While in India, Hugo Duran gets into trouble with a petty tyrant and he must retrieve a sacred jeweled statuette of a leopard within a year or forfiet his life. He embarks to London in search for the statue accompanied by a stoic and enigmatic Indian assassin who watches his every move. In London, he comes upon Lady Jessica Carville, a woman he had an affair with six years ago and abandoned abruptly. As an antiquities expert, she can help him locate the statue. But will she help the lover that abandoned her all those years ago?This book was an entertaining read. There are some parts that seem improbable or a bit overly dramatic. Duran gets to walk around London without his "valet" but does not attempt to escape or find a means of escape. There is supposedly a band of Indians who watch his every move, yet always avoid detection by the locals. Then there's the plot to save Lady Jessica's sister from her bad marriage. Just seems too dramatic for Lady Jessica who doesn't even like her sister that much. But in any case, if you don't look too closely at these things or think too much, this book can be enjoyable.
This is the first book in a trilogy. I'm currently reading "The Heart of the Tiger", which I hope is better than "The Golden Leopard." As you can see from their titles, this series is called the Cat Trilogy or something like that.
Marichu's rating: * * * (3 1/2 /5 stars)
