The Deceivers

By: John Masters

Narrated by: Patrick Tull

Around a low-burning fire in a jungle clearing, a small group of late travelers huddles: a merchant, a Sikh with his son, a farmer. Silently, two men, flanking one of the travelers, crouch forward. A dirty cloth flashes momentarily and jerks around the traveler’s neck. One of the men tugs the cloth, the other forces the traveler’s head over to one side. Thuggee death has struck; Kali is assuaged.

©1952 Bengal-Rockland (P)1990 Recorded Books, LLC

Jack Aubrey Meets Richard Sharpe

John Masters manages to combine the historical verisimilitude and some of the psychological and emotional depth of Patrick O’Brien with the suspense and sheer adventure of Bernard Cornwell. Granted, Masters’ hero, William Savage, is no self-assured swashbuckler; he’s haunted by self-doubts and second thoughts just as unsettling as anything Stephen Maturin ever recorded in his journal. But Savage finds himself in the midst of the kind of ticklish situations that are meat and drink to the likes of Richard Sharpe—and, when the chips are down, reacts in a very similar fashion. It is a potent and highly enjoyable combination.

True, questions arise. How could an Englishman pass himself off as an Indian weaver—especially to that weaver’s intimate associates? Doesn’t his makeup need touching-up occasionally? As with Fleming’s You Only Live Twice, you find yourself passing over these issues for the sake of the story. And, as with Fleming and O’Brien, you find yourself hitting “pause” in order to savor passages of exceptionally fine writing.

My association of The Deceivers with the Aubrey and Maturin series may be due, in part, to the fact that Patrick Tull, who performed the best recordings of O’Brien’s books, mans the mic here. Whatever the case, he turns in his usual spectacular performance.

Harder to follow

I found this one a little harder to follow than Bohwani Junction, despite having the same reader. The story was probably a little less captivating as well. Would like to see the rest of this series on audiobook.