Bangalore, India 1991. Ashok Rao, a brilliant young Indian doctor, has returned from England to take part in an arranged marriage. Who is the intriguing Englishwoman that seeks him out there? Journalist Hannah Petersen is being pursued across India by a sinister killer-but why? This exotic tale of love across cultural boundaries unfolds within the mystical heat of Southern India, Sri Lanka and the icy countryside of England in winter. The lives of two strangers are turned upside down when they meet and are threatened by the aftermath of a common tragedy many years before.

Prizes

Winner of NAWG Annual Best Short Story Award 2003,Winner of The New Writer Prose and Poetry Prize 2004,Winner of Writers' Forum Magazine Short Story Prize 2004,Short-listed for Bristol Prize 2008

I challenge anyone to put this book down. ... The Moon's Complexion's combination of cliff-hangers and carefully-observed descriptions of Indian traditions, food, temples and landscapes becomes utterly irresistible. The whole novel pulsates with Black's love of India; the author has recently completed an MA on South Indian temple architecture, and her academic interests work their way quietly into the novel, providing a well-studied backdrop to the action. A thoroughly unusual novel that will appeal to anyone who's interested in India or just enjoys a skillfully constructed page-turner. Sophia Furber, Editor; Review in The London Student Newspaper January 2006