Not content as a child with frying his pet mice, boiling his sister's goldfish, pulling the heads off fledglings or docking innocent dogs' tails, the elegant, sophisticated grownup Jeremy Spiers sees himself bound for even greater - and more sinister - amusements. Flirtatious dalliances between the likes of Franchot 'Tone' Seaton, a black artist on a meteoric rise to international acclaim all thanks to the Svengali-like Jeremy; the formation of Spiers-Seaton Fine Arts (set in a revamped undertaker's premises), and the artist's so-called 'doppelgänger' the complex Sybil, Jeremy's Auntie Mame-like uncle, all lead to twists and turns of increasing complexity. Enter the mysterious Mary Magdalene, the 'do badder' Howie, his loutish colleague Nev the Rev, the dapper but devious art critic Giles and the darkest 'Comedy of Terrors' ensues. From the glamorous galleries of London, Paris and New York to an unexpected cremation in the Australian outback there is no holding Jeremy and his hell-bent ambitions, both predatory and businesswise. Throughout the fast moving pages Jeremy strives to ensure nothing is ever truly past its 'sell by' date, his attitude at times becoming an even more chilling one.
About the Author: Robin Anderson, an internationally known author and interior designer was born in Scotland and brought up in the former Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa. Before attending Rhodes University (the Oxford of South Africa) he hosted his own radio programme in Rhodesia ('The Golden Voice of Teenage Half Hour!) and worked as a cub reporter on 'The Bulawayo Chronicle' during his gap year. Leaving South Africa, he spent the early Sixties working with interior design companies in Paris, New York and London. He set up his own design company in London in 1970. Although interior design had been his first interest, the designer never stopped writing. Nowadays he makes numerous television appearances and is a regular guest on selected radio programmes, gives regular lectures on his writing. His first novel, REGINA, A NOVEL OF SOME EXTREMES, was published in 1998. The novel gives a salacious look 'behind the scenes' of the glamorous but bitchy and competitive world of interior design, following the path of the unpleasant but talented Reginald Forbes as he cuts a swathe through the lives of his many unsuspecting victims. Though London-based, the author travels extensively and the benefits of this are apparent in the various settings to his books. The Amazon, the Yucatan, Borneo, Myanmar, China, Russia, Japan, Sri Lanka, India, Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Australia, The Maldives, Mauritius, Central Europe, Canada, North and South America plus the majority of the Caribbean Islands have also been visited. He has walked the Inca Trail in Peru; climbed Mount Kinabulu (Borneo) and Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania). The author is a strong believer in the protection of endangered species. In 1959 he took part in 'Operation Noah' which involved the rescue of hundreds of animals from the rising waters of the new Kariba Dam being across the mighty Zambezi River in the north/ western part of Zimbabwe. He is also the proud 'foster parent' to four Orang-utans living at the famous Orang-utan Sanctuary in Sepilok, Borneo plus two elephants, Marlene and Marlon, who live happily on a ranch in Zimbabwe. In a total contrast to the above, he also helped with the salvaging of precious works of art and manuscripts in Florence, Italy, during the Sixties when the Rover Arno burst its banks and flooded a major part of the ancient city.