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Jill, a young woman full of curiosity and chutzpah, is a graduate student from Princeton who is visiting India to study the local gypsies. She has close contact with Venkie, a great friend of her father. Strange occurrences soon take place. Someone ransacks their apartment, planting a stink bomb. It happens again when they move. Jill learns that Venkie is not only a scholar but has also worked for years in the intelligence agency. Venkie’s former-friend-turned-enemy. Kebab, has links to the Taliban and is threatening to unleash a large, weaponized stink bomb on India if Venkie doesn’t meet him within a certain time using only land travel. Jill is fascinated with the story and recruits two of her gypsy contacts to accompany them on their journey to stop Kebab.
Jackson’s adventure is styled like a classic travel quest. A party is formed with a destination in mind. The group will have to rely on each other, build relationships as they go, and overcome obstacles on their route. Jackson’s writing is enjoyable to read. The sentences are crisp and clean, and his deep knowledge of the culture and locales becomes immediately evident through his descriptions. He does a great job of transporting the reader to a part of the world many will never visit. He not only gives the intoxicating sights and sounds of India and Pakistan but also shows the misogyny, violence, and extremism. There is a dichotomy of tone within the narrative that can be unsettling at times. For instance, it is ripe with bad jokes and Scooby-Doo-like capers, while at other turns, it includes a suicide bomber and the public beating of a young woman. Overall, though, readers will find an enthralling quest story that really brings India and Pakistan to life.