AustLit

A treasure is found by a party of adventurerers among the ruins of a once-great civilisation on a remote, isolated South Sea island. The structures that pre-date the memory of any race that left written records. Although the island is thought to be uninhabited the party comes across a small community of natives who perform ceremonies and make human sacrifices in the name of some savage God. The terrors they discover in the depths of the jungle are all too human, however:

'The protagonist, and narrator, Jack Verslun, an itinerant seaman, is hired to serve on a ship chartered by Professor Herndon, an obsessive scientist who has brought along his two attractive daughters on what turns out to be an ill-advised and dangerous voyage to “The Isle of Tears,” which a rough-looking rogue named Leith has promised the Professor will yield scientific wonders that will make his reputation. The party, aside from a largely native crew, is completed by Will Holman, a feisty young American who — the son of the owner of the chartered boat they are traveling on — is along for the heck of it and for the love of the younger of the two Herndon girls, Barbara. An older daughter, Edith, is useful for completing a quartet that I needn’t spell out for you. They reach the island after a terrific storm and when Jack is ordered to stay on the boat while Leith takes a small party to the island, concerned about Leith’s intentions, he jumps ship, catches up with the party and finds himself, Will, and the Professor and his daughters, in a situation that takes them to the brink of disaster' (Walter Albert, Mystery*File 28 February 2010).