<DISCLAIMER: This has nothing to do with Tiger King, the Netflix sensation of trashy polygamists, murderers, attempted murderers, cult leaders or wanna-be cowboys/tiger wranglers. You’re welcome!>
We’re all locked inside, and frankly there’s only so much tv an avid outdoors person can watch before trying to escape the walls of house confinement. Ordinarily I’d recommend a long walk in a quiet wood lot to reset your hunter’s brain, but if that’s not an option grab a copy of TIGER HUNTER by Greg Tinsley.
Set in the Indian outback of 1939, TIGER HUNTER, a fictional thriller inspired by true events, follows Jim Corbett, Thomas Ibbotson and an anti-hunting journalist, Victoria Hardcourt, who has been dispatched to cover this adventure for the New London Times. The quest: Stop a man-eating tigress and a male leopard that have collectively devoured hundreds of people.
Royal Bengal tigers ruled nearly 500,000 square miles of India in 1600, the year Queen Elizabeth chartered the British East India Company. Throughout the next 300 years tigers slaughtered the people of India at an estimated rate of eight human fatalities per day and claimed approximately 15 million domestic animals. During the first half of the 20th century, Jim Corbett mastered the art and science of stopping the most notorious of these big cats. His accomplishments made him a legend.
India is one of the last places I think of for great hunting adventure since banning hunting in 1972. I was a year old when the ban took affect so I didn’t grow up with tales of wild game coming from that part of the world. As I grew older I consumed the tales of Peter Capstick Hathaway and others hunting Africa during the Colonial period, but absent were many tales of Indian hunting.
Greg Tinsley, a former Editor of Petersen’s HUNTING, BOWHUNTING, FAIR CHASE and Texas Outdoor Times magazines, and frequent contributor to American Hunter and Sports Afield, is not only a crafty writer, but a history geek. That combination forms the perfect storm to expertly craft this novel. Based on true events but written in a narrative that brings the story to life in vivid detail, TIGER HUNTER is both informative and wildly entertaining.
TIGER HUNTER is not necessarily an easy, lazy read like a John Grisham novel, rather a fascinating historical journey into a time and place that few know of, with epic tales that hunters (and non-hunters alike) can appreciate. Once the reader immerses into the story, it’s one that is hard to set aside. Perfect for these times.
Retreat to the outdoors–even if it’s a chair on the porch–and pick up a copy of TIGER HUNTER by Greg Tinsley.
TIGER HUNTER is available on amazon.com in Kindle version, or you can get a copy signed by the author at gregtinsley.com. It makes for a fantastic read, and an even better personalized gift.