Himalayan Heist: an Alex and James wildlife adventure in Nepal

by Jane Wilson-Howarth

In this fast-moving adventure story, the unthinkable happens several times over! From a plane crash landing in the remote mountains of western Nepal, we follow Alex, Bim and James as they escape from the wreckage, crossing terrifying torrents and battling through dense forests – where bears are the least of their problems. This is more than the story about three children trying to find their parents again. It’s also a glimpse into the wicked world of underground trading in animal parts and a quest to bring wildlife-killing criminals to justice.

274 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2021

About the author

As a child Jane dreamed of intrepid adventures and encounters with exotic wildlife but it wasn’t until she was 22 and with a zoology degree to her credit that she started travelling: she organised a six-month expedition to catalogue the creatures living in Himalayan caves. To cut a very long story short, this trip lead to a parasitology then medical qualification, a husband and many more exotic trips. She experienced leeches, malaria mosquitoes, ticks and scorpions first hand and, realising how good information contributes to enjoyable travel, wrote her first travel health guide, "Bugs Bites & Bowels", which launched in a sixth edition in December 2023 as "Staying Healthy When You Travel". Her first book was a travel narrative, "Lemurs of the Lost World". So far, 10 of her books have been books published.

Dr Jane has lived in various very remote corners of the globe and has spent about 15 years in South Asia. Jane’s third son made his first big trip – to Nepal – at the age of three weeks. Experiences of living in rural Nepal proved a rich resource for Jane's writing as her travel biography, her first novel and her adventure stories for children bear witness.

She practised as a general practitioner / family physician for 15 years in Cambridgeshire and boasts more letters after her name than in it; she teaches extensively on travel health including an annual commitment to a workshop on diarrhoea at the University of Cambridge medical school. She has written more than 200 health features for Wanderlust magazine and her words have been published in national newspapers and the academic press. She is proud to have a tale in two of Bradt's travel anthologies, and also several in "Fifty Camels and She's Yours.".

In September 2017 she moved back to Nepal and is dividing her time between Kathmandu and Cambridge. Her Nepal photos are on Instagram @longdropdoc and she tweets (occasionally) also as @longdropdoc. Her blogs are on her author website www.wilson-howarth.com where there are photogalleries relating to her books.

Reviews

[Nyaurimusa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting story of adventure in the Himalayas, with fascinating encounters with all the wildlife you might see in the mountains. Plus lots more with twists and turns in every chapter.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting and informative with a brilliantly strong sense of place. Go on - have an adventure by diving into this book!

[Lumbasumbayeti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping tale of adventure in the mountains, full of tales of wildlife, smuggling and plucky children. Highly recommended