A GOOD PLACE TO DIE

1974. Eighteen-year-old drifter John Pitt leaves England with nothing more than his wits and a desire to see the world. When he reaches Iran, despite a poorly forged university degree, he lands a job teaching English. On his first day, he is struck by a veiled woman with luminous black eyes and lovely feet - the headstrong Shirin. The two fall naively and fiercely in love, without considering the consequences of a love like theirs in the Shahs Iran. As the forces of revolution begin to rip through the country, John and Shirin are brutally separated, and John finds himself alone amid a vicious and devastating conflict in a region he barely understands. Pulse-thumping and lyrical, A Good Place to Die evokes the history of a vastly complicated land and the lengths to which well go for those we love, even when faced with the truly unthinkable. Lyrical in the intensity of its writing, A Good Place to Die tells of the love of a callow British youth for a Persian girl and for her tortured, beautiful country. Its a must-read. - Donna Leon James Buchan writes like a dream . . . This novel is a rare achievement. - The Times Airy, graceful and big with truth . . . There is really no word for it but "masterpiece". - Spectator Sooner or later James Buchan will be recognised as the top adventure writer of his time. - Evening Standard