Book excerpt: Acclaimed composer Richard Turnbull, grieving at his wife's slow descent into schizophrenia, is notified at this crisis point in his life that his daughter Pia has been murdered in East Africa. He travels to Kenya to investigate her death. His quest leads him to a beautiful island off the coast where he quickly becomes enmeshed in a nightmare world of hard drugs, ivory poaching and sexual intrigue. As the story moves rapidly to its apocalyptic climax, Turnbull clashes violently with the island's ruler, the charming but ruthless Sultan. On the surface a hard-paced thriller, Night Jasmine Man echoes with layer upon layer of meaning, built as it is on a bedrock of ancient myths. Orpheus and Eurydice are here, as is Theseus, and the Cretan myth of a bull-god risen from the sea. It is also shot through with reverence for the natural primal beauty of Africa - sun, sea, wind, elephant, buffalo, birds and fish. At once mystical and highly erotic, tender and sensuous, this compelling novel poses questions about the origin of good and evil and celebrates a passionate belief in the redeeming power of love.