Arthur Simpson
- ' British to the core' but without a passport to prove it
- lives in Athens scraping by as a driver journalist & petty thief When Simpson spots Harper at the airport he recognises him as a tourist new to the city & in need of a private driver But an ill-judged attempt to relieve Harper of his traveller's cheques reveals him to be a highly sophisticated criminal & entangles Simpson in a complex double blackmail Simpson becomes an unwilling member of an armed gang in Istanbul tasked with driving a suspicious car across the border Soon he is an even less willing agent for the Turkish secret police who suspect Harper of planning a coup
- but his plans are far more audacious than that & Simpson is in very deep water indeed The Light of Day won the Edgar Award for best novel in 1964 & was the basis for the classic film Topkapi Like much of Ambler's finest work the novel focuses on an innocent man caught in a web of intrigue & deceit & Simpson is one of the most memorable heroes in any classic thriller