This is just the second book by Delano Ames which I’ve read and I have to say that it puzzles me that he isn’t better known. His writing is really enjoyable, witty and also unusual in that although his detectives are a husband and wife team, Jane and Dagobert Brown, it’s Jane who is narrating and Ames manages to get the authentic sound of a long suffering wife perfectly.

The Browns are staying at a pension in the south of France and have made several acquaintances in and around the town. There has been political upheaval in Santa Rica and Don Diego Sebastiano, a Santa Rican diplomat is in fear of his life.

When a shot is fired into a crowded street Don Diego assumes that he was the target, but was he and who is the culprit? I really like the characters of Jane and Dagobert who are a funny and believable couple. The mystery isn’t bad either.