TIGERS by M.A. Bennett

The alluring yet corrupt STAGS society, where the rich and privileged play fast and loose with the lives of others, is revealed to be terrifyingly global ...

Shafeen's father, Prince Aadhish, has had a heart attack and is close to death. Desperately worried, Shafeen and Greer race from STAGS to Rajasthan. But Prince Aadhish is in a coma and unresponsive and they begin to realise that the Prince received a terrible shock, triggered by a decades-old guilty secret. But as Shafeen and Greer attempt to unlock the secret, they come to believe the answer lies with the de Warlencourt ancestor, Colonel Montgomery, founder of the T.I.G.E.R. shooting club, which horrifyingly pursued low caste Indians instead of tigers. It appears that 'Monty' brought the Order of the Stag to India, and the hunts may still be going on...

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One of the fun things about these books, for me, is seeing how M.A. keeps things fresh from one book to the next. After all, this is book four of a five book series, surely we've got to be repeating ourselves, right? Actually, no. In this series, we take a step back both figuratively and literally, to find out the histories of the fathers of Greer's two paramours and how they intersect. Greer, Shafeen and Henry are here, but they're almost secondary to the Hunt of sixty years ago and the ways it echoes through the present.

It was interesting to see India through the eyes of an Indian, too. The descriptions are amazing, I could practically feel the heat and smell the spices, and learning a bit about the history was wonderful as well.The schools I went to didn't teach me much about India at all, beyond a bit about Gandhi, so it was really great to learn a bit here and I'm interested enough to go and research it some more now!

Greer was her normal brilliant self, single minded and clever. Shafeen continues to be the perfect, supportive boyfriend. Henry... well, slight spoiler below, highlight to read:

I'm not sure what Henry's actual status is. He's presumed dead and his cousin is holding the Lordship, and the Tiger club knows about that, but he was still able to take up a role there and no one seemed worried or surprised? Very odd. It's also a bit strange to see a redemption arc from this side, and without knowing what he's thinking and feeling it's tough to know whether to root for him or not. That's probably the point, of course!

 He's still just about the most interesting character, though.

 Monty's Hunt was really scary and I found I couldn't put the book down as I was desperate to know what would happen. Hardy's solution was so clever, I was cheering him on (very quietly, but still.)

I'm very much looking forward to the final showdown in the next (last, as far as I know) book and I can't believe I have to wait a year for it! I'm so excited to read the ending and then to find out what else MA is going to share with us.

TIGERS publishes on the 2cd of September, 2021. I received a free copy and am giving an honest interview.