A DEAD MAN IN TANGIER, by Michael Pearce

Pearce's voluminous output is all entertaining: he is also the author of the Mamur Zapt mystery series, set in British Cairo. This series - the Dead Man series - is set all over the Mediterranean in 1912 and, as with all Pearce's works, is full of authentic flavor, intriguing and amusing conversations, and plenty of action. A man, Bossu, is found dead in odd circumstances, during a pig hunt just outside Tangier. Seymour of Scotland Yard is sent from London to investigate. He is at once adopted by two engaging thugs whose lives Seymour unwittingly saved. The conversations between Idris and Mustapha are worth the read alone. Bossu left a witless wife and a witty mistress, and a lot of questions about how he'd accumulated his wealth. Seymour sorts it out, with a lot of smiles along the way. It's an 4+. This is the perfect summer afternoon entertainment.