THE MISSING MUSK

In 1913 all the musk plants in the world stopped smelling. Unable to resist the lure of this mystery, Bob Gilbert turns detective, determined to find the truth in the tale. Mixing history, memoir, science and nature writing, The Missing Musk takes the reader on a journey of discovery, uncovering the truth behind six mysteries and myths from across the natural world.

From the darkest corners of Britain's churchyards to Scotland's Pentland Hills, Bob travels the length of the UK, seeking answers to questions that have intrigued him throughout his life. In search of the musk's long-lost fragrance, he discovers a possibly murderous story. Investigating the true origins of 'star jelly' leads to encounters with unexplained sightings and substances. Faced with the urban myth-like stories of mosquitoes thriving in the London Underground, Bob digs deeper.

Motivated by the curious, unexplained phenomena found in wild places and on urban streets, and by what these stories tell us about our relationship with nature, Bob peers into microscopes, delves into horticultural archives and chases a glimpse of the strange 'water bear', finding that, when it comes to mysteries, the joy is found as much in the search as in the answer it leads you to...

"I saw myself adopting the manner of a Miss Marple or a Hercule Poirot, following up clues, visiting the scene of crime and spotting what no-one else had. I would amass information and interrogate facts. I would assemble competing theories like suspects in the drawing room, before swinging round to point the accusing finger. I would, in short, crack the case wide open. And then, as these pages will show, something different began to happen. I began to respect the mystery."

Bob Gilbert is the author of Ghost Trees, which was longlisted for the Wainwright Prize and Folio Prize, The Green London Way and The Kings Cross Cut. He has written a newspaper column on urban wildlife for the last twenty-five years and is a contributor to TV and radio including BBC Radio 4's 'The Susurrations of Trees' and 'The Passion in Plants'. Bob has also been a long-standing campaigner for inner city conservation and is patron of The Garden Classroom, a charity that promotes environmental education in London. He lives in London with his family, Ash the greyhound and a peripatetic tortoise.