Decades after the WW2 ended were marked by anti-colonial movements and fierce fights for independence throughout the Africa and Asia. Fighting in these dirty wars on the side of European settlers were mercenaries. Some where rag tag groups, some were professional outfits but common denominator was the type of man fighting in these troops - they were usually battle veterans from the WW2 and earlier colonial conflicts that just could not get back to civilian society. But then there were also true wanderers/adventureers and petty criminals that just found themselves in the middle of the conflict with no idea what is going on and trying to find the way to survive.

And in this second group we can place our protagonist Arthur Abdel Simpson. Petty criminal operating in Athens he will find himself in quite the predicament when British Embassy decides to put him on the so called black list. For all means and purposes stateless Arthur tries to find the way out (as he says getting on the wrong end of Greek immigration is not something to aim for) but his further scheming just gets him deeper and deeper in trouble until finally he finds himself on the ship running away from Greek imprisonment. This short break ends in East Africa only for Arthur to find out that East African authorities look down on people like him. This (and his uncontrollable blabbering that constantly puts him in danger) will bring him to attention of one of the mysterious companies mining ore in the dark jungles of Africa. Presenting himself as a former soldier Arthur gets recruited into mercenary outfit alongside several unsavory characters and finds himself in the middle of the conflict around ore deposits.

Ambler presents the reality of conflict in Africa in a very non-nonsense way. Told from the perspective of a petty thief story shows how he is able to look at all the business vying for the foothold in Africa as nothing more that global scale pirates that play now independent nations one against another in order to achieve their goals. As Arthur is hunted by police because of few hundred drachma's these global robbers are pardoned after instigating wars and looting treasures. So when he sees opportunity he tries to play them one against the other in order to earn some money but of course nothing goes according to the plan.

Excellent book, story flows very fast and gives portrayal of Africa as seen by Europeans in the period.

Ending is priceless - I could envision Dereck Trotter from "Only Fools and Horses" saying the words at the end :) Once a shady character, always the shady character :)

Recommended to all fans of thrillers. ( )

This is almost my first read by Ambler, since the only other book by him I read centuries ago and don't remember anything about it. The protagonist is quite amusing, both due to the situations he finds himself in and the way he responds to those; I should read the first novel in which he appeared, soon. The story is fast paced, with things happening nonstop. The darkly humourous description of the way big corporations exploited the unwitting third-world nations is spot-on as it is delectable. At the end, I felt that the book was too short; I would have loved to follow Mr. Simpson in his misadventures a lot further. ( )

More bitter than the first Arthur Abdel Simpson novel, The Light of Day, this second book extends Simpson's story and has him become an unfortunate soldier of fortune in Africa. Despite the slightly more acidic taste of the novel, along with its bloodiness, Dirty Story is also more of a comedic success than the earlier story. And that is something of an achievement, because The Light of Day is one of the most appealing comedic thrillers I've yet run across.

Ampler has one more talent as well. His stories constantly advance the plot and keep the story churning. But he's more than a mere action writer. His stories about Simpson carry a clear moral message as well. Or at least they take a look at morality as it was evolving in the late 1950s and 1960s. That is, the established boundaries have given way. Immorality is now a virtue. And so it's disquieting to some that a petty conman, a rogue like Arthur Simpson carries more morality than the exemplars of twentieth century enlightenment, international corporations, newly independent Third World nations, and governments intent on fighting "corruption" and "theft." Arthur does those things--but on a human scale and for reasons of survival. Those on the other side, act out of greed or the sadistic joy of inflicting pain. ( )

Eric Ambler used to be known for well-crafted spy stories and thrillers. This one continues the life and adventures of Arthur Abdel Simpson,a second-rate crook and con-artist living on the edge.
He gets involved with a group of mercenaries in Africa and each move he makes,gets him deeper in the mire.
I throughly enjoyed re-reading this 'blast from the past'.Must try another one soon. ( )

Arthur Abdul Simpson as a marvelous, sneaky anti-hero. Improbably account of African adventurism ( )