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Light of Day by Eric Ambler
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Light of Day (original 1962; edition 2006)

by Eric Ambler

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6201237,532 (3.67)33
The Light of Day was the basis for Jules Dassin's classic film, Topkapi."" When Arthur Abdel Simpson first spots Harper in the Athens airport, he recognizes him as a tourist unfamiliar with city and in need of a private driver. In other words, the perfect mark for Simpson's brand of entrepreneurship. But Harper proves to be more the spider than the fly when he catches Simpson riffling his wallet for traveler's checks. Soon Simpson finds himself blackmailed into driving a suspicious car across the Turkish border. Then, when he is caught again, this time by the police, he faces a choice: cooperate with the Turks and spy on his erstwhile colleagues or end up in one of Turkey's notorious prisons. The authorities suspect an attempted coup, but Harper and his gang of international jewel thieves have planned something both less sinister and much, much more audacious.… (more)
Member:kiwidoc
Title:Light of Day
Authors:Eric Ambler
Info:No Exit Press (2006), Paperback, 320 pages
Collections:Read in 2013, Your library
Rating:***
Tags:Crime. English.

Work Information

The Light of Day by Eric Ambler (1962)

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» See also 33 mentions

English (11)  Italian (1)  All languages (12)
Showing 1-5 of 11 (next | show all)
Arthur Abdel Simpson är en mycket ovanlig thrillerhjälte. Som namnet antyder är han en förbluffande blandning av engelsk gentleman och orientalisk skojare. Han försörjer sig som taxichaufför i Aten och åtar sig ett extraknäck att forsla en elegant Lincoln Continental från Aten till Istanbul. Det är bara det att hans uppdragsgivare - och dennes uppdragsgivare i sin tur - är likadana skojare som Arthur Abdel Simpsons sämre jag.
  CalleFriden | Feb 8, 2023 |
"The Light of Day" was a treat. Ambler's protagonist was not as naive as the majority of his hapless heroes who fall into dangerous scenarios. He was a petty crook who was portrayed as the ordinary man. It was very cleverly done. Also, Ambler used the thoughts of his not-so-innocent innocent to analyse the situations he found himself in and to comment on events. There is one passage where he describes the interrogation process. This involves his telling the truth, which is never believed, then having a fall-back story which is partially believed, and then continuing with a modified fall-back story, and on and on, until he works out the story the interrogator wants him to tell and which they chose to believe. It was passages like this that show me why John Le Carré and Graham Greene said they found inspiration for their own work in Ambler's stories.

Would I read more stories by this author?
Yes!

Would I recommend this book?
Yes.

Who would I recommend it to?
Anyone who likes well written mystery novels involving espionage, criminality, adventure, intrigue, counter-espionage, etc...

Did this book inspire me to do anything?
Yes. It has strengthened my resolve to read all of Eric Ambler's stories. It has also pushed me to dig out the book I have on Kemal Atatürk. ( )
  pgmcc | Jul 27, 2022 |
Fun and clever book, this. Arthur Simpson is simply one of the most endearing anti-heroic rogues in mid century thrillers. His sardonic and ironic sense of humor makes the read a page turner. And the idea of putting an Englishman with a bit of a proper background in Athens, holding an Egyptian passport, and finding himself involved in a plot to engage in a high profile crime in Istanbul, all couldn't help but produce a combination of exotic intrigue and high comedic possibilities.

The Light of Day is also published as Topkapi in order to take advantage of the 1964 movie based on the book, with Melina Mecouri, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, and Peter Ustinov as Arthur. The film lacks the flashbacks and witty humor of the book. Ustinov's Arthur is too much of a bumbler and without the instinctual cleverness to survive Ambler's original Arthur displays. Yet both film and book are of a similar era, the early 1960s. And time with the film is not a waste either.

This is my second Ambler novel, and I see there is at least one more Arthur Simpson novel out there. Well worth chasing down, I think. ( )
  PaulCornelius | Apr 12, 2020 |
Sono di parte ma Ambler è proprio uno dei miei preferiti:riesce perfino a farmi amare quel meschino, alitoso, petulante, flaccido e pasticcione di Artur Simpson (detto anche "la pecora indignata")
[audiolibro] ( )
  icaro. | Aug 31, 2017 |
Slick. Delightful. Our hero is short, fat , not too smart, dishonest, does poorly with women, unscrupulous, cowardly, you-name-it. ( )
  pnorman4345 | Apr 12, 2016 |
Showing 1-5 of 11 (next | show all)
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Eric Amblerprimary authorall editionscalculated
Oddera, BrunoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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It came down to this: if I had not been arrested by the Turkish police, I would have been arrested by the Greek police. I had no choice but to do as this man Harper told me. He was entirely responsible for what happened to me.
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The Light of Day was the basis for Jules Dassin's classic film, Topkapi."" When Arthur Abdel Simpson first spots Harper in the Athens airport, he recognizes him as a tourist unfamiliar with city and in need of a private driver. In other words, the perfect mark for Simpson's brand of entrepreneurship. But Harper proves to be more the spider than the fly when he catches Simpson riffling his wallet for traveler's checks. Soon Simpson finds himself blackmailed into driving a suspicious car across the Turkish border. Then, when he is caught again, this time by the police, he faces a choice: cooperate with the Turks and spy on his erstwhile colleagues or end up in one of Turkey's notorious prisons. The authorities suspect an attempted coup, but Harper and his gang of international jewel thieves have planned something both less sinister and much, much more audacious.

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