Reapers

October 18, 2010
Fans of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective series may be interested in a very different take on Botswana in Ramsay's second mystery set in that country (after 2009's Predators). When the body of a man who's been shot to death turns up in the Chobe National Park, female game ranger Sanderson, whose son is dying of AIDS-related pneumonia, ends up investigating the crime along with Kgabo Modise, an American-trained police officer seeking to apply the expertise he acquired from the FBI. Modise's supervisors are more concerned with the prospect that the upcoming World Cup matches in neighboring South Africa will lead to an increase in smuggling. Ramsey complicates the plot a bit more than necessary with a Russian gangster and a cult that believes a compound called orgonite can heal the Earth, but his dark world view is a nice contrast to Smith's.

November 1, 2010

As the World Cup is set to begin in South Africa, there are attempts to bug the rooms of visiting dignitaries in neighboring Chobe, Botswana. There is also a push to smuggle into Africa orgone, an energy source thought up by Wilhelm Reich in the 20th century. The group involved in the smuggling believes that orgone energy will purify the African continent and rid it of its economic and social problems. When a man is murdered in the Chobe National Park, park ranger Sanderson (first introduced in Predators) must investigate the crime and determine why there are so many mysterious comings and goings of unauthorized people in the park. VERDICT Like Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe, Sanderson is a delightful sleuth, although her Botswana is more rougher edged than Precious's. In Sanderson's quiet way, she goes about her job, cares for her terminally ill son, fields her daughter's teasing, and finds a bit of romance.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2010
As the World Cup matches near in neighboring South Africa, concern rises in Botswana about illicit activities in the country. And with good reason, considering the smuggling of coltan, a highly prized mineral found near a gorilla habitat; the poaching of big-game animals; and the various activities of the pseudoscientific Orgonise Africa. Then the U.S. secretary of state plans secret meetings with North Korea during the games, and top Russian crime bosses get in on the action. All of which keeps Kgabo Modise, a rising star in Botswanas intelligence operations, very busy; hes also working with Sanderson, the newly promoted female supervisor of Chobe National Park, where a murder has occurred. Theres a lot going on here, and keeping the bad guys straight as they double-cross each other, and the body count rises, can be a chore. Still, the Sanderson-Modise relationship and the parallel activity of a big-game animalgorilla-pack leader Patriarcheadd interest to this second in the authors Botswana series (following Predators, 2009). Nonstop action, involving both humans and gorillas; touches of wry humor; and a vividly portrayed setting combine for an unusual but satisfying thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)