When Bernie Gunther takes on a blackmail case and gets involved in the
affairs of British spies, the former detective risks exposing his own
dark past in this thrilling novel hailed by The New York Times Book
Review as "one of Kerr's best."
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, 1956. Having gone into hiding in the French
Riviera, Bernie Gunther is working as a concierge at the Grand-Hôtel
under a false name. His days and nights consist of maneuvering drunks to
their rooms, shooing away prostitutes in search of trade, and answering
the mindless questions posed by the absurdly rich guests--needless to
say, he's miserable. Now, the man who was once a homicide detective and
unwilling SS officer in Hitler's Third Reich is simply the person you
turn to for touring tips or if you need a bridge partner.
As it just so happens, a rich and famous writer needs someone to fill
the fourth seat in a regular game at the Villa Mauresque. But Somerset
Maugham wants Bernie to help him get out of a game far more dangerous
than bridge. Maugham is being blackmailed--perhaps because of his
unorthodox lifestyle, or perhaps because, once upon a time, Maugham
worked for the British Secret Service...