Lombok is now most well-known in the West as the site of a disastrous earthquake, which, in late 2018, brought havoc to the province, including the island of Gili Trawangan. In this murder mystery, Arthur Pelham, a British anthropologist, and his colleagues who have just arrived in Gili Trawangan, become caught up in a spiralling intrigue. In one encounter, they are offered an expensive watch, apparently found on the beach by a pearl seller. The find of the watch is quickly followed by the discovery of a dead body, and Pelham realises that there is more to island life than sea, sand and all-night parties. The author, C.W. (Bill) Watson, an Emeritus Professor of Anthropology of the University of Kent, has done extensive fieldwork in Indonesia. In addition to his numerous scholarly articles on Islam, politics, and modern Indonesian literature, he is the author of two books about autobiography and recent Indonesian history. He more recent love of Sundanese literature can be seen in his recent publication, In the Small Hours of the Night (Lontar, 2019), the first-ever anthology of modern Sundanese stories in English translation. And his knowledge of the island of Lombok (where his daughter lives) is evident in Murder in Tropical Blue.
