Many of the events and incidents in this book really happened. The circumstances may differ, the characters too, but essentially it is truth disguised - as all good fiction should be.
Young Chris Ryan was no stranger to trouble After riding his bicycle on the corrugated iron roof of a country court-house during the trial of a friend by an unpopular magistrate, he progressed to burning down the shooting hides of a game-cropper who had poisoned waterholes on his father's neighbouring game ranch. To avoid arrest, his father hurriedly packed him off to a friend in Australia. "It's where they send all criminals like you," his father joked. But Chris had other plans, and a score to settle. It was a more responsible Chris who returns with his bride when his father is tragically killed by an elephant during a culling operation. They take on the running of the game ranch, but the Rhodesian Bush War intervenes and they are forced to leave for safety. During an attack on a hilltop in Mozambique, the discovery of a clay jar containing ancient Phoenician Papyri seems of little consequence to Chris, until he hands it in to the wrong authority.
Zarena Bontoux
is a victim of female genital mutilation and a heiroglyphics expert at the Cairo Museum in Egypt. A copy of the papyri is sent to her to decipher, but simply possessing it leads to the unraveling of her own history and the revisiting of a tragic past at the hands of her radical Islamic father.
Sir Percy Ladbroke
is Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. The days of the spies and 'ring of five' have long gone, but the legacy remains. A seemingly harmless gathering of retired old friends, meeting each Friday night at the club to help one of their own in a time of need.
Silas Tongara
is the most wanted terrorist sought by the Rhodesian security forces for his brutal atrocities, many against his own people.
Reviewer: Ray Franklin -
Sunshine Coast Daily
Jerold Richert
is the latest of a long line of old African hands who writes with feeling about what he knows best. Happily, though, his passion is equaled by his proficiency. He writes well, and he has a fine tale to tell.The author, who now lives in Buderim, was born in South Africa, but spent his formative years in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.He became a pilot and served in an elite anti-terrorist unit during the Rhodesia's so called Bush War.His central character is a pilot and Selous Scouts' tracker, enmeshed in a deadly contest with guerrilla bands ravaging farms and homesteads along the Mozambique borderRichert's book is the first in a series of five Africa-based novels, with the next due later this year. Going on his form so far, it should also be worth reading.
5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down, June 14, 2011 By Ianklux (Sofia Bulgaria
9.15 am I had a look at the seven reviews and thought hmmm, sounds interesting! 9.30 am I purchased the book on my KINDLE Thinking I would read it sometime during the week, I flipped it open just to get a feel of what it was all about... 10.am I was well and truly hooked. I read steadily all day, I just couldn't put it down. 12.40 am. Apart from a lunch and dinner break with a few other stops I completed a 15 hour marathon and finished reading the entire book! It has been so many years since I did this that I cannot remember which book and when it was that I was so gripped. This is a fast paced action story by someone who obviously understands Africa, everything there is to know about flying smallish air-planes, the horrors of terrorist warfare - and that strange and horrible practice FGM. Full of believable plots, real-life characters and one hell of a good read.