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Madagascar Paperback – May 29, 2018

by Stephen Holgate (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
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An American diplomat--reformed alcoholic, unreformed gambler, and inveterate smart-ass-- finds himself under threat of disgrace and murder even as he seeks love and redemption on the strange and spirit-ridden island of Madagascar. Author Steve Holgate brings the mystery and mysticism of Madagascar to life in his haunting and exciting second novel. 

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  1. Print length
    350 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Blank Slate Press
  4. Publication date
    May 29, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    4.9 x 0.7 x 7.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1943075484
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1943075485
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A native Oregonian and current Portland resident, Stephen Holgate served for four years as a diplomat with the American Embassy in Morocco. In addition to his other Foreign Service posts, Mr. Holgate has served as a Congressional staffer; headed a committee staff of the Oregon State Senate; managed two electoral campaigns; acted with the national tour of an improvisational theater group; worked as a crew member of a barge on the canals of France; and lived in a tent while working as a gardener in Malibu.

Holgate has published several short stories and successfully produced a one-man play, as well as publishing innumerable freelance articles. He is the author of Tangier and Madagascar, both inspired by his years of travel and experience living in foreign lands. 

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Blank Slate Press (May 29, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 350 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1943075484
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1943075485
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.9 x 0.7 x 7.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 22 ratings

About the author

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Stephen Holgate

Stephen Holgate

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Stephen Holgate is a fifth-generation Oregonian who served as a diplomat for American embassies in France, Madagascar, Morocco, Mexico and Sri Lanka.

In addition to his Foreign Service posts, Mr. Holgate has served as a congressional staffer; headed a committee staff of the Oregon State Senate; managed two electoral campaigns; acted with the national tour of an improvisational theater group; worked as a crew member of a barge on the canals of France; served as a university instructor; and lived in a tent while working as a gardener in Malibu.

His first novel, "Tangier," won the Silver Medal in Fiction from the Independent Publishers' Group. His second novel, "Madagascar," gained a starred review from Publishers Weekly and was nominated by Forward Review as best book of the year. Both books were listed by critic L.Dean Murphy as among the top ten indie mystery/suspense novels of the year.

"Sri Lanka" his third novel has been rated by many as his finest work. "To Live and Die in the Floating World," a suspense/thriller of murder, sex and mayhem, is inspired by a true incident on the French tourist barge of which he was a crew member. All are available through Amphorae Publishing, Amazon and other online outlets and through your local bookstore.

Most recently, he has published "The Goddess and Martin Dayson," set in Oregon, which tells of the redemption of a politician defeated for re-election, and the search for freedom of a young woman crushed by the convention-bound world of the 1950s.

"A Promise to Die For," a suspense/thriller set in Paris, is scheduled for publication by CamCat books for April, 2025.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
22 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Marcia Coffey Turnquist
5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing, engaging story
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2020
Verified Purchase
Can’t say enough about this book—great writing coupled with an engaging story. It’s not often you find that from a writer you’ve just discovered. Holgate’s main character has been described as a smart ass—and the comment fits. But he’s a likable smart ass, deeply flawed but funny. Lazy but heroic. He manages to get himself in a nasty fix with dangerous people. He woos the pretty girl. He pulls off stunts you don’t predict.
I laughed, I nearly cried, I didn’t want it to end. The fact that it’s set in Madagascar—a place I’ve never been—is another bonus. Like most things in life, it’s not what you might expect, but he paints a rich portrait, the shadowy underbelly of corruption included. I enjoyed this book so much that I jumped straight to his second book, Tangier and found it just as satisfying. And now I’ve pre-ordered the third, out in late spring of 2020: Sri Lanka.
Seriously, Holgate knows what he's doing.
2 people found this helpful
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Shopper
5.0 out of 5 stars I liked this book
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2018
Verified Purchase
I liked this book. People who are interested in adventures of a smart-ass diplomat will probably enjoy reading this book too.
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L. Dean Murphy
5.0 out of 5 stars More than a thriller-mystery, Madagascar verges on literary fiction
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2018
Robert Knott is a lower level diplomat assigned—contrary to preference—to the American embassy in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, “a place so foreign to you that everything seems like dark magic.” Knott acknowledges that he has “few friends of any description. Even those I have don’t like me.” The reformed alcoholic and unreformed gambler, who has a humor dry as Madagascar’s Spiny Desert, brought this imbroglio of gambling debts upon himself.

Knott occasionally phones his estranged teen daughter in the States, who often cuts the calls short, shuffling them off to the ex. Knott’s addictive personality exchanged alcohol for the Zebu Room’s gaming tables. He’s on a downward roulette spiral and owes casino owner, Maurice Picard, an insurmountable sum. Picard is an inveterate opportunist turning the gaming tables on Knott, who for Picard must now launder money through the embassy. “‘Will you walk into my parlour?’ said the Spider to the Fly.”

Picard has plans for Knott, other than acquiring enough hard currency to retire to Paris. Knott is drawn into a web of deceit, encountering nefarious warlords. Uprisings and guerrilla warfare compound “the bureaucratic tangle” between citizenry and the American embassy staff. “When it all goes wrong, it goes wrong very quickly.”

Knott encounters falsely imprisoned American, Walt Sackett, who uses the stunning Nirina to attempt to get him out of a pigsty prison. Nirina, in turn, hopes Walt will help her escape the quagmire known as Madagascar. Knott spins the roulette wheel of fortune one last time, blustering a corrupt official. “He sees my bluff for what it is, an act of defiance about as empty as a chicken flipping off the fox as it comes in for the kill.”

Knott does, however, find redemption, through aiding others, and love. Nirina tells Knott that he is “full of love. For your daughter. For Walt. For Samuel the driver. For Miss Gloria.” He reminds himself “that, in Madagascar, the implausible isn’t just possible, it’s mandatory.”

He realizes that “I’ve resisted Madagascar at every turn, cursed it, despised it, never understanding I was really cursing and despising myself. I need to reconcile myself to my own life.”

More than a thriller-mystery,  Madagascar  verges on literary fiction. Following début  Tangier , mystical Madagascar comes to life in Stephen Holgate’s thoroughly satisfying thriller.

Reviewed for Bookreporter by L. Dean Murphy
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Sanford M Reece Jr
5.0 out of 5 stars To understand Madagascar you must give in to mysticism or you will be a stranger in a strange land
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2018
Steve creates vivid characters you are sure you have seen somewhere before. They transport our first-person protagonist through the enigma that is Madagascar, a vivid character itself. Imperfect but likable we see him in struggles we have all seen in ourselves and yearn for his salvation. In and out of the fry pan and fire, you will find yourself reading the last 100 pages at midnight because you can't stop, needing to know what happens next.
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