Novels

Comeback
"A riddle in a conundrum in a maze."

Date of Publication: 1991 (HD)

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Foreign Titles: Comeback German

Setting: London, Gloucestershire (Cheltenham)

Synopsis:
A globe-hopping diplomat comes face to face with a case of fatal corruption ...

Fresh from a posting in Tokyo, young British First Secretary Peter Darwin decides to holiday in England before taking up his next assignment for the Foreign Office. During a brief stopover in Miami, Peter is accidentally caught in a scuffle that leaves two acquaintances beaten and robbed. Peter stands by his new friends until they are safely delivered to their next destination: Gloucestershire, England, his childhood home and scene of long- buried memories. There he walks unexpectedly into a veterinary surgeon's racehorse-related nightmare. As his involvement with the doctor's plight grows, as as more racehorses meet an untimely end, Peter realizes that events from his own past are the keys to saving some decent people--and the things they love--from destruction.

Tact, intuition, wiliness: such are the weapons of diplomacy. Now Peter Darin must wield them not for political reasons, but rather to unravel the enigma of the cruel fate befalling the local bloodstock. The trick is to stay alive himself.

Main Characters:
Peter Darwin, 32 years old
Vicky Larch and Greg Wayfield
Belinda Larch, her daughter
Ken McClure, her 34 year old fiance
Annabel Nutbourne
Carey Hewett
Oliver Quincy
Scott Sylvester
Russet Eaglewood
Josephine McClure
Wynn Lees
John "Brose" Ambrose
Det. Spt. Ramsay
Zoe Mackintosh

Professions:
Peter Darwin works for the British Foreign Office.
Annabel Nutbourne works for the British Jockey Club.
Ambrose is the Deputy Director of Security for the British Jockey CLub.
McClure, Hewett, and Quincy are all vets.
Belinda is a veterinary nurse.

Comes after: Longshot

Villain and Motives: Spoilers! Click here to reveal the villain!

Quotes:

"How about a bonk, then?"

A cool honeypot could make an instant fool of a healthy drone.

"Some people are born heartless."

"I suppose you know the famous definition of a diplomat?"
I knew. Everyone in the foreign service knew. I quoted, "An honest man sent to lie abroad for his country."

"What four animals do women like most?"
... "A woman's favorite animals," he said carefully,"are a mink in the closet, a jaguar in the garage, a tiger in the bed--and a jackass to pay for it all."

Quiz:
highlight the area beneath the question to discover the answer
1. What is the poison that the villain uses?
tetradotoxin

2. Where is this poison found in nature?
puffer fish

3. What were the Japanese tourists trying to ask Annabel when Peter first met them?
the bathroom

4. According to Peter, what does 'trivia' mean in Latin?
three roads; wherever 3 roads met, the Romans put up notice boards with the news

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