Shortlisted for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger for Best Debut Crime Novel of the YearShortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown 2015Longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2015Longlisted for the Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction 2014 'The Strangler Vine is a splendid novel with an enthralling story, a wonderfully drawn atmosphere, and an exotic mystery that captivated me' Bernard Cornwell'The Strangler Vine is fresh and original with many surprises in store . . . Avery is the guileless Watson of the partnership, and Blake the opaque Sherlock' Evening StandardCalcutta 1837. The East India Company rules India - or most of it; and its most notorious and celebrated son, Xavier Mountstuart, has gone missing.William Avery, a down-at-heel junior officer in the Company's army, is sent to find him, in the unlikely company of the enigmatic and uncouth Jeremiah Blake. A more mismatched duo couldn't be imagined, but they must bury their differences as they are caught up in a search that turns up too many unanswered questions and seems bound to end in failure.What was it that so captivated Mountstuart about the Thugs, the murderous sect of Kali-worshippers who strangle innocent travellers by the roadside? Who is Jeremiah Blake and can he be trusted? And why is the whole enterprise shrouded in such secrecy?