THE SPIRIT GARDEN

About the Book

Malaya in 1905 was a part of the vast British Empire. Inspector Briscoe felt his routine temporary assignment there a wonderful opportunity for an exotic honeymoon until murder intervened and Evan and Celia find themselves drawn into the strange affair at French's Station. What appeared to be a simple, but deadly, dispute between two Tamil laborers soon evolves into a maelstrom of lust, greed, jealousy and hatred. The centerpiece of this drama rests with the mistress of French's Station, a half-caste of exquisite beauty with the manipulative powers of a Delilah. The Briscoes find that beneath the soft-petaled hibiscus and frangipani the deadly serpent lurks, and the same gritty human passions exist in this tropical Eden as in the slums of gray London.

About the Author

After Navy Captain Thomas J. Doyle retired, he was hired by Bechtel Arabian Ltd. and lived with his wife in Saudi Arabia for three years before settling in Hayes, Virginia. He has published three mysteries: The Bend Sinister, Who Is Angela?, and Pantheon. The Doyles have seven children and twenty-four grandchildren.