The Siege of the Villa Lipp

by Eric Ambler

In the shadowy areas of international law criminals work hard at figuring loopholes. One such wheelerdealer is Paul Firman. He pursues his own ends in a quiet, unobtrusive way. Why would anyone want to bother about him? But he is unaware that an obsessive academician, Professor Krom, has stumbled on Firman's activities and is determined to expose him. Two of Krom's colleagues are on hand as witnesses as Krom prepares to confront Firman. But none have bargained with a third party threatening to put a permanent stop to the encounter. The booby-trapped grounds of the Mediterranean Villa Lipp, a hovering motor cruiser, a sudden attack--Krom is prepared for none of these. But Firman, always cool and self-possessed, responds with force and decision, and in the end pulls Krom's chestnuts out of the fire.

Genres: Espionage, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Novels

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Suspense novels of noted English writer Eric Ambler include Passage of Arms (1959).

Eric Ambler began his career in the early 1930s and quickly established a reputation as a thriller of extraordinary depth and originality. People often credit him as the inventor of the modern political thriller, and John Le Carré once described him as "the source on which we all draw."

Ambler began his working life at an engineering firm and then at an advertising agency and meanwhile in his spare time worked on his ambition, plays. He first published in 1936 and turned full-time as his reputation. During the war, people seconded him to the film unit of the Army, where he among other projects authored The Way Ahead with Peter Ustinov.

He moved to Hollywood in 1957 and during eleven years to 1968 scripted some memorable films, A Night to Remember and The Cruel Sea, which won him an Oscar nomination.

In a career, spanning more than six decades, Eric Ambler authored 19 books, the crime writers' association awarded him its gold dagger award in 1960. Joan Harrison married him and co-wrote many screenplays of Alfred Hitchcock, who in fact organized their wedding.

Reviews

[Bruce Beckham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goodreads tells me I have read 13 Eric Ambler novels – and I can’t think of one I have not recommended. However, I would suggest leaving Send No More Roses until you have exhausted his more celebrated works.

I came across it as part of a box set via my Prime membership (if you have a Kindle device you can borrow one ‘book’ free per month, so I tend to look for collections) – on checking now I find it was his penultimate novel (1971), so maybe he was running low on inspiration.

The premise begins quite promisingly – a ‘super-criminal’ has agreed to be interviewed under conditions of great secrecy, by academic criminologists. But when the parties convene at a hidden Mediterranean location, it appears their presence has been compromised. The ‘enemies’ don’t pull their punches – but their identity remains unclear.

What could be a decent slow-burning thriller, however, seems to descend into rather obscure and complicated digressions and – reading this at night on my Kindle – I found it enduringly soporific. Moreover, two weeks after finishing, I can’t remember the ending!

But – definitely read Eric Ambler – if you want a good starter for ten I’d suggest Journey Into Fear (1940).

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mature masterpiece in my opinion. Layer upon layer of ambiguous psychological character analysis feeds this story set in one of Ambler's favorite locales, the French Riviera. So much of this novel takes place within the untrustworthy mind of its main character, Paul Firmin, that it ends up questioning the very stability of memory, as well as revealing self deception, intentional lies that have become "truth," and personal confusions. Has Firmin tricked himself or the reader in this tale?

Ostensibly the story of a so-called "Able Criminal," someone an obsessed Dutch criminology professor, Frits Krom, believes is among a shadowy elite of criminals who justice and the police are unable to apprehend, Siege of the Villa Lipp is more than that. It is the discovery of the price someone pays not only for "success" but for the realization that in the modern world success revealed to the public and the self leads to psychosis.

Essentially, the author of the study of the Able Criminal, despite his nagging ways and intrusive manner, is right about Firmin. Firmin is a liar. Most of all to himself. Somewhere, he has lost his "self," his inner being. In its place is a jumble of disorganized memories that may or may not be true. The only thing making Firmin somewhat sympathetic is the cast of characters that surround him. True master criminals that make him look like a playful amateur. Academics who seek the satisfaction of their ego over knowledge and the science of their discipline. Colleagues capable of betrayal, directly and indirectly, meaning you cannot trust anyone. Except perhaps one of them. The one who is willing to follow him to the metaphorical ends of the Earth.

[Danny M · Rating 5 out of 5]

ERIC AMBLER WAS HTE PREMIER AUTHOR OF SPY AND MYSTERY NOVELS DURING THE 50'S AND 60'S. THE BOOKS SOLD IN LARGE NUMBERS AND ALTHOUGH THE BOOKS ARE OUT OF PRINT THEY CAN BE FOUND IN USED BOOK STORES AND LIBRARIES AT REASONABLE PRICES. THE BOOKS IS A VERY EXCITING TALE THAT WILL HOLD YOUR INTEREST. AMBLER BOOKS DO NOT HAVE THE BELLS AND WHISTLES OF TODAY'S SPY AND MYSTERY NOVELS, BUT THEY ARE MORE BELIEVABLE AND WILL HOLD YOU IN SUSPENSE. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS NOVEL.

[Graham Moody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I added Eric Ambler to my author list on the recommendation of a friend. He compares favorable with Graham Greene.

[Alien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Professor of criminology Krom believes that there is an important type of criminal that has not yet been recognized: Criminals that are so clever that they are never suspected. And he he is sure that he has identified one example: Paul Firman

I do like Ambler and I have 7 more unread novels on my book shelve. It's not so much the topics he writes about. They seem a little outdated nowadays. But I like his style.
The low rating of this novel here at Goodreads shows that it is not his best work. It´s a "late work". It is sometimes irritating but then interesting again.
The author plays with his readers. At the end you don't know what you can believe or not about the first-person narrator. This narrative form makes you automatically identify and sympathize with him. But he is a self-professed liar. As I said this is somewhat irritating.
I give this book 3.5 of 5 stars.

[Margaret Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a high-tension thriller with little of the lyricism I look for in a narrative, to balance the action.Instead there was delicious irony and wry humour --but not enough to really balance out the nerve wracking tension and pace of it. So, on a personal level, it was not wholly to my liking; but as a representative of the thriller genre, it was magnificent. Never have I read such a thoroughly intriguing and intelligently drawn tale - one that brings in brilliantly wide-ranging references to almost every conceivable realm of human interest and fascination.It was impossible to put down. A rare gem in its genre.It explains why - as described in the latest New Statesman, which, when googling Ambler, I came across - much ado is being made of the anniversary of Ambler's birth. Indeed.

[Andy53]

Terrific. A very complex book that I was not able to skim.

[BLRBrazil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting glimpse into the murky worlds of military supplies (during the latter part of and immediate post WWII) and exploitation of the financial field for questionable gain. As comes up repeatedly, just because it's not illegal doesn't make it right. Of course, since this book was written, the financial sector has secured a monopoly over such practices.
In this murky grey area, fortunes can be made and lost and when much money is involved so human temptations and moral constraints are stretched to their limits. The leading character is portrayed as the villain of the piece, but is he? That is for the reader to decide, as we work our way through this complex tale and encounter the sort of paranoia that more familiarly characterises the world of spying. What is the truth, what are lies, what are the implications of both? I think this book will appeal to people who enjoy an intelligent spy or detective novel.
By the end, at least one thing will be clear - the significance of the title (and thus the importance of little details and potential pitfalls of distraction).

[Marco Camillieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambler lo riconosceresti tra mille e proprio per questo non lo scambieresti con nessuno di questi mille e dei mille che verranno in seguito. La sua cifra stilistica è connotata da più elementi, tutti di alta qualità: una cura meticolosa e precisa per il contesto storico bellico e post-bellico (di cui era attento studioso); una scrittura praticamente perfetta, in grado di esprimere al meglio ogni sfumatura dei suoi personaggi; una tensione di fondo onnipresente che non di rado sfocia in un finale effervescente.
Leggere Ambler significa immergersi totalmente in un'avventura piena di sotterfugi e imprevisti, in cui la tensione è sia psicologica che legata agli eventi, all'interno di un contesto vivo e pulsante che assurge sempre a parte integrante della narrazione.

Sono pochissimi quelli che fanno parte della mia comfort zone, non perché sia un lettore particolarmente raffinato ma perché sono un lettore particolarmente esigente. Ambler è tra questi, sebbene sia costretto a dosare i titoli: troppo pochi per tanto talento.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A change of topic for Eric Ambler, departing from the world of espionage into the quasi legal world of exploiting the financial money markets, beginning back just after world war 2 and the trading of military supplies, through to the money markets and trading with other peoples money, mainly so that they can avoid tax or pass money into the market that was gained illegally gained.

As with his other novels Eric Ambler creates a fast moving story, with well developed characters. In this case the story is written from the perspective of the supposed master criminal, and it is he who takes us through this complex tale and the associated paranoia that is characteristic of Ambler's spying novels. In the end you end up wondering what are lies, what is the truth and what are the implications of both. As usual there are twists and turns through the whole novel all the way to the end, but it is the reader who must come to a final conclusion.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Ambler departs from the espionage genre to explore the world of international crime, introducing the concept of the Able Criminal in the person of Paul Firman. In the aftermath of WW II, Firman's mentor, Lech, has discovered a foolproof, albeit shady, way to capitalize on the illegal diversion of military and postwar supplies in Europe. Lech and Firman fly under the radar (Able Criminals), quietly amassing a fortune. Trouble ensues when several "criminal sociologists" ferret out their methods and threaten to expose them. At this point, the book slows down and becomes very murky. We have unreliable narrators, cross and double-cross, and frankly it's all just too hard to sort out. But I did love the clever way in which Lech and Firman mine their gold.

[Natalia Hincapié · Rating 3 out of 5]

Debo decir que el misterio fue bien usado y me tenía muy intrigada la historia. Respeto mucho la manera en la que Eric Ambler te hace odiar a ciertos personajes.

Lo que no me gusto de la historia fue que como dije anteriormente me enrede demasiado y el libro deja con muchas dudas, ya que no se sabe cuál es la verdad de los hechos y nunca lo relatan. Hubo partes que me parecían sin sentido o que no concordaban.
También me desagrado el hecho que la historia aburría, se ponía interesante y luego volvía a aburrir.

Para concluir, el libro tiene una muy buena trama pero el vocabulario y la narración complica mucho su lectura y su comprensión.

[Lloyd Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naive Argentinian teenager graduated from high school took extended European vacation where he is wooed / lured into black-market shenanigans and then into British Army (WWII and beyond ) where his nefarious talents are honed. They eventually involved money laundering and tax-avoidance schemes. It’s all about manipulation; the truth is never told; nothing is as it seems. It is life in the shadows; big fortunes are made. The trick is living long enough to enjoy the financial largesse. 4 stars, Eric Ambler is amazing.

[Adolf Garlic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worst book written by Ambler and I have read almost everything he's written.

Such a boring and confusing book. Unoriginal in all the wrong ways. Even fans will not like it. Avoid!

Stick to the Penguin published works if I were you.

[Tim McKay · Rating 2 out of 5]

To quote another reviewer "What could be a decent slow-burning thriller, however, seems to descend into rather obscure and complicated digressions and I found it enduringly soporific."

[Cathal McGuinness · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most disappointed I've been by Eric Ambler to date. A messy, clunky narrative without the usual intrigue in characters.

[Chris Reisor · Rating 3 out of 5]

not his best

[Derek Collett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric Ambler is of course best known (and deservedly so) for his early novels such as The Mask of Dimitrios and Journey into Fear. Some of his later novels (particularly The Levanter) can almost rival his early works although they generally tend to be constructed in a very different way and to be written in rather a different style; others, such as Doctor Frigo, have left me very cold (sorry about the pun). Like The Care of Time, the most recent of Ambler's late fiction that I have read, Send No More Roses falls somewhere between the two extremes.

Paul Firman is a so-called 'master criminal' who has agreed to give an interview to a criminologist, Professor Krom, and his two accomplices at a villa in the south of France in return for not being exposed by Krom. After Krom and co. arrive at the villa and meet Firman, the remainder of the novel comprises a sort of protracted 'cat and mouse' intellectual game as both parties put forward their cases and try to emerge on top from the battle of wills.

Ostensibly, this book is Firman's justification for his methods and, inter alia, his autobiography. As such, the novel is very wordy as Ambler laboriously shades in the background to the events leading up to Firman's threatened exposure. Some of this material is intrinsically very interesting; other passages drag. At times, one almost completely forgets that the characters are holed up in a villa, so lengthy are the author's digressions. But I did enjoy the section set in Italy during World War Two, which is clearly influenced by Ambler's wartime service there as part of the Army Film Unit.

The story threatens to come to life in its latter stages when it becomes clear that the villa is firstly under surveillance by hostile parties and later under attack by them. But somehow (Ambler's powers waning by this stage in his career perhaps?) this plot thread is nowhere near as suspenseful or exciting as it should have been and one feels a little cheated having sat through so much 'warm up' to find that the main event, when it is finally wheeled into the centre of the stage, is such an anticlimax. Ambler rounds the story off quite nicely, and in suitably ambiguous fashion, but this can't make up for all the underwhelming material that has preceded the finale.

I confess I don't really know what to make of this book. It is very nicely written, the story confidently and competently told and most of the characters are interesting (although Krom is rather overdrawn). I must also confess that I often struggle to follow labyrinthine plots and this one lost me fairly early on, although it is a relatively facile matter to follow the broad sweep of the plot. I suppose the real difference between Ambler's early and late works is that the former contain lots of action and the latter lots of talk about action. I know which I prefer - war war in this case being preferable to jaw jaw.

[icaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

è la prima volta che, dopo decenni di letture, un po' mi delude. Per essere un libro degli anni '70 mostra una capacità di preveggenza straordinaria del mondo che verrà (le astuzie dei malfattori in colletto bianco). Ma la trama è un po' contorta. Al solito, i dialoghi, e l'ironia sono sono il punto di forza del racconto. E l'ambiguità del protagonista - chissà se stupido pasticcione o astuto truffatore - è cio che, al solito, amo di Ambler perchè lascia al lettore l'onere del giudizio nello stesso momento in cui gli segnala che un simile dubbio riguarda tutti noi 'reali' protagonisti delle nostre esistenze.
Oh, attenzione! Non è un romanzo di introspezione psicologica: è solo un libro 'giallo' per l'estate

[Ossian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am about a quarter of the way in, and what an odd feeling. I trust Ambler to have a decent plot, characters, suspense, all that, but so far one of the central devices used in the book - the notion of the Able Criminal as a distinct human type, a subject of scientific study - feels terribly anachronistic for a story written and set in the 1970s. The finger-wagging Professor Krom, a figure straight out of Conan Doyle, superimposed on tax havens and the EEC, feels odd.

Finished it. No, it didn't improve on further reading.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recall almost nothing about the book except that I really liked it.

[Alucard]

Hott cover had to be 60's or 70's the 2010 era is too lame.

[Divad · Rating 2 out of 5]

fair... skimmed a lot