MONEY TREE (45 page)

Insecticide
: the bark and leaves act as powerful insect repellents. Neem trees are the only green things left standing after a plague of locusts. But it is the oil extracted from the seeds which is most potent.  Not only do villagers use the products in their every day life – as a mosquito repellent and salve for bites – but the tree is now cultivated and used in commercial quantities as a natural protection for major crops such as cardamom, tea, rice and vegetables in both India and other developing countries. As well as having a strong pesticidal effect the great advantage of Neem over synthetic compounds is that it is harmless to humans, animal life and the ground itself.

Medicine
: Ayurvedic lore describes some 100 medical uses of Neem, most of which are still being practised today in the sub continent. Neem works against a variety of skin diseases, septic sores, and infected burns. Poultices from the leaves have proved  effective against scrofula, boils, ulcers, ringworm, eczema and varieties of fungi that have proved hard to control by synthetic fungicides.

General
: Neem twigs are used as toothbrushes with powerful results against gum disease. Neem oil – though smelly in its untreated state – is a ready source of lamp oil. Parasite control on domestic animals is one of the most promising applications.

Any product with such magical properties was bound to attract the attention of the money men, especially if it was sitting
there unpatented (it never occurred to the Indians to patent something that grew in their own back yard and had provided such a variety of benefits – free - for thousands of years.)
In 1995, the 
European Patent Office
 
(EPO) granted a patent on an anti-fungal product derived from neem to the 
US Department of Agriculture
 
and 
W. R. Grace and Company
.
 The
Indian government challenged the patent when it was granted, claiming that the process for which the patent had been granted had actually been in use in India for over 2,000 years. In 2000, the EPO ruled in India's favour but W. R. Grace appealed, claiming that prior art about the product had never been published in a scientific journal. On 8 March 2005, that appeal was lost and the EPO revoked the Neem patent.

That doesn’t mean there are no commercial products available in the West.
There is a small but growing range of Neem products including toothpaste, a spray against dust mites and a dog shampoo.  

But the future of the Neem is surely brighter than as a poodle shampoo for pampered Western pets. More science needs to be applied to understanding its complex and extensive range of applications. In the meantime, the
Neem’s most obvious impact could be in the reforestation of areas hit by drought and where tree felling for firewood has led to silting, flooding and erosion.  Perhaps as a counter to the ill-effects of 45,000 large dams?

THE
HANGING SHED

Glasgow, 1946:
The war is over, but victory is anything but sweet. Ex-policeman Douglas Brodie is back in Scotland to try and save childhood friend Hugh Donovan from the gallows.

Donovan returned from war unrecognizable: mutilated, horribly burned. It’s no surprise that he keeps his own company, only venturing out for heroin to deaden the pain of his wounds. When a local boy is found raped and murdered, there is only one suspect...

A mountain of evidence says Donovan is guilty, but Brodie feels compelled to help his one-time friend. Working with Donovan’s advocate, Samantha Campbell, Brodie trawls the mean streets of the Gorbals and the green hills of western Scotland, confronting an unholy alliance of church, police and Glasgow’s deadliest razor gang along the way.

Can Brodie save his childhood friend from the gallows? Or will Donovan meet his fate in the notorious hanging shed?

Praise for The Hanging Shed:

‘The word-of-mouth hit that is leaving its fellow thrillers
in its wake. Ferris is a wonderfully evocative writer’             
Observer

BITTER WATER

Summer in Glasgow. When the tarmac bubbles, and
the tenement windows bounce back the light. When lust boils up and tempers fray. When suddenly, it’s bring out your dead…

Glasgow’s melting. The temperature is rising and so is the murder rate. Douglas Brodie, ex-policeman, ex-soldier and newest reporter on the Glasgow Gazette, has no shortage of material for his crime column.

But even Brodie baulks at his latest subject – a rapist who has been tarred and feathered by a balaclava-clad group. Brodie soon discovers a link between this horrific act and a series of brutal beatings.

