La Bandalette is a French seaside resort, with a Casino and its own small population of English expatriates; among them are Eve Neill and the Lawes family, who live opposite her in the Rue des Anges. Eve is divorced from her charming, sadistic husband Ned Atwood, and she catches the eye of respectable, slightly stuffy, Toby Lawes. Everything seems to be going well until Ned reappears on the scene, and Toby's father is brutally murdered in his study, directly opposite from Eve's bedroom. Luckily another expatriate, Dermot Kinross, is there to spring to her defence...
The Emperor's Snuffbox is relatively brief, and the plot turrns on a single pivot, not easily forgotten: so it is to the book's credit that a second reading is just as enjoyable as the first. Carr is brief (at 213 pages) and to the point: his later habit of describing things in conversation is not in evidence here. The characters have enough depth to be convincing, and -- although relatively little happens after the murder -- the plot moves fast enough to keep the reader's interest. There are a couple of coincidences which seem a little strained on reflection, but Carr puts them through with gusto at the time, which is what counts -- and the red herring is first-rate.
Highly recommended.
Jon.
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