Published 1985
The Dance of Shiva
A summary:
In a grisly Canadian echo of Jonestown, 20 members of a cult are found savagely executed in an isolated island on Canada's West Coast, and their leader, Shiva Ram Acharya, is brought to trial for their murder.
After an accident immobilizes Shiva's lawyer, the great Arthur Beauchamp, junior counsel Max Macarthur faces the greatest challenge of his young career when he is thrust into the role of defence counsel.
Shiva claims to be amnesic about the events that led to the deaths, and refuses to participate in his own defence, but Macarthur gradually becomes convinced of his innocence and embarks on a tumultuous, danger-ridden quest for the true murderer. While doing so, he slowly falls under the sway of the brilliant and enigmatic Shiva, and find his Western-oriented philosophies in conflict with the escape from the bonds of the mind that Shiva teaches.
A few reviews:
"An absolute delight, at times extremely witty, always urbane and gripping … Read and enjoy!" Victoria Times-Colonist
"The most gripping courtroom drama since Anatomy of a Murder." Globe and Mail
"A real winner … Deverell has become a national treasure." Windsor Star
"Written in such an intensely believable and interesting way ... it's impossible to put this book down." Edmonton Journal
"Truly engrossing." Winnipeg Free Press
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