Inca Gold

About the Book

Hamish, a Scottish ex-detective, and his Chilean wife Katie join a disparate group of cousins for a mini-cruise along the Chilean coast. A daring gold heist in Lima, sending ripples as far away as Patagonia, political intrigue centres on the Peruvian Culture Minister. Everyone from a drowned Chilean fisherman, drug-runners and beautiful South American heiresses (who are not what they seem) is involved. Unfolding against sensational scenery, the drama heightens when an English passenger - accused of knifing the fisherman - is carried off to jail on the mainland after appealing to Hamish for help. A shipboard poker game turns nasty when the loser cannot meet his drug-pushing creditor; in the fracas someone, allegedly the dealer, drowns. Hamish is wrongfully arrested by officious Chilean security and is only saved by his quick-thinking wife. Meantime he is joined by a former Glasgow colleague now working for Interpol. Following up clues, their own lives are endangered. Eventually Chilean values prevail, but not without cost. Most villains get their come-uppance, most artefacts (some fake) are restored to their rightful owners, some erotica remaining unclaimed, ministerial involvement proved and - Hamish's predominating concern - cartel bosses are nailed.

About the Author

Although born in Paris, Sybil travelled extensively in Latin America, exploring her Lima-born mother’s connections. Later, wored for the British Council in Peru, Ecuador and Chile. On early retirement, Sybil moved to Oxford, where she currently lives. Having completed an honours degree in French, and then part of Oxford University’s modern history degree, she has continued to write. Many of her short stories have been published, and this is her first novel. She is currently writing her second, set in wartime France.