Brilliant prose and rich in colour. Dr Forle is a scientist on a river station deep in the heart of the South American jungle: the last inhabited point before the impassable interior. He is studying the eerie forest glades that the local tribes call 'devil's gardens'. As The Devil's Garden opens, work on the station is thrown into chaos by the arrival of a ruthless Colonel and a sinister Judge. They claim to be registering the indigenous peoples to vote and yet that night Forle witnesses an act of torture that he cannot ignore. From that moment on, he is drawn deeper and deeper into a world of brutality and corruption until he finds himself in the midst of a small war involving remote tribes, renegade soldiers, cocaine growers and the woman he has come to love. When one of his assistants is murdered, Forle is forced to abandon his life's work and take sides.

Synopsis

On an isolated river station at the last inhabited point in the jungle, Dr Forle and his band of international scientists are carrying out their work. Connected to the outside world only by satellite and email, they study the eerie forest glades that local tribes call 'devil's gardens', predicting that these poisoned places will help unlock an evolutionary puzzle. When an unannounced boat docks at their jetty and discharges a crew of soldiers, a colonel, and a sinister judge, their research is thrown into jeopardy. The intruders claim to be registering the indigenous peoples to vote. But that night, Forle witnesses an act of torture he can neither forgot nor ignore, and over the next days, as reality and nightmare become blurred among the trees, he is pushed to his absolute limits...

Reviews

'Shocking and satisfying. An unusually intelligent thriller' Metro

'Reminiscent of novels by JM Coetzee or Damon Galgut. This poisoned Eden throbs with intensity, and delivers a gut punch that leaves you reeling' Independent on Sunday

About the Author

Edward Docx was born in 1972 and lives in London. He is the author of The Calligrapher, which was highly acclaimed and widely translated and Self Help, a contender for the 2007 Booker Prize. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation