Send No More Roses

Send No More Roses is a novel released in 1977 by Eric Ambler, known in the United States under the title The Siege of the Villa Lipp.

Plot

Paul Firman operates as a money launderer and extortionist, providing advisory services on tax havens, tax avoidance, and evasion, before coercing his clients through blackmail.

Sociologist Professor Frits Krom uncovers Firman’s true identity as Reinhard Oberholzer, an alias used to enlist Kramer, a Swiss banker who exposed confidential client information. Kramer's inquiry ultimately caused his fatal heart attack; his widow assisted law enforcement in capturing Firman at Kramer's funeral, where Firman was photographed. Years afterward, Krom spots Firman at a conference and threatens to reveal his identity unless Firman agrees to narrate his life story anonymously.

Firman consults with his business associate Mat Tuakana (also known as Williamson), from Placid Island, who intends to support Chief Tebuke in gaining independence and transforming the nation into a private tax haven. To safeguard this plan, Mat permits Firman to disclose his past but insists that current details remain excluded.

Firman's assistant Melanie Wicky-Frey arranges for the Villa Lipp on the French Riviera to serve as the venue for their meeting. Krom arrives accompanied by two academic witnesses and Yves Boularis, a technical expert who installs listening devices in the rooms.

Firman details his background: originating from an Argentine-British family, he served with the British Army Field Security Police during World War II, where he encountered Carlo Lech, a lawyer involved in black market activities. Together, they launder funds for American black market operators and invest proceeds themselves. When clients request refunds, they resort to threats of exposure; only a few recover their money. They also participate in VAT carousel fraud across EEC nations before transitioning into blackmailing their clientele.

Yves and Melanie uncover that the villa is being monitored. Firman deduces that Mat Tuakana has orchestrated their presence there as a trap intended for their elimination. When rockets are launched at the villa from a boat, Firman ignites the property to draw attention from authorities and manages to flee to his private island in the Caribbean.

Reception

The novel is regarded as one of Ambler's distinguished late works.

Kirkus Reviews commented, "Eric Ambler would never mix metaphors, write awkward prose, or tell a story that fails to engage."