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What at first appears to be a dull reporting of a legal search for a missing heir by an unremarkable protagonist evolves into a fascinating tale. The development of George Carey's companion, Maria Kolin, is revealed as one of the more interesting of Ambler's characters. Good read but takes a while to get involved.

Even when they involved violence and murder, the prewar spy thrillers Eric Ambler wrote managed to maintain an upbeat, chirpy optimistic tone for the most part. This second of his postwar novels, The Schirmer Inheritance seems of a different mood and outlook entirely. I haven't looked much into Ambler's biography or his autobiographical writings, but I'm guessing there is more than the usual postwar disillusionment in this book. Ambler has substituted a story that ends on a note of bitter irony for his prewar feeling that peril might exist but a united front could defeat the looming Axis threat.

Ambler's attitude towards communism and the political nature of man is one thing that has certainly been drastically altered. The true believers are depicted as fools, cannon fodder for scheming opportunists. The hunger for power and the willingness to make people expendable comes through loud and clear. Perhaps Ambler had seen enough of Stalinism to know that it was little different from Hitlerism. And if there is one message that finally does come through at the end, it is this: take the money and run--the money you have right now; abuse breeds abuse; and pain seeks out pain. ( )

One of my two personal favorites from the Ambler ouvre. It starts off with a Prussian deserter in 1806, moves on to the peaceful precincts of a Philadelphia law office, and moves on to the affairs of another Prussian deserter, this one wandering through the chaos of post-WW2 Europe. The story is fascinating, and the characters unforgettable (if not always likable). Moreover, the book is at times very funny, in an understated way. ( )

Not as intense as most of Ambler's works, but still satisfying. His writing is always fascinating. ( )