The Man from Raffles

Posthumously published, this novel by the author of A Few Good Men masterfully blends riveting adventure and powerful drama. Lawrence Slinng has returned to Singapore to ensure that the bathtub drowning of his father, Neville, was not a murder. A merchant seamen, Slinng had not spoken to Neville in the 25 years since his refusal to follow the family tradition of working at the famous Raffles Hotel. Neville, he learns, was highly secretive, and Slinng sets off on a road that leads to astonishing revelations. At the sight of stunning and mysterious Miri Brooke, whose uncle was the last ``white Raj'' to rule over northern Borneo, Slinng is all but swept away by passion. Hartog, Miri's Aussie billionaire lover, is enraged by his intentions and takes Miri with him on a preposterous mission--namely, to sail his enormous yacht upriver in Borneo and install himself as the new white Raj. Earlier, Slinng had inflamed a murderous Chinese gang in Singapore; he is forced to flee the island himself. But he is determined to find Miri, and embarks on a hideously dangerous journey to do so, knowing he will need to persuade native tribesmen to guide him inland, where savage headhunters are said to inhabit the trees. Even harder for Slinng is the terrible truth he learns about his father, and his resultant anguish over their parting words. Although Slinng's adventures are not for the fainthearted, they offer splendid reading. (Feb.)