The Poison Oracle

In this engaging novel, a medieval Arab kingdom's effort to modernize its education system intersects with groundbreaking research on animal communication, centered around Dinah, a chimpanzee learning to form sentences. When a murder occurs in the oil-rich marshes, Dinah becomes the crucial witness, prompting an investigation into the truth. The story explores themes of human and animal interaction, cruelty, and communication, set against a richly textured historical backdrop.