A novel about art, natural history, food and reptiles.
What happened to Landy? Was he murdered? Or did he eat something that disagreed with him? Was he actually dead? Landy was not popular, but who might have harmed him? James Hopewell, Landy’s collaborator, had his suspicions. Was it animal rights protesters, university rivals, militant Darwinians, or a reptile-smuggling gang with a sideline in pornography? Fearing he might be next, James doesn’t wait to find out. When the chance comes to leave the country, he takes it.
An abandoned gîte seems a good place to hide. James drinks too much cognac, tries to forget Landy’s unhealthy obsession with reptiles, and rediscovers art. But his solitude does not last long. Soon James is beset by women, who ask questions, make demands, feed him on exotic delicacies, tempt him with forbidden pleasures.
While eating his way through the animal kingdom, James has doubts. Is everything as it seems? There is the mystery of Landy’s toxic fish, and the case of the tuatara that did not croak. Many of the things Landy told James seem not to be true. James is afraid. Do Landy’s enemies know where he is? And what will happen if they come after him?
Published for the Kindle by Amazon.