Charles Exbrayat was born in Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...

, Loire

Loire

Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 on 5 May 1906 and died in the same city on 8 March 1989. He published over 100 novels and short stories, most of them humorous thrillers. They were very popular and a considerable number were turned into films.

While living in Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 with his parents, he was studying to becoming a medical doctor, but then found his true calling as a writer.

His debut novel

Debut novel

A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...

 was Aller sans Retour (single fare, no return), written while in Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, before going to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He was one of the most famous French authors of the illustrious "le Masque" collection. He wrote a number of novels set in Scotland (Imogene series) and in Italy. His other interests included gourmet food and fine wines.

Imogène Collection

• Ne vous fâchez pas, Imogène!, Le Masque (1959)
• Imogène est de retour, Le Masque (1960)
• Encore vous, Imogène?, Le Masque (1962)
• Imogène, vous êtes impossible!, Le Masque (1963)
• Notre Imogène, Le Masque (1969)
• Les Fiançailles d'Imogène, Le Masque (1971)
• Imogène et la veuve blanche, Le Masque (1975)

Tarchinini Collection

• Chewing-gum et spaghetti, Le Masque (1960)
• Le Plus Beau des bersagliers, Le Masque (1962)
• Chianti et Coca-Cola, Le Masque (1966)
• Le Quintette de Bergame, Le Masque (1967)
• Ces sacrées Florentines, Le Masque (1969)
• La Belle Véronaise, Le Masque (1972)
• Des amours compliquées, Le Masque (1976)
• Mets tes pantoufles, Roméo, Le Masque (1983)

Overs Books

• Elle avait trop de mémoire, Le Masque (1957)
• La nuit de Santa Cruz, Le Masque (1957)
• Vous souvenez-vous de Paco?, Le Masque (1958)
• Ce mort que nul n'aimait, Le Masque (1958)
• L'inspecteur mourra seul, Le Masque (1959)
• Cet imbécile de Ludovic, Le Masque (1960)
• Amour et sparadrap, Le Masque (1960)
• Aimez-vous la pizza?, Le Masque (1960)
• Avanti, la mùsica!, Le Masque (1961)
• Des demoiselles imprudentes, Le Masque (1961)
• Les Blondes et Papa, Le Masque (1961)
• Méfie-toi, Gône!, Le Masque (1961)
• Le Quadrille de Bologne, Le Masque (1961)
• Dors tranquille, Katherine, Le Masque (1962)
• Une ravissante idiote, Espionnage 2^e série (1962)
• Le temps se gâte à Zakopane, Espionnage 2^e série (1962)
• Espion, où es-tu? M'entends-tu?, Espionnage 2^e série (1962)
• Olé !... Torero!, Le Masque (1963)
• Les Filles de Folignazzaro, Le Masque (1963)
• Quel gâchis, inspecteur!, Le Masque (1963)
• Les Douceurs provinciales, Le Masque (1963)
• Et qu'ça saute !, Le Masque (1963)
• On se reverra, petite!, Le Masque (1964)
• La Honte de la famille, Le Masque (1964)
• Les Messieurs de Delft, Le Masque (1964)
• Barthélemy et sa colère, Le Masque (1964)
• Vous manquez de tenue, Archibald!, Le Masque (1965)
• Le colonel est retourné chez lui, Le Masque (1965)
• Une petite morte de rien du tout, Le Masque (1965)
• Joyeux Noël, Tony, Service secret (1964)
• Mandolines et barbouzes, Service secret (1965)
• Les Dames du Creusot, Le Masque (1966)
• Plaies et bosses, Le Masque (1966)
• Le Voyage inutile, Le Masque (1966)
• Une brune aux yeux bleus, Le Masque (1966)
• Le Dernier des salauds, Le Masque (1967)
• Mortimer !... Comment osez-vous?, Le Masque (1967)
• La route est longue, Jessica, Éditions Rombaldi, coll. Romans - La Redoute (1968)
• Un matin, elle s'en alla, Edition Librairie générale française, coll. Le Livre de poche, Paris (1976)
• Jules Matrat, Edition Librairie générale française, coll. Le Livre de poche, Paris (1979)
• La Lumière du matin, Le Livre de poche , Paris (1982)
• " Pouquoi tuer le pépé", le club des masques, Paris (1982)
• Le Château vert, Éditions J'ai lu, coll. J'ai lu , Paris (1987)
• Ceux de la forêt, Éditions J'ai lu, coll. J'ai lu , Paris (1988)
• Mademoiselle Évelyne, suivi de Les Amoureux du Ribatejo, Bayard, coll. Bonne soirée (1997)
• La Désirade
• Les soleils de l'automne

Overs

To honor writers who specialized in detective stories, the city of Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...

 created a special prize to be attributed during their book festival and called it the Charles Exbrayat Prize.