Review – The Strangler Vine by M. J. Carter

This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.

Reviewed by Emma Kingston

The Strangler Vine is set in India in 1837 amongst the landscape of a country ruled by English trading The East India Company. William Avery, a young officer in the Company, arrives in Calcutta expecting to be seduced by its ancient traditions, but instead finds himself in debt, and an alien outsider to the local language and culture. He longs to return home to England. His longings for home are interrupted when he is sent on a mission to track down his hero, infamous poet Xavier Monstuart, the very inspiration behind Avery’s decision to travel to Calcutta. Monstuart has mysteriously disappeared and Avery is sent to accompany an unruly ex-captain, Jeremiah Blake. He is unsure why he has been selected to take on such a role, being a relatively low ranking officer in the Company, and his first encounter with Blake does not encourage him that they will have a harmonious partnership.

The unlikely duo scale 700 miles of treacherous road in search of Monstuart. With Avery’s role to keep a keen eye on Blake. But Blake refuses to keep him informed of his plans. The story follows their journey across India, largely from the perspective of Avery’s ignorance, which means that the mystery surrounding Monstuart’s disappearance is as much a learning curve for him as it is for the reader.

Carter treats us to vivid descriptions throughout; you can feel the Indian heat as you are reading the almost hypnotic prose. I have to confess that this isn’t an era of history that I know particularly well and initially I didn’t relish starting the book. But the beautifully vibrant cover drew me in.

What lay inside unravelled a history and culture of 19th century India that was enthralling and intriguing. I didn’t romp through the book at a rate of knots, as I do with some other novels. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, rather because it made me think. It sometimes took me a while to absorb the context behind the story. But I feel that I learnt a lot from reading it, and I do strongly feel that reading should teach us new things, expand our knowledge and enrich our understanding. All boxes were ticked on that front by The Strangler Vine.

The book develops intricate characters and I am pleased to see that it forms part of a series, taking Avery and Blake forward as a fictional duo to rival Sherlock and Watson (a pairing from a similar time but a completely different world). So if you are looking for a light read, it might not be for you, but if you want to learn something and become absorbed in a compelling story…roll right up.

6/10

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