Tuesday, 11 February 2014

Book Review - The Constant Gardener


The Constant Gardener
This is my first reading of any John le Carré novel. A friend has lent it to me. I am pleased because I heard the radio serialization some while ago and enjoyed it.  At first, I found it a bit boring but there were exciting moments and I know I was absorbed because I would wake in the middle of the night and continue reading! There were terrifying moments, violence and conspiracy for the characters and the reader.  It made one think. The answers were not all evident.
Tessa had been gruesomely murdered in Kenya but where was the doctor she was with when trying to expose the drug company and others involved with the corruption. The fictional pharmaceutical company exploit a drug to cure or kill, to profit under the guise of helping the poor! Justin her older husband enjoyed growing lilies and other flowers especially for her. Had she betrayed or been disloyal to her husband or protected him? He, a diplomat at the British High Commission began a personal odyssey to find her killers and the motive.  He risks his own life for justice and revenge after he was interviewed as a suspected murderer.  He accomplishes his task as well as discovering the depths of his love for a woman who he had little time to fully love.
It is a crime thriller full of subtle betrayal, divided loyalty, bribery and corruption and Capitalism.  Recommended reading.

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