Synopses & Reviews
Picture a hotel room in 1948 Singapore. Picture a dispute between black marketer and thief Russell Pearce and an associate-an associate who opens fire and murders Russell Pearce.
Fast forward to present-day Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Young Doug Pearce, just fired from his steady job in the brewery, has never strayed far from home. But he's always found stories of his Uncle Russ, the family black sheep, fascinating. In comes a letter from an old friend of his dead uncle inviting him up to Toronto. Doug, at loose ends and bored with killing time, accepts. On arrival, he learns that wealthy and glamorous Edna has an agenda: she has assembled enough clues to solve the murder of Russell Pearce and to recover a legendary red diamond he was thought to be smuggling.
Doug, nervous but game, agrees to play detective. How bad can it be to jet off to a glamour spot or two and have an adventure? Whoa! By the end of his first day in Casablanca, Doug knows he's made a mistake. And while he meets people eager to help-a retired museum curator, a beautiful and self-absorbed heiress, and her elderly father, a colleague of Russell Pearce-it becomes clear that someone else is interested in Doug, someone who is also looking for the diamond.
From Morocco to Egypt to Bahrain to Singapore, Doug stumbles on. And whether he's escaping across Cairo rooftops, ducking bullets in a high-speed desert chase, or killing time in a crowded Egyptian jail cell, Doug is sure of one thing: He has no clue what he's doing. But surely he'll think of something as he's propelled full circle back to Singapore and the famed Raffles Hotel. He's definitely not 007...but will he prove to be a zero?
Review
*STARRED REVIEW FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY*
Benoit's smashingly good, action-packed first novel leads Douglas Pearce, a young brewery worker from Pottstown, Pa., on a quest for information about his long-dead uncle that takes him from Toronto to Casablanca, Cairo, Bahrain and Singapore, before returning him to Toronto. He gets on the trail of a huge stolen gem, and along the way finds rascals, thugs, thieves and vamps among the archeology scholars, ex-museum directors and encyclopedia publishers who appear to be his guides. With much wit and invention, Benoit convincingly portrays the Middle East. A hilarious account of chaos in the Cairo airport reads like an updated scene from Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad. Benoit adroitly contrasts the modern features of North Africa and Asia with the remnants of their ancient pasts. Two murderous chases through urban and rural Egypt build to a resolution that remains well concealed until the final pages. Some readers may find the sex scenes too brief and a bit strange, but this is a quibble. Benoit is a rare discovery, and one hopes that he plans to produce more adventure-oriented mysteries with the same skill and energy that propel this excellent debut. -- Publishers Weekly (2 February 2004)
Review
"Benoit is definitely star material, this first novel blending elements of a good mystery with the boyish, wanderlust charm of Mark Twain and a goofy but brilliant humor that reminds me a little of Dave Barryà. It is a gem of a novel." --John Orr, San Jose Mercury News
Review
"A rip-roaring mystery novel that spans the globe. Benoit has written a colorful story of sultry babes, dangerous souks, imperial legacies, greed and murder. From Pottsville to Singapore, every page drips with realism and verve." --John Robinson, author of The Sapphire Sea
Review
"Relative Danger, Charles Benoit's derring-do debut mystery, is as exhilarating as a magnum of Dom Perignon. Benoit writes with wit, panache and guile. The non-stop pace, exotic locales, exuberant sex and swashbuckling hero combine for splendid entertainment." --Carolyn Hart
Review
*STARRED REVIEW* FROM BOOKLIST
Where has Charles Benoit been hiding? With a debut novel this good, it's hard to believe he hasn't published at least 10 previous books. Every
element of this rollicking adventure shines, from its suspenseful, globetrotting plot to its nicely rounded characters. Unlikely young hero Doug Pearce, most recently of Pottsville, PA, leaves his small town at the request of Edna, an exotic older woman who knew his black-sheep uncle, Russell Pearce...Beginning in Casablanca and continuing through Morocco and Egypt, Doug eventually lands in Singapore, where his uncle's life ended. Along the way, he meets a stately museum curator and a stunning heiress, among other exotic characters, and unwisely trusts both of them. This
captivating debut makes great use of familiar gambit: throwing a naove, untraveled hero into foreign climes and forcing him to hit the ground running. Readers will eagerly await more from the very talented Benoit.
-- Booklist
Synopsis
In this action-packed first novel, Douglas Pearce, a Pennsylvania brewery worker, begins a globetrotting quest for information about his long-dead uncle that takes him from Toronto to Casablanca to Singapore.