The Strangler Vine: A Blake And Avery Adventure

Description

Calcutta, 1837. Young Ensign William Avery is tasked by his employers - the East India Company - to track down disgraced agent Xavier Mountstuart, lost to the jungle. Accompanied by dissolute, errant genius Jeremiah Blake, Avery is sure their mission is doomed. When their search leads them into Kali-worshipping, Thugee territory, survival depends upon trust. Fighting for their lives, the pair close in to their elusive quarry only to discover the horrifying truth behind their mission. With death and danger on all sides, is it too late to save themselves? 'Splendid, enthralling, an exotic mystery that captivated me.' Bernard Cornwell 'A vivid, historical page-turner, a rattling good yarn. I do not remember when I enjoyed a novel more than this.' A.N. Wilson, Financial Times 'A rip-roaring ride through a violence-riven Raj. A great read, white tigers and all.' Independent 'Fresh and original with many surprises in store . . . Avery is the guileless Watson of the partnership, and Blake the opaque Sherlock.' Evening Standard 'A pinch of Moonstone, a dash of Sherlock and a soupçon of Fu Manchu . . . splendid romp.' William Dalrymple

About the Author

M J Carter, biographer, historian and thriller writer, was educated at St. Paul's Girls' School and Exeter College, Oxford. She worked as a publisher and journalist before beginning research on her biography of Anthony Blunt in 1994. She lives in London with her husband and two sons.Anthony Blunt: His lives(2001), her first book, won the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Orwell Prize, and was shortlisted for many other prizes, including theGuardianFirst Book Award and the Whitbread Biography Award. In the US it was chosen by theNew York Times Book Reviewas one of the seven best books of 2002. Her second book, The Three Emperors (US title, George, Nicholas and Wilhelm), was published in 2009 and was shortlisted for the LA Time Biography prize and the Hesse-Tiltman History prize. In 2014 her first thriller, The Strangler Vine, the first in a series set in the first years f Queen Victoria's reign, will be published. The second in the series, The Infidel Stain, is due for publication in January 2015.