Hunters in the Dark

Hunters in the Dark is the 2015 novel by Lawrence Osborne. This is a fascinating book, beautifully written. I'll look for more by this author.

from the back of the book:

Eager to sidestep his quiet life as a small-town teacher from England and test the thresholds of a daring new future, Robert Grieve decides to go missing.

On his first night in Cambodia, a windfall precipitates a chin of events -involving a bag of "jinxed" money, a suave American, a trunk full of heroin, a hustler taxi driver, and a rich doctor's daughter- that changes Robert's life forever.

In a sophisticated game of cat and mouse redolent of Patricia Highsmith and Alfred Hitchcock -in which identities are blurred, greed trumps kindness, and karma is ruthless- Hunters in the Dark brilliantly twists dark superstitions of the Cambodian jungle with the machinations of fate, confirming Lawrence Osborne as one of the finest writers of today.

favorite quote:

You waited for life to begin and yet for some reason it did not begin. It hesitated while you wondered about the risks. You stodd in the wings of your own play, afraid to walk onto the boards and begin.

The Guardian calls it "edgy, gripping and beautifully written". NPR calls it "an elegant, dark, well-put together novel." The Independent concludes, "Hunters in the Dark is a tip-top thriller. Osborne knows how to keep the pages turning; he is a name to watch." Kirkus Reviews closes a positive review by saying, "Complex in plot yet simple and intense in style, Osborne’s narrative takes us into an Asian heart of darkness."

The New York Times closes with this:

“Hunters in the Dark” is a novel of immersion, not suspense, shaped like a quiet dream. The reader can do nothing but float as if in a muddy river, going where it takes him, which will be back to a version of the beginning. As such, it’s an unqualified success, and I hope it enjoys a wide readership

I read it for my book challenge this year, as part of the NPR list of best books of 2016.