Synopses & Reviews
From the author of the national bestseller
A Small Death in Lisbon and
The Company of Strangers comes Wilson's compelling first novel, never before available in the United States. Bruce Medway's existence as a fixer and troubleshooter had been tough, but never life-threatening until he crossed paths with the mighty Madame Severnou. His life becomes even more complicated by his search for a missing fellow expat, Steven Kershaw. Against a backdrop of political disruption and endemic official corruption, Medway pursues the elusive phantom of Kershaw.
Instruments of Darkness powerfully evokes the atmosphere, politics, and people of West Africa. With Medway's ironic voice, flashes of humor that may recall Raymond Chandler, and unforgettable characters, this compulsively readable thriller is the beginning of a remarkable series.
Review
"A witty, fast-moving and picaresque tale...peopled by deliciously shady characters." Nelson DeMille
Review
PRAISE FOR
INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS"A witty, fast-moving and picaresque tale . . . peopled by deliciously shady characters."--Nelson DeMille
"An atmospheric and absorbing debut ... Vividly paints a credible picture of a world I know almost nothing about. Now I feel I've been there." --Val McDermid
PRAISE FOR THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS:
"An espionage thriller of the first order--complex, exotic, romantic."--San Francisco Chronicle
PRAISE FOR A SMALL DEATH IN LISBON:
"A taut international thriller."--Time
Synopsis
From the author of the bestseller A Small Death in Lisbon and The Company of Strangers comes a compelling first novel. With Medway's ironic voice, flashes of humor that may recall Raymond Chandler, and unforgettable characters, this compulsively readable thriller is the beginning of a remarkable series.
Synopsis
Based in Benin, West Africa, Bruce Medway makes a living as a "fixer" for traders along the part of the coast that was once called the White Man's Grave. It's a tough existence, but never life-threatening until he crosses the mighty Madame Severnou. Warned off further involvement by his client, Jack Obuasi, his energies are redirected into the search for a missing expatriate, Steven Kershaw.
Kershaw turns out to have been a man of mystery: trader, artist, womanizer, and a sado-masochist. Against background rumblings of political disruption, in the face of endemic official corruption, egged onby an impecunious Benin policeman, Medway pursues the elusive phantom of Kershaw across West Africa.
Instruments of Darkness powerfully evokes the atmosphere, politics and people of West Africa. With Bruce Medway's ironic voice, flashes of humor that may recall Raymond Chandler, and unforgettable characters, this compulsively readable thriller has become a cult classic, and the beginning of a remarkable series.
About the Author
Robert Wilson is the author of six previous novels, including A Small Death in Lisbon, which won the Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year from Britain's Crime Writers Association. A graduate of Oxford University, he has lived in Greece and West Africa. He lives with his wife in an isolated farmhouse in Portugal.