer and weapons expert, Graham does not use his specialist knowledge to escape. An understated, dated thriller.

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