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George Sansi Mystery #3
The Burning Ghats
Hailed by critics and honored as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Season of the Monsoon, Paul Mann's first mystery set in the turbulent world of contemporary India, created a literary sensation. A bold, seductive series, the New York Times Book Review declared when The Ganja Coast, the second George Sansi mystery, appeared two years later. Now in The Burning Ghats, Paul Mann's Anglo-Indian hero returns for a triumphant third appearance in a spellbinding, intricately structured novel of political intrigue, corporate greed, and fierce passions.
India cherishes the river city of Varanasi as one of her most sacred places, for it is here on the burning ghats that the bodies of the devout dead are cremated and their ashes scattered over the Ganges. Yet it is at this blessed shrine that one of the most terrible human and ecological disasters of modern times takes place. As thousands of mourners bathe in the holy waters, a lethal chemical spill swirls down the river, literally consuming the flesh of all who come in contact with it. More than a thousand people die in agony, and thousands more are injured. In a nation still reeling from the poison gas disaster of Bhopal, a single question takes on hideous who is responsible for this outrage?
It is this question that ignites a personal crusade led by Rupe Seshan, the government's new minister for the environment and also one of the most ruthlessly ambitious, dangerously attractive women in India. Rupe knows that her political future hinges on moving swiftly and decisively, and so she places the Varanasi investigation in the hands of a shrewd and powerful friend--Bombay attorney George Sansi. The fact that George and Rupe had stopped just shy of becoming lovers years ago infuses a deep erotic undercurrent into their professional relationship.
As Sansi throws himself into the Varanasi case, he amasses more and more evidence implicating the invincible rich and unscrupulous magnate Madhuri Amlani and his Renown Industries in the chemical spill. Sansi braces for a vicious legal battle with Amlani--but the showdown in court is only the opening skirmish in an all-out war involving cover-ups, blackmail, and assassination at the highest levels of power. As he sees his allies destroyed and the governments authority undermined, George Sansi realizes that he alone has the power--and the knowledge--to topple Amlani. But can he use what he knows before Amlani crushes him?
In The Burning Ghats, Paul Mann captures the turmoil, the excitement, and the danger attending India's monumental struggle to transform itself into a major economic power. Written with grace and wit, mesmerizing in its suspense, imbued with the rich, erotic sensuousness of the Indian subcontinent, The Burning Ghats is at once a profound work of fiction and a terrifically compelling read.
India cherishes the river city of Varanasi as one of her most sacred places, for it is here on the burning ghats that the bodies of the devout dead are cremated and their ashes scattered over the Ganges. Yet it is at this blessed shrine that one of the most terrible human and ecological disasters of modern times takes place. As thousands of mourners bathe in the holy waters, a lethal chemical spill swirls down the river, literally consuming the flesh of all who come in contact with it. More than a thousand people die in agony, and thousands more are injured. In a nation still reeling from the poison gas disaster of Bhopal, a single question takes on hideous who is responsible for this outrage?
It is this question that ignites a personal crusade led by Rupe Seshan, the government's new minister for the environment and also one of the most ruthlessly ambitious, dangerously attractive women in India. Rupe knows that her political future hinges on moving swiftly and decisively, and so she places the Varanasi investigation in the hands of a shrewd and powerful friend--Bombay attorney George Sansi. The fact that George and Rupe had stopped just shy of becoming lovers years ago infuses a deep erotic undercurrent into their professional relationship.
As Sansi throws himself into the Varanasi case, he amasses more and more evidence implicating the invincible rich and unscrupulous magnate Madhuri Amlani and his Renown Industries in the chemical spill. Sansi braces for a vicious legal battle with Amlani--but the showdown in court is only the opening skirmish in an all-out war involving cover-ups, blackmail, and assassination at the highest levels of power. As he sees his allies destroyed and the governments authority undermined, George Sansi realizes that he alone has the power--and the knowledge--to topple Amlani. But can he use what he knows before Amlani crushes him?
In The Burning Ghats, Paul Mann captures the turmoil, the excitement, and the danger attending India's monumental struggle to transform itself into a major economic power. Written with grace and wit, mesmerizing in its suspense, imbued with the rich, erotic sensuousness of the Indian subcontinent, The Burning Ghats is at once a profound work of fiction and a terrifically compelling read.
351 pages, Hardcover
First published October 29, 1996
About the author
Paul Mann
13 books6 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Paul Mann started out as an office boy at The Evening Chronicle in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and from there worked his way up to being a reporter on newspapers and magazines, moving between the U.K., Canada, the U.S. and Australia, including being a founder writer of Australian Geographic.
He is the author of several books and continues to write.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Paul Mann started out as an office boy at The Evening Chronicle in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and from there worked his way up to being a reporter on newspapers and magazines, moving between the U.K., Canada, the U.S. and Australia, including being a founder writer of Australian Geographic.
He is the author of several books and continues to write.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 29, 2017
Ho trovato in quest'ultima storia della trilogia di George Sansi molti legami con la vita dell'imprenditore indiano, realmente esistito, Dhirubhai Ambani..
Chissà quanto di vero ci sia nelle storie del signor Mann
Chissà quanto di vero ci sia nelle storie del signor Mann
March 16, 2010
To my mild surprise, I really liked this mystery set in modern India and linked to a massive environmental disaster - or what would be massive in any other context but in India is just another in a long list of horrible tragedies involving incomprehensible numbers of people dying.
This is the most recent in a series and now I will have to back & read the first ones. Very well written, well paced and never dull. Although I think George could have taken 2 minutes to phone Annie at some point, surely ?
This is the most recent in a series and now I will have to back & read the first ones. Very well written, well paced and never dull. Although I think George could have taken 2 minutes to phone Annie at some point, surely ?
July 10, 2007
The third (and so far, last -- alas!) of the George Sansi mysteries set in India. This one is the most greusome of all, but well-worth the read. Good summer books.
September 13, 2007
besides the first, this was my other favorite. so intense...i would recommend it to anyone.
February 19, 2008
"Another story set in India featuring the character George Sansi. Again very enjoyable because of the extreme strangeness of the country."
June 23, 2011
Pretty silly, with no real mystery or need to think much about the characters populating the tale.
January 29, 2012
Verry Good held my attention all the way Last book in NPL by this authour
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews