Emergency in the Pyrenees - (Julia Probyn Mysteries) by Ann Bridge (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In Julia Probyn's fifth adventure, first published in 1965, Julia moves to a remote French mountain village near the Spanish border, while her husband, a British Intelligence agent, is on a secret assignment. As always, adventures comes Julia's way. A sabotage plot is underway, with France's gas reserved being targeted. Julia is six months pregnant as the plot unfolds, and her early labor creates additional suspense.

Boy and man take to each other, and it becomes clear that Gerald will be an ideal stepfather. On his part, Gerald insists that she come to Ireland to see his modest home and meet his friends and neighbors before she makes up her mind, for his world is far different from the glamorous cosmopolitan one she is accustomed to.

Julia's quiet vacation is interrupted when she stumbles upon a plot by an unknown land speculator who, with the unwitting aid of an attractive American woman and an Irish poet, is surreptitiously buying a strip of land along the coast for the purpose of building a huge resort hotel and casino. The intrepid Julia is drawn in as a participant when she joins Gerald in his investigation of this devious scheme, which will destroy the wild beauty of the coast and disrupt the peace of the community.

Ann Bridge has woven a web of intrigue against the background of a remote Irish village, its people, and their customs. The unexpected denouement and happy ending will delight the author's many devoted readers.

About the Author

Ann Bridge (1889-1974), or Lady Mary Dolling (Sanders) O'Malley was born in Hertfordshire. Bridge's novels concern her experiences of the British Foreign Office community in Peking in China, where she lived for two years with her diplomat husband. Her novels combine courtship plots with vividly-realized settings and demure social satire.

Bridge went on to write novels around a serious investigation of modern historical developments. In the 1970s Bridge began to write thrillers centered on a female amateur detective, Julia Probyn, as well writing travel books and family memoirs. Her books were praised for their faithful representation of foreign countries which was down to personal experience and thorough research.