SPOILERS!!!
Bill Dillon, the man who Meredith and Strang met on the way to the Riviera, has arrived with the intention to see Kitty. During the war he stayed in Netta's house, so he gets in touch with her and receives an invitation. Netta is delighted to have Bill. During the dinner he manages to corner Kitty, and we discover that Kitty is his wife, but she abandoned him because she felt neglected and she says she has no intention to return to him. Now she is in love with Tony and even announces that she is expecting his child, so she wants a divorce.
Bill loves Kitty, so he wants to make sure that she is well treated. Neta insists that he move the hotel to the villa, so Bill stays there. When he has the opportunity, he talks to Tony, wanting to know what his intentions are. Bill tells him that Kitty is his wife, which doesn't sit well with Tony, and when he tells him that Kitty is pregnant and he is ready to give her a divorce so that she and Tony can get married, Tony is not pleased at all. Actually, he has no intention to get married to anybody.
The novel then focuses on the investigation about the forged notes. Meredith, Strand, Inspector Blampingnon, and INspector Gibauld work together. We go through all their enquiries, and they discover that the fake artist living in the villa, Paul Latour, and the chauffeur of the Molloys are involved in the forgery business. What they discover is that Latour uses Neta's launch, and they leave the fake notes in some fake boulders left on the coast. And they discover that Tony is the one collecting and leaving the boulders. The police also find the ringleader, Chalky (Tommy Cobbett), who was passing himself off as a building caretaker with dementia.
The police arrest the chauffer and Chalky, and when they go to talk to Tony, they are told that the man isn't in and hasn't been seen since last night. Then Meredith gets a call, informing him that Tony's car has been found empty. There is blood on the back seats and his beret has been found near the rocks. Meredith and Strang go there, and they conclude that there is a strong possibility that the man has been murdered but they don't think that his body has been dropped into the sea. What they think is that he was killed somewhere else, and the car left there.
The two policemen go back to the villa to talk to those who are staying there. They learn that Tony was sweet on Kitty, but lately there has been obvious coldness between them. Meredith wants to talk to her, but he is told that Kitty and Bill Dillon have gone on a picnic. When they question those in the house, they think that Bill could have murdered Tony. Then Meredith gets a call, telling him that Bill Dillon has committed suicide. He jumped from a precipice, and Kitty was found by an American, totally shattered.
Meredith and Strang go to the place, and they manage to reach the body. It was a horrible sight, but then they find his chain watch, which is still working, and the inscription on the lid is shocking as it tells them that Kitty was Dillon's wife.
I have to say that the part about the smuggling and forgery was a bit boring for my taste and since the title was 'Death on the Riviera', I was expectant to see who would die. I didn't expect both Tony and Bill to die, but maybe Tony is not dead and has faked his own death???
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