Baxter: Tale of the Ancient Sanskrit Legend

by Tony Collins

Antique dealer BAXTER unwittingly strays into a dangerous world where he is faced with the task of unlocking the secrets behind a one hundred year mystery. The body of a man is found on the steps of a French church. Earlier, Baxter had met the same hard-faced Breton in a sleazy French bar. By default, he acquires an early Chinese vase by sidestepping some shady, angry competition in a local auction room. But his acquisition leads to a terrifying car chase and further murderous events that follow him home to Britain. With the help of a distinguished Professor, he realises the vase is steeped in ancient legend. It was one of a pair that had an inscription written in long-lost Chinese Sanskrit with encoded clues to a secret treasure of immense value. The Professor is found dead with a knife in his back, but before he was killed, he left Baxter a coded message which unlocked the secret of the vases. Now all he had to do was to hang on to his own life.

A ruthless underground Chinese Cartel, pursue him. They want the vessel at any cost. They will stop at nothing, not even murder. But what is the secret they are so desperate to find. Baxter encounters murder, kidnap, betrayal, and a secret world of strange characters living amongst the dead, far below the streets of Paris, but time is not on his side; his luck is rapidly running out.
He is powerless to resist the seductive wiles of the beautiful Magali; she is at the core of the story. A three-dimensional character, she is attractive, imperfect, and intriguing, someone who’s past is entwined in strands of mystery.

534 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022