I am delighted to be hosting ANN BENNETT on my blog today, as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club blog tour to celebrate the recent publication of The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu, the latest book in her Echoes of Empire collection of historical novels set in wartime south east Asia.

Here you can find out more about the book and read an enticing excerpt from it.

What is the book about?

A sweeping wartime tale of secrets and love, mystery and redemption, moving from the snow-capped Himalayas to the steamy heat of battle in the Burmese jungle.

Perfect for fans of Dinah Jeffries, Victoria Hislop and Rosie Thomas.

Hampshire, UK, 2015. When Chloe Harper’s beloved grandmother, Lena dies, a stranger hands her Lena’s wartime diary. Chloe sets out to uncover deep family secrets that Lena guarded to her grave.

Darjeeling, India, 1943, Lena Chatterjee leaves the confines of a strict boarding school to work as assistant to Lieutenant George Harper, an officer in the British Indian Army. She accompanies him to Nepal and deep into the Himalayas to recruit Gurkhas for the failing Burma Campaign. There, she discovers that Lieutenant Harper has a secret, which she vows never to reveal.

In Kathmandu, the prophesy of a mysterious fortune teller sets Lena on a dangerous course. She joins the Women’s Auxiliary Service Burma (the Wasbies), risking her life to follow the man she loves to the front line. What happens there changes the course of her life.

On her quest to uncover her grandmother’s hidden past, Chloe herself encounters mystery and romance. Helped by young Nepalese tour guide, Kiran Rai, she finds history repeating itself when she is swept up in events that spiral out of control…

“A great read” (Advance Reader)
“Thank you so much for allowing me to read the advance copy. I could barely put it down!” (Advance Reader)
“What a wonderful book… I loved it. The dual time lines were delineated to perfection… the settings were perfectly rendered…” (Advance Reader)

Read an excerpt

They passed through more tiny villages and farms, all old stone-built houses thatched with reeds and straw and often painted white and terracotta. The road went on for a long way along another steep-sided river valley and at one point they had to cross the river on a narrow bridge. It looked very flimsy to Lena, strung high above the rocky torrent, made of string and bamboo. She started to dismount from the pony, thinking that it would lighten the load.

‘There’s no need to do that,’ Lieutenant Harper said, kicking his own pony past Lena and onto the bridge. She watched him cross the swaying structure and step off safely on the other side.

With her heart in her mouth, she kicked Snowy on, and he stepped onto the bridge and began walking across it slowly and deliberately, as if he knew it was important to keep the pace steady. Halfway across, though, he stopped, lifted his head and whinnied, and for a few tense moments, Lena thought he was going to take some persuading to carry on. But with a gentle nudge of the heels, he continued on to join Lieutenant Harper on the other side.

‘Well done!’ the Lieutenant said to Lena, and they carried on along the stone path, the short distance to the next village, her heartbeat gradually slowing down.

There, they repeated the ritual established at the first village, this time enrolling eight young men for the tests. Then they were shown by the headman to the house where they were to stay that night. The family greeted them warmly with smiles and a small boy led the ponies off to a nearby stable for the night.

They ate supper on the front porch, watching the sun go down over the mountaintops.

‘Have you been up here many times?’ Lena asked the lieutenant. He appeared very comfortable in the surroundings and seemed well known and well-liked by the locals.

‘I’ve been so many times that I’ve lost count, Miss Chatterjee,’ he said.

‘Do you think the villages might run out of young men at some point?’ she asked.

‘The village elders are very careful who they allow to join up. Young men are reaching the recruitment age all the time, but the elders don’t allow all of them to join the army. They need some to stay and farm the land, take care of the villages.’

‘You seem to have a real rapport with the villagers, Lieutenant Harper,’ Lena remarked.

‘I hope so. You won’t find more loyal, generous people anywhere in the world.’

But then Lena noticed his face take on an awkward look, as if he wanted to tell her something but was holding himself back, or didn’t think it was the right moment.

‘Was there something you were going to say?’ she asked, but he shook his head and got up to ask for another helping of dahl baht.

When they had finished eating, the lady of the house, a stout, middle-aged woman dressed in long black robes with a colourful, embroidered waistcoat, showed Lena and Lieutenant Harper upstairs via a ladder to the sleeping quarters. So, there was no chance to ask the lieutenant what had caused him to reflect while they had been speaking about his rapport with the villagers.

Lena lay down on the lumpy bed, listening to the bleating of goats and the lowing of cattle in the stable beneath her. There were gaps between the floorboards, so if she looked down, she could see goats, cattle and chickens beneath. The family was staying at one end of the house, Lieutenant Harper somewhere in the middle and Lena at the other end, behind a thick curtain and with only a candle for light.

I am tired now and must get some sleep, although I’m not sure how easy that will be with the animals shifting about underneath me and the ever-present smell of woodsmoke curling up through the floorboards from the cottage fire. I am intrigued by Lieutenant Harper’s reaction when we were talking about the villagers and hope that tomorrow I will be able to get him to speak about it.

Book details

The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu was published in October 2023 by Andaman Press, and is available as an eBook and in paperback.

It is also available to read on Kindle Unlimited.

Buy link

Universal link

About the author

Ann Bennett

Ann Bennett is a British author of historical fiction. She was born in Pury End, a small village in Northamptonshire, UK and now lives in Surrey. Her first book, Bamboo Heart: A Daughter’s Quest, was inspired by researching her father’s experience as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway. Bamboo Island: The Planter’s Wife, A Daughter’s Promiseand Bamboo Road:The Homecoming, The Tea Panter’s Club and The Amulet are also about the war in South East Asia, which together with The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu make up the Echoes of Empire Collection.

Ann is also author of The Runaway Sisters, bestselling The Orphan House, The Forgotten Children and The Child Without a Home, published by Bookouture.

The Lake Pavilion, The Lake Palace, both set in British India in the 1930s and WW2, and The Lake Pagoda and The Lake Villa, set in French Indochina during WW2, make up The Oriental Lake Collection.

Ann is married with three grown up sons and a granddaughter and works as a lawyer. For more details please visit www.annbennettauthor.com.

You can follow Ann on social media:

Website

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Amazon Author Page | Goodreads

Follow Ann’s tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club HERE!