Dickinson, Peter. The lizard in the cup. London: Arrow Books, 1985 (originally published by Hodder & Stoughton, 1972). ISBN 0-09-941830-4.

Summary: A billionaire tycoon, vacationing on a remote Greek island, grows concerned about a possible threat to his life by business rivals. A mild-mannered British policeman, now retired, is one of a team of bodyguards and investigators hired to protect the billionaire and his entourage. The policeman, James Pibble, turns up a variety of possibly related plots and secrets -- the theft of a valuable mosaic from the island's monastery, which is maintained entirely by two ancient ouzo-drinking priests; heroin processing and smuggling; an American terrorist, hiding out between acts of political violence; an MI5 agent sent to investigate Mafia activities on the island. Pibble sorts through the possible connections among these plots and subplots in time to explain, though not to prevent, the climactic events of the novel.

One of the common theme's of Dickinson's books is a civilized and decent person obliged to confront violence and corruption, and succeeding or failing in the attempt to overcome or contain it. Pibble, who is the point-of-view character in several of Dickinson's novels, is particularly well drawn and complicated in his relationship to the oddly authoritarian and ruthless criminals that he encounters.