Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | MYSTERY ARR | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
In 1919, when most women only dream of adventure, Jade del Cameron lives it. After growing up tough on a New Mexico ranch, then driving an ambulance along the front lines of World War I, she can fire a rifle with deadly precision and stare down men maddened by shell shock. Now, still suffering lingering trauma from the Great War, she sets off for Africa, determined to fulfill a man's dying wish...and never expecting to become involved in murder. Rich with romance, mystery, and adventure, Mark of the Lionintroduces a fascinating new heroine and explores the elusive heart of a compelling and exotic world.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in 1919, Arruda's promising debut introduces a heroine who's no ordinary Gibson girl. An ambulance driver during WWI, Jade del Cameron promises a dying soldier that she'll track down his brother. The only problem is that the soldier's mother, whom Jade goes to visit in London, insists that she had only one son. Jade reasons that the missing brother must have been born to another woman, conceived when the now deceased family patriarch was exploring East Africa. So off she goes to Nairobi, where she mingles with the colonial elite, kills a hyena, learns Swahili, fingers a drug smuggler, romances a man twice her age, uncovers a murder and attracts the attentions of a local witch. The novel's conclusion is a tad predictable, and Arruda's Africa is not quite as captivating as Alexander McCall Smith's (an inevitable comparison). Still, most readers will close this charming book eagerly anticipating the next installment of Jade's adventures. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A driver who developed a taste for adventure while behind the wheel of a Model T ambulance in WWI travels after the war to Africa to fulfill the dying request of her almost-fiancé. David Worthy died in Jade del Cameron's arms when his Sopwith Camel crashed during combat with a German Fokker. She's eager to honor his last words: "Find my brother." The only problem is that he doesn't seem to have a brother. Impetuous and courageous, Jade heads off to East Africa, where David's father was improbably killed when a hyena attacked him in his posh hotel room. Once she's in Nairobi, her striking beauty, boldness and sponsorship by an English peer who's the husband of her best friend ingratiate her with the Anglo-Saxon elite, a jungle within the jungle, a mix of enterprising and decadent colonials. Her skills with both rifle (she grew up on a ranch in New Mexico) and automobile, on the other hand, keep her alive in the natural jungle on a hunt for a witch's hyena preying on a small native village. And they stand her in good stead on a safari when lions hunt her and she discovers David's brother and David's father's killer. Arruda's debut is an enjoyable romp through a colorful place and period in which the heroine has a Douglas-Fairbanks-in-a-split-skirt-charm and the mystery serves mostly as an excuse for an early 20th-century Nairobi safari. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
With her caramel coloring and green eyes, American Jade del Cameron is nothing short of exotic. But don't mistake her for a hothouse flower; she's tough, brave, smart, and stubborn, as she proved during her service in France during the Great War. What's more, she's a crackerjack shot. Her temperament and talents get a workout when she agrees to investigate the death of the father of a young fighter pilot who died in the war, and to track down the young man's illegitimate half brother. It's a task that takes her to colonial East Africa, where she encounters racial and gender prejudice as well as kindness, courage, and greed. She also comes face-to-face with superstitions that blend seamlessly into reality. Arruda manufactures an intriguing backdrop for the debut of her new series, delivering both a heady sense of East Africa's cultural and geographical landscape during the early 1900s and an outspoken heroine, who proves herself gratifyingly ahead of her times in numerous ways. --Stephanie Zvirin Copyright 2005 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Starred Review. There's something for everyone in this new series debut--mystery, history, adventure, travel, even a bit of romance, plus one of the most appealing heroines to appear in the pages of a mystery. American Jade del Cameron, driving an ambulance on the battlefront in 1919 France, sees her RAF pilot fiancé crash in a dogfight and vows, as he dies in her arms, to find his half-brother, a quest that takes her to Africa. With an assignment for a travel magazine, Jade's off to Nairobi, where she stumbles onto a possible murder and finds herself the target of a shape-shifting witch, repelled only by an ill-smelling paste made by a Kikuyu sorcerer. Arruda evokes the landscape of colonial Africa beautifully, creates a fine cast of characters, and spins a spine-tingling story, all of which should create demand for her next book. Arruda lives in Kansas. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
