A Dead Hand
A Crime in Calcutta
-
- £6.99
-
- £6.99
Publisher Description
A Dead Hand is a dark tale of crime in Calcutta, by Paul Theroux.
Jerry Delfont is a travel writer with writer's block. Lounging in Calcutta one day, he receives a mysterious letter. It comes from an American philanthropist, Mrs Merrill Unger. An Indian friend of her son is in trouble: he woke up in a hotel room with a dead body next to him; he panicked and fled. Mrs Unger would like someone to discreetly look into this matter, to find out the truth. Will Delfont do her the honour?
But Jerry is at first more intrigued by the beautiful, beguiling Mrs Unger and her Tantric massages. Yet as he begins investigating the circumstances surrounding the body he wonders what exactly is the nature of her philanthropy . . .
A Dead Hand is a dark and twisted narrative of obsession and need from one of our finest writers.
'Richly enjoyable, entertaining . . . a satisfyingly tense, almost thrillerish conclusion'Financial Times
'Genuinely intriguing' The Times
'Original and enlightening' Daily Telegraph
'Theroux's prose is always a pleasure' Tatler
Paul Theroux's books include Dark Star Safari, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Riding the Iron Rooster, The Great Railway Bazaar, The Elephanta Suite, A Dead Hand, The Tao of Travel and The Lower River. The Mosquito Coast and Dr Slaughter have both been made into successful films. Paul Theroux divides his time between Cape Cod and the Hawaiian islands.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The prolific and well-traveled Theroux follows Ghost Train to the Eastern Star with a crime novel set in India. Jerry Delfont, a middle-aged travel writer, has ended up in Calcutta with no stories, no ideas, and no clear direction until he receives a letter from Mrs. Merrill Unger asking for his help. Rajat, a friend of Mrs. Unger s son, woke up in a cheap hotel with the dead body of a boy on the floor of his room and fled, rightly untrusting of the police. Jerry meets the Mrs. Unger and falls under her spell, his obsession fueled by her beauty and her skill at tantric massage. Mrs. Unger, who runs a children s charity, came to India to work with Mother Teresa, but soon joined the temple across the street dedicated to Kali and is a practicing priestess who doesn t shirk at the goddess s requirement of animal sacrifice. While it s all good light fun, the real pleasure is Theroux s talent for rendering place and his irreverent comments on everything from the British royals to pop culture, aging, and yes, the venerable Mother Teresa.
