#65

A gentleman hunter stalks the dictator of an unnamed central European country, all along claiming it was a game, a bit of sport, a challenging test of mettle. He never intended to actually shoot! He's got the brute in his sights when he is captured, tortured, and left for dead following a staged accident.

Of course he doesn't die, and the rest of the book is a curious recounting of his attempts to flee and hide away in the English countryside. Gradually he comes to realize the motivation for his actions when he is confronted by a gentleman hunter as ruthless and as much a sportsman as himself.

Rogue Male is clever and well-wrought. Strange that its author is a Household but not a household name.