Their Captain is the Hungarian Count Tomaj Balashazy, a refugee from the United States Navy. Count Balashazy rules the coast from his tropical plantation, a fortress built against enemies he’s made cruising the Indian Ocean. Tomaj feels guilt at the loss of his family in New Orleans, and he wallows in clouds of opium, soothed by courtesans. When the American naturalist Dagny Ravenhurst, seeking the dreaded and mystical aye-aye lemur, falls into Tomaj’s lagoon, it’s the beginning of the end of arcadian bliss on the island.

In the central highlands, the French industrialist Paul Boneaux commands his empire of factories. As the special pet of psychotic Malagasy Queen Ranavalona, Boneaux enjoys a monopoly over all manufacturing, commerce, and his mistress. Beholden to Boneaux, Dagny and her two brothers need his patronage to survive. Dagny’s joyless scientific heart melts for the Count’s poetic nature, pitting the two adversaries against each other. Boneaux yearns for progress and industry, Tomaj for liberty and peace.

When the King dies—or is he murdered?—the Queen gives free reign to her merciless anti-European impulses. The island boils with blood, and only one world can emerge triumphant.

In Madagascar’s utopian paradise, all is . . .
Strangely Wonderful

"The third Karen Mercury nineteenth century African adventure (see THE HINTERLANDS and THE FOUR QUARTERS OF THE WORLD) is an excellent historical tale in which once again the locale steals the show. The lead triangle is fully developed protagonists whose sexual activities make the equator feel like a polar cap. Using the real Queen Ranavalona adds to the realism of a great historiographic look at Madagascar through THE STRANGELY WONDERFUL TALE OF COUNT BALASHAZY."
~ Harriet Klausner, Genre Go Round Reviews

"The setting gives this novel all the strangeness the reader could desire, and is written with a sly irony by the author, who received high acclaim for her previous books, THE HINTERLANDS and THE FOUR QUARTERS OF THE WORLD."
~ C. L. Rossman, Armchair Interviews

"This is one hot read! It is a wonderfully crafted historical read where one really feels as if they are in Madagascar with the characters. The scenes are very descriptive and once you start this novel you won’t want to put it down… This is a great book for anyone who likes their books full of well-written characters, a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat and spicy, sizzling love scenes."
~ The Romance Studio

“Mercury has an outstanding vocabulary and knows how to use it.… Her characters gesture, move, and ultimately leap off the page and into the imagination.… This is not your mother’s historical romance.”
~Alice Logsdon, Historical Novel Society