Day of the Dandelion: An Arthur Hemmings Mystery

Seeds of a new corn plant are stolen from Oxford University's botany lab, and the professor, Alastair Scott, and his Russian assistant, TanyaPetrovskaya, are missing. Alarms ring in London and Washington, where intelligence officials know that Scott was working on a supergene that could allow control over the world's entire food supply. The British government calls in Arthur Hemmings from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. To his coworkers, Hemmings is just another researcher in theherbarium, but for many years he has been a secret service agent, an outwardly rumpled but dashing covert adventurer. Officials see a Moscow plot. Has Scott been kidnapped? Is he dead? Have Scott and Tanya fled to Russia? And why is Oxford's vice-chancellor withholding vital information? The intrepid Hemmings follows a series of clues into the cutthroat world of international patents, where the hunt for priceless genes is always nasty and often deadly. In Arthur Hemmings, Pringle has created an original heartbreaker of a hero, a botanist detective with a dash of James Bond. Facing murderous threats, Hemmings investigates fearlessly and with devastating precision. Handsome, witty, an ambitious cook, and a wine lover, he is irresistible to a much younger American female researcher. "Day of the Dandelion" is a seductive modern hybrid of the thrillers of Graham Greene and the adventure novels of Ian Fleming, filled with political, scientific, and commercial intrigue, and laced with miracle plants, deadly toxins, kidnappings, and car chases. It will keep the reader in suspense and amused from prelude to postscript.

Review :
"A born story-teller, Peter Pringle has pulled off the rare feat of turning his journalistic expertise into an absorbing novel. In the botanical detective Arthur Hemmings, Pringle has created a Hercule Poirot for our times -- with a distinctive dash of James Bond." -- Anthony Holden, Shakespeare biographer and author of "Big Deal and Bigger Deal" "A twenty-first-century tale with the suspense, mystery and humor of theclassic detective adventure story. Only Arthur Hemmings can solve a case as baffling as the real-life Polonium 210 murders." -- Nicholas von Hoffman, author of "A Devil's Dictionary of Business" "At last -- a serious, intelligent thriller. Peter Pringle has written a pacy novel with believable characters and a storyline that will not only keep you reading into the small hours but raises real issues crucial to our future. An amazing achievement." -- Phillip Knightley, author of "The Second Oldest Profession" and "The First Casualty" "Meet Arthur Hemmings -- botanical sleuth -- whose witty ways with womenpervade an otherwise rough and tumble tale of academic science and corporate greed messing about with the future of the world's food supply." -- Robert M. Goodman, Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Rutgers University "Peter Pringle has cultivated a beguiling new hero in his botanical spy, Arthur Hemmings. Who knew the sexual lives of plants could be so intriguing -- and so fraught with danger?" -- David Ignatius, "Washington Post" columnist and author of "Body of Lies" "Peter Pringle has managed something special: a thriller with super plants, deadly toxins, and international intrigue. And an appealingly original hero who understands, as the author does, the fascinations and dangers of the botanical world." -- Jeffrey Frank, author of "The Columnist" and "Bad Publicity"