Queer and Alone

From Publishers Weekly Take a little of Eric Ambler's Simpson at his tackiest, add some Alexander Pope at his most ribald, and you might end up with Desmond Farrquahr, obnoxious, effete and full of grandiose pretensions. Des, alluding to "what happened to me stateside," a mysterious event that keeps him from returning to his homeland, sets out from Italy on a dilapidated steamship bound for Hong Kong. His fellow travelers, a more or less ordinary group by normal standards, are bizarre when seen through Des's eyes. The cleric, he is sure, is a closet arsonist. The cleric's prudish friend, Miss…