Tree Crime

Arun, a young Mekong upland girl, falls in love and fascination with the forest and all it contains. The murder of a ranger and a frightening epidemic set her against the unprincipled and greedy exploitation of the natural world. The story encourages understanding of the increasing dangers to the environment and to human life that selfish lack of respect for nature creates. Set in a village on the edge of the forest, Tree Crime seeks to portray village life and interactions from an insider's point of view.

MELODY KEMP has lived and worked in Asia for over 30 years, spending most time in Nepal, The Philippines, Indonesia, and latterly the Mekong nations, nominally the setting for Tree Crime. Her extensive travel in the region, along with incessant curiosity and environmental concern, have informed Tree Crime about the interaction between changing culture and ecological damage.

"Trees that are able to communicate to help resolve a murder mystery are just one of the many wonders in Tree Crime. From the description of a wise, old tree in the book's first pages, through the many meticulous portrayals of natural habitats and the animals that populate them, we can feel that the natural order is harmonious and benevolent towards us humans. Yet we fail to respect and protect nature in our pursuing of material gain and create imbalances which disturb the natural order and eventually lead to disaster. Environmental disharmony causes disease and death: if in the real world, we are facing COVID-19, in Tree Crime it is a virus no longer controlled, because of the elimination of wild frogs that would usually eat the carriers of the virus. The uncovering of those who are responsible for the trade in wild frogs, and thus for the inception of the disease, as well as the mystery murder, briefly halts the threat, but much more will need to be done to restore environmental harmony and sustainability. Like ancient fables, Tree Crime also has a message of good and evil to tell, if only we are willing to listen and urgently act to save our planet and with that our own existence."

-Dr Rosalia Sciortino, associate professor, Mahidol University; Director, SEA Junction (www.seajunction.org). Formerly she was East and Southeast Asia Regional Director for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Asia Founding Regional Director for the Rockefeller Foundation.