The Constant Gardener

Summary

Le Carré's manifold skills at scene-setting and creating a range of fearsomely convincing English characters, from the bluffly absurd to the irredeemably corrupt, are at their smooth peak here.—Publishers Weekly

When Tessa Quayle is murdered in northern Kenya, it leaves her husband, career diplomat Justin, searching for answers. Over the course of investigating the circumstances and causes behind her murder, he discovers a drug testing and experimentation scandal that stretches beyond the borders of Kenya. The corruption needed to keep it quiet has taken root in more than one institution he thought he could trust—including the civil servants of the British Foreign Service.

Traveling across the globe in his pursuit for the truth, Justin becomes a target for Tessa's killers, and faces terror and violence unlike anything he's ever faced. But as he uncovers more and more of the conspiracy that cost Tessa her life, Justin also discovers the extent of her activism in the region—and along with it, the depths of her courage.

A bracing critique on the dangers of unchecked capitalism heightens this compelling and intimate thriller from John le Carré, the New York Times bestselling author of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Night Manager. The 2005 film adaptation, directed by Fernando Meirelles and starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, received four Academy Award nominations and one win (Best Supporting Actress for Weisz), as well as ten BAFTA nominations.