As violence spreads and the bodies pile up, Brodie and advocate Samantha Campbell are entangled in a web of deception and savagery. Brodie is swamped with stories for the Gazette. But how long before he and Sam become the headline?

Praise for Gordon Ferris:

‘Electrifies readers…a rising star of Scottish literature’    
Scotsman

PILGRIM SOUL

It’s 1947 and the worst winter in memory: Glasgow is buried in snow, killers stalk the streets – and Douglas Brodie’s past is engulfing him
.

It starts small. The Jewish community in Glasgow asks Douglas Brodie, ex-policeman turned journalist, to solve a series of burglaries. The police don’t care and Brodie needs the cash. Brodie solves the crime but the thief is found dead, butchered by the owner of the house he was robbing. When the householder in turn is murdered, the whole community is in uproar – and Brodie’s simple case of theft disintegrates into chaos.

Into the mayhem strides Danny McRae – Brodie’s old sparring partner from when they policed Glasgow’s mean streets. Does Danny bring with him the seeds of redemption or retribution?               As the murder tally mounts, Brodie discovers tainted gold and a blood-stained trail back to the concentration camps. Back to the horrors that haunt his dreams. Glasgow is overflowing with Jewish refugees. But have their persecutors pursued them? And who will be next to die?

Praise for Gordon Ferris:

‘Ferris is a writer of real authority, immersing the reader in his nightmare world…everything speaks of an original voice.’
Independent

GALLOWGLASS

He’s dead.
The Glasgow Gazette announced the tragic death on 26 June 1947 of their chief crime reporter, Douglas Brodie. The obituary staunchly defended him against the unproven charge of murder – a brave stance to take, given the public outcry and the weight of evidence against him.

Just three weeks before, life was rosy. After a tumultuous winter chasing war criminals across Glasgow, Douglas Brodie was reveling in the quiet life. His relationship with Samantha Campbell was blossoming and
he’d put the reins on his impulsiveness. Hope and promise filled the tranquil summer air.

A day later, Brodie is arrested for the kidnap and murder of Scotland’s top banker. The  case against Brodie is watertight: caught with a gun in his hand next to a man with a bullet in his head – from Brodie’s own revolver. He has no alibi. No witnesses. Despite Samantha’s best efforts, Brodie faces the gallows. Locked in his cell as the evidence mounts, his old demons
overwhelm him. There is only one way out for a man of honour.

Is th
is the sordid end for a distinguished ex-copper, decorate soldier and man of parts?

Praise for Gordon Ferris:

‘Compelling story telling at a dashing pace, with a superb eye for post-war Glasgow.”
Daily Mail

TRUTH DARE KILL

The war is over.
But there are no medals for Danny McRae. Just amnesia and blackouts; twin handicaps for a private investigator with an upper-class client on the hook for murder.

Danny’s blackouts mean that hours, sometimes days, are a complete blank. So when news of a brutal killer stalking London’s red-light district starts to stir grisly memories, Danny is terrified about what he might discover if he delves deeper into his fractured mind.
Will his past catch up with him before his enemies can? And which would be worse?

A fast-paced thriller by the author of the Kindle sensation
The Hanging Shed,
the first Douglas Brodie investigation.

Praise for Gordon Ferris:

‘Great feel and authenticity... terrific’
Val McDermid

THE
UNQUIET HEART

London, 1946.
Danny McRae is a private detective scraping a living in ration-card London. Eve Copeland, crime reporter, is looking for new angles to save her career. It’s a match made in heaven... until Eve disappears, one of McRae’s contacts dies violently and an old adversary presents him with some unpalatable truths.

McRae’s desperate search for his lover draws him into a web of black
marketeers, double agents and assassins, and hurls him into the shattered remains of Berlin, where terrorism and espionage foreshadow the bleakness of the Cold War. And McRae begins to lose sight of the thin line between good and evil...

The thrilling sequel to Truth Dare Kill by the author of the Kindle publishing sensation,
The Hanging Shed
.

Praise for Gordon Ferris:

‘Evocative, beautifully told; Ferris might just become the new Ian Rankin’
Daily Mail