It was the first Eric Ambler book I have read. I like historical and spy stories and this was both. The main character, Vadassy, gets mixed up in the hunt for a spy while staying at a resort in southern France just prior to World War II. The character is unique in that he is a man without a country, a teacher of foreign languages, who happens to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and finds himself accused of espionage because of he is a foreigner. Ambler's prose can be dry at times but he keeps the story moving. I felt he somewhat rushed the ending. Vadassy never figures out what is going around him by myself and this was mildly irritating. It alright to be an innocent embroiled in a mystery but at some point he should get a clue of what's going on.

Despite the weak spots, I still enjoyed the book. It gives a glimmer of Europe pre-World War II and the politics that were emerging. It also shows parallels with today's treatment of people we don't trust because we don't understand their backgrounds. I will read more eric Ambler. ( )

Josef Vadassy is a Hungarian refugee of uncertain statehood. Born in Szabadka, as a result of the Treaty of Trianon he is no longer a citizen of Yugoslavia but a persona non grata. While on holiday in the south of France, he sends a roll of camera film for development, however it turns out to contain pictures which are not his, of nearby naval defences. He is arrested on suspicion of spying. The police realise that Vadassy did not take the pictures, but that someone else at his hotel must have an identical camera, a Zeiss Ikon Contax. Vadassy is told to return to the hotel to find
Vem hade fotograferat krigshamnen Toulon med Vadassys kamera? Polisen hade ålagt honom att ta reda på det för att fria sig. Uppgiften verkade nästan omöjlig - han var ungrare med jugoslaviskt pass och ansökan inne om franskt medborgarskap, han var blyg. Men han var en bra språklärare.
Alla på hotellet uppförde sig misstänkt. Både fransmannen och hans älskarinna, engelsmannen och hans hustru, amerikanen och hans syster... Vadassy gjorde tafatta försök att pumpa dem och lade klumpiga fällor som ingen föll i. Men med honom själv härjade man, han blev överfallen och misshandlad, hans rum genomsöktes. Och tiden rann iväg och ingenting väsentligt kom han på. Hans ängslan bara växte, hans spänning ökades - och det gör läsarens också.

En vísperas de la Segunda Guerra mundial, el profesor de idiomas Josef Vadassy, húngaro de nacimiento, se toma unos días de vacaciones en un agradable y tranquilo hotel de la costa mediterránea francesa, antes de reintegrarse a sus clases en París. Aficionado a la fotografía, en un carrete que hace revelar aparecen las imágenes de unas fortificaciones en el puerto de Toulon, que él no ha tomado. Denunciado por el responsable del laboratorio, es detenido como sospechoso de espionaje. En el plazo de pocos días deberá demostrar su inocencia y encontrar, entre los huéspedes del hotel, al verdadero espía

In Eric Ambler's Epitaph For a Spy Josef Vadassy finds himself in a precarious position. He has been arrested for espionage and, though he is innocent, the evidence against him appears to be rock solid. He has no legal standing. A Hungarian by birth and stateless by circumstances: "nowhere left for me to go. Yugoslavia would arrest me. Hungary would not admit me. Neither would Germany or Italy." He can stay in France only at the sufferance of the Government. He has no choice when French Naval Intelligence operative, Michel Beghin, requires him to discover the real spy who has used a camera identical to Vadassy to photograph secret naval installations along the French coast where Josef is vacationing. There are twelve occupants listed by Beghin who are staying in the pension house with Vadassy. He is to determine which one owns the same camera as his. This will be difficult for Josef, who is reticent by nature, but he does have the advantage of speaking several languages.
Epitaph For a Spy is set just before WWII. Soon spies will reach into each hidden corner of the globe.

Not a fun spy thriller cos Vadassy is quite a bumbling spy catcher. Can't blame him since he is an amateur. But what is interesting is the book's depiction of human nature. Vadassy received instructions from Beghin but he didn't carry them out to the T, thinking that they would alert the spy. However, this is precisely what Beghin wanted! But Vadassy didn't know Beghin's real intentions so he couldn't be blamed. ( )