Act of Faith - Hardcover

Bowen, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312086946 ISBN 13: 9780312086947

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1993

Synopsis

When the witty, sophisticated New York couple Thomas and Sandrine Curry accompany their friend Theodore Furst on a trip to Burundi in 1963, their plans for a leisurely photo safari give way to diplomatic intrigue, romantic complications, and murder.
After they spot guerilla fighters through their viewfinder and witness a military ambush, Thomas and Sandy are escorted from their campsite to a rural inn. That night, gunshots destroy any hope of sleep: One of the guests has been killed in his room, and Sandy sees the suspect flee on foot. Believing that the Currys are an important source of clues, local authorities draw them into what seems to be a simple murder investigation. But in the secretive, politically charged world of postcolonial Africa, Thomas and Sandy are slow to trust anyone - even each other. When they attempt to explore connections between the murder and the ambush, they suddenly find themselves in real danger, and only Theodore's unflagging support can help the quick-thinking, feisty sleuths in their race to solve the most challenging case of their lives.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

In their third outing, amateur sleuths Thomas Curry and his "quintessentially French" wife, Sandrine, have left New York City for a photo safari in central Africa, where they are caught up in the maneuverings of civil and military authorities in Burundi. Although at first crime fiction buffs may find the period (1963) and setting daunting for a casual read, Bowen effectively mines the situation's inherent tension while indulging his taste for complex plotting. Thomas and Sandy observe an oddly halfhearted military attack on a ragtag convoy; that night an American, identified by his passport as Alex Hanson, is killed at their hotel. Claude Devereaux, a European engineer who shared a room with Hanson, is captured fleeing the hotel and charged with the murder. Investigating magistrate Antoine Mboya drafts Thomas as a witness, in the apparent belief that an American is less likely than a Burundian to be intimidated by Major Michel Ndala, who wants the case tried under military jurisdiction. Meanwhile Devereaux asks to see Sandy and claims he was set up. As Thomas and Sandy sort out what is afoot, narrator Theodore Furst, an international lawyer and friend of Thomas's father, works his way into the plot, although here, as in Fielder's Choice, he is little more than a fifth wheel.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0312086946
• ISBN 13: 9780312086947
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 196