The Ivory Towers and Other Stories

For Alec Dunlop, on a sabbatical to Kenya, the short trip to Laikipia was meant to be therapeutic. Instead he almost lost his life when he encountered the ferocious looking Samburu and his cohort of ivory poachers. ‘The Ivory Towers’, unraveled when Alec was stopped by customs officials at Heathrow Airport. Yet a few days earlier he was convinced that, in the nubile seductress Ava Patel, he had found his ‘Malaika’, his ‘little bird’.

Dr Maxine Bissett, a medic from Guy’s Hospital, finds herself embroiled in the gruesome aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. Like Alec she, the heroine of ‘The Talking Newspaper’, finds herself overwhelmed – in the midst of the Hutu-Tutsi carnage and bloodbath.

‘Sisterly Love’, ‘PCB’ and ‘Cold Dish’ explore the sexual mores and taboos of Southern India in the seventies. In ‘Green Fingers’ a Brazilian gardener is plagued by self-doubts and is caught up in the drama and pathos of the Brexit debacle. ‘Mojo Charms’ is set in London – a son’s inopportune entry exposes ‘a dark family secret’ – with dire consequences.

The author’s fictional treks through three continents form the basis of seven stories - seven protagonists - seven deadly sins. Pride, greed and lust are the main ‘pivots’ around which the drama unfolds.

Please be aware this book contains adult themes and is not suitable for children.