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Title: Death on the Riviera

Author: John Bude

Narrator: Gordon Griffin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-01-16

Publisher: Soundings

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

When a counterfeit currency racket comes to light on the French Riviera, Detective Inspector Meredith is sent speeding southwards out of the London murk to the warmth and glitter of the Mediterranean. Along with Inspector Blampignon, an amiable policeman from Nice, Meredith must trace the whereabouts of Chalky Cobbett, crook and forger.

Soon their interest centres on the Villa Paloma, the residence of Nesta Hedderwick, an eccentric Englishwoman, and her bohemian house guests, among them her niece, an artist, and a playboy. Before long, it becomes evident that more than one of the occupants of the Villa Paloma has something to hide, and the stage is set for murder.

Members Reviews:

Tricky designs on the beach cause flurry

Please see my comment on "Cheltenham Square Murder," as it generally applies to this book too.

Four Stars

Good page turner. It definitely kept my interest.

Five Stars

Excellently written mystery!

Not Bude's Best But Still a Lot of Fun

I love these British Golden Age mysteries, back when the world seemed a little more charming and a little less chaotic, and 'tecs with energy and a little imagination could do what it takes a whole lot of DNA testing to accomplish now. Sure the cliches are rampant, but that's because their popularity caused them to be emulated and enduring. This book about a louche proto-artists' colony in the sunshine is not Bude's best, but it's still a great deal of fun, if you can get past the occasionally patronizing and simplistic views of the British on holiday.

Counterfeiting gone deadly

"Death on the Riviera" was originally published in 1952 by Macdonald, UK. It has been reissued by Poisoned Pen Press in collaboration with the British library as a "British Library Crime Classic".

For this tale Mr. Bude brings back Inspector Meredith of the C.I.D. who had been introduced in an earlier book. Inspector Meredith and his assistant are sent to the Riviera to help the French investigate a counterfeiting scheme that is passing bad GBPound notes along the French coast. A second story line involves jealousy and murder amongst the expats living in the area. The two plots intertwine around the question of whether the murderers and victims are part of the counterfeiting gang.

"Death on the Riviera" is rather fun but offers some challenges to readers. The dialogue is not of a modern style at all. Some of the slang is not only out of date but in several instances I got the feeling that perhaps the UK and US uses were different. Overall the writing seems breezy and offhand for a detective story. For instance, in the middle of a suspense-filled discussion that has begun to unravel the central mystery, the detectives take a 10 minute break to have an aperitif.

Readers not from the UK may not know that for quite a while after the war, British tourists were subject to Exchange Controls and not allowed to take much money out of the country. At the time this story is set, the limit was only Â50, which, while admittedly was worth a lot more then, still did not go far on the Riviera. The funny money boys counted on doing business with cash-strapped tourists.

Inspector Meredith's command of French seems to get suddenly stronger when needed.