It’s 1859 and
world-traveling botanical expert Merrick Tremayne believes his days of
adventure are over after a leg injury. He has resigned himself to a life of
solitude on his family’s deteriorating Cornwall estate with no company but his unhappy
brother. When an old friend shows up to convince him to set off for Peru in
search of cinchona tree cuttings for the East India Company, Merrick is
initially resistant. With much needling from his friend and his brother threatening
sending him to an asylum, Merrick relents and joins the expedition. Peru has a
monopoly on the cinchona trees, the only source of quinine, and has begun
charging exorbitant prices for the anti-malaria drug. The East India Company
believes the Tremayne family’s ties to a remote village will allow him to sneak
into the forest and smuggle out the cuttings under the guise of searching for
frost-resistant coffee plants. Upon arriving in the village, Merrick discovers
that the Peruvian mountains hide more than just the cure for malaria. There are
exploding trees, a border of salt that is said to be fatal if crossed, moving
statues, and a priest with a strange illness. When the quinine runners catch on
to Merrick’s plan, he and the priest cross the salt border and enter the
unknown forest hoping to make it out the other side alive.
This is Pulley’s second
book, and has some loose ties to her debut,
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, though each can be read as a stand-alone
novel. A gifted storyteller, Pulley manages to make the fantastic aspects of her
stories seem just as plausible as the mundane and shows the reader that true
magic is found in love, trust, and enduring friendship. The Bedlam Stacks will be released in August 2017, but you can
put your name on the holds list today!
- Reviewed by Portia
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