Epitaph For A Spy, Ambler - B

                                          I read this because it was one of the three classics mentioned in the NY Times review of 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold'.  It was penned in 1937.  The story is about a stateless language teacher, who lives in Paris and is hoping to become a French citizen.  While on vacation near Toulon, he is ensnared in a devilish plot, wherein he is accused of spying and photographing French shore defenses.  He is innocent, but somehow the real spy and he wound up inadvertently with each other's camera.  The French police require him to help and most of the story is about the various guests from around Europe at the small hotel on the beach.  As it precedes the horror of WWII, the complexities of the Cold War and the significant advances in technology that we are so accustomed to, Epitaph seems almost like a young adult version of a spy thriller.