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Hunting Ground by Val Harris (view source)
Revision as of 14:38, 15 September 2020
, 14:38, 15 September 2020no edit summary
George and Mary Stephenson are old Kenya hands, but George has been let down by a business partner and now finds that his bank accounts are blocked and it's almost impossible to get to see someone who could do something to help him. A chance meeting with Ralph Somerton - a man he doesn't like or trust - sees him and Mary going on safari when there's a small change in their fortunes. Mary's not entirely happy though - she's got a secret she's keeping from George. Tragedy has its foot stretched out, ready to trip someone up.
I'm a long-standing fan of author [[:Category:Val Harris|Val Harris]] and when I heard that the long wait for another book was over I was sure that we'd be meeting the Moon family again, but ''Hunting Ground'' is a completely new departure for Harris with its setting in Kenya. The research has been impeccable though and Harris brings the wide -open spaces of the Mara to life and subtly highlights the vast differences between the people forced to live in the slums and the rich who live well and go on safari. Her characters come to life too: Tessa Somerton's particularly good as she's torn between giving her husband the support he believes is his right and going to the police with her suspicions about what has happened. Harris has wisely restricted herself to a reasonably small cast of characters, but every one of them earns their place in the story.
The book has Harris's trademark readability: it's almost impossible ''not'' to read just another chapter and I finished it far too quickly. I have just one quibble about the book - it really should have had a final proofread to eliminate those small errors we all make.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
The story put me in mind of [[Out Of Africa by Karen Blixen]] which is also set in the Ngong Hills. You might also enjoy [[Mountains of the Moon by I J Kay]].
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