Nairobi Noir edited by Peter Kimani

 

First Line from Introduction: Nairobi, shamba la mawe-- Nairobi, the stone garden-- is a pithy formulation intimating the city as a place of pleasures and perils.

 

I continue to enjoy Akashic's series of short story anthologies that are set in locations around the world. The fourteen stories in Nairobi Noir are an excellent collection that had me moving from neighborhood to neighborhood within that city. As I moved from place to place, I met Somali refugees and Kenya Cowboys; I confronted life, death, poverty, and love, side by side with people from all walks of life.

 

There's not a single bad story in the entire collection, but I have to admit that two made a profound impression on me. "She Dug Two Graves" by Winfred Kionga is centered on a proverb about revenge, and it's one that I shall never forget: "When seeking revenge, dig two graves-- one for yourself." The second story is Kinyanjui Kombaru's "Andaki." This incredibly powerful story tells readers just what mothers will do to save and to protect their sons who have been falsely accused of crimes. Wow. 

 

More than some of the other anthologies in this series, Nairobi Noir drew me into life in this city in Kenya-- an example of armchair travel at its very best. I look forward to my next trip with Akashic, and if you haven't tried any of the books in this series, I highly recommend that you do so.

 

Nairobi Noir edited by Peter Kimani

eISBN: 9781617757754

Akashic Books © 2020

eBook, 224 pages

 

Short Story Anthology

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased from Amazon. 

Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley

First Line: Vachell looked across the desk at his visitor with a slight sensation of surprise.

Going on safari in 1930s Kenya is something every wealthy person wants to do, and there are companies that cater to their every possible whim: electric lights in the tents, champagne, caviar, carpets... the list is endless. Lady Baradale has hired one such company, and she's also insisted on bringing along her priceless collection of jewelry. A certain recipe for disaster, isn't it?

Sure enough, the jewels are stolen, and Lady Baradale insists that Superintendent Vachell come out to find the thieves.

After watching The Flame Trees of Thika on television and Out of Africa in the theater, I became fascinated with Kenya during the time period of 1900-1940. There were some highly interesting people there doing all sorts of things, and I read one book after another about them. One of those interesting people was the author of The Flame Trees of Thika, Elspeth Huxley. The memoir of her childhood in Africa is excellent, so it didn't come as any surprise when I enjoyed Murder on Safari so much. The woman knew how to write.

The setting is absolutely superb. I felt as though I were on safari with the cast of characters, and it was a treat to be on such a swanky one. In addition, it's through this vibrant setting that Huxley often shares her opinions of big game hunting, poaching, and Britain's behavior as a colonial power.

Vachell, formerly of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is new to the country and his position as superintendent, and he's not in camp long before it's been proven to him that he's among a bunch of rich, entitled twits. Huxley's sly sense of humor raises her head with Vachell. Lady Baradale insists that he would do a much better job if everyone else didn't know he was a policeman, so he's persuaded to go undercover as a great white hunter. It's an ill-fitting disguise and provides some laughs along the way.

The mystery in Murder on Safari kept me guessing as well as providing a few chills and thrills. There's nothing like trying to search for clues in a tent "...in total dark, knowing [you're] not alone." I normally don't care for crime fiction written in the 1920s and 30s, but Huxley's mystery is certainly an exception to the rule. I'll be looking for more.

Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley

ISBN: 0670823198

Viking © 1989. Originally published in 1938.

Hardcover, 203 pages

Police Procedural, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap


 

The Crocodile's Last Embrace by Suzanne Arruda

Title: The Crocodile's