Five top novels of biographical detection

At LitHub Nicola DeRobertis-Theye tagged five favorite novels of biographical detection, i.e. books that follow a character investigating another character’s life. One title on the list:

A Coffin for Dimitrios, Eric Ambler

When I asked my dad if he’d read this one (he’s an avid mystery reader), he scoffed at me. Eric Ambler? he said—as if I’d asked if he’d noticed that California had a lot of freeways. Ok, ok, so apparently it’s a classic, but for good reason—it’s perfectly plotted, with twists, characters, historical traumas, settings in European dance hall/brothels, and fight scenes that would not be out of place in a James Bond movie (and the Daniel Craig reboot, natch).

Read about another entry on the list.

A Coffin for Dimitrios is among Thomas H. Cook's top ten mystery books, Charles Cumming's top five works on espionage, and Otto Penzler's best thrillers.

--Marshal Zeringue