Tour de Force is a 1955 mystery crime novel by the author Christianna Brand.

[1] It was the sixth novel in a series featuring the fictional police detective Inspector Cockrill.

Additionally, the minor character Mr Cecil from Death in High Heels (1941) appears in a more prominent role.

Against his better judgement Cockrill travels for a holiday on a Mediterranean island republic off the coast of Italy.

When a murder is committed he becomes the initial suspect for the local investigating officer, whose methods he find inept.