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Waiting for Orders

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Waiting for Orders, by Eric Ambler

These short stories were written while Eric Ambler was waiting for the orders that would enlist him into the 1939 British Army. "The Army of the Shadows" was written for a book sold to raise money for the Red Cross. Its story is similar to his early novels: a traveler happens across a dangerous situation (and makes a political point). Was this story just sentiment?

The six very short detective stories were commissioned by a magazine. Ambler bought the standard book on forensic medicine to gain the technical material needed to create these mysteries. He created a "Czech refugee" as the detective. The "Pinchbeck Locket" explains why an accident was really murder. The clues needed to solve this case came from a newspaper story. The "Emerald Sky" is about the death of a rich man; anonymous letters claim a poisoning. The mans' son was arrested. Dr. Czissar points out the correct conclusion as to the poisoner. The "Cycling Chauffeur" is about an accidental shooting. Dr. Czissar investigated the background and found murder. The "Overheated Service Flat" tells how Mr. Jones's wife died of carbon monoxide poisoning (just like his earlier wives). Dr. Czissar explains the significance of an electric radiator. The "Drunken Socrates" is about a man whose widow soon married the man who last say him alive. Dr. Czissar tells what must be done to test for a poison. The "Gentleman Poet" tells about an apparent suicide. Dr. Czissar explains why this was in fact murder.

"The Blood Bargain" came from "a failed novel". It reads like the ending chapter of his other post-war novels, but set in South America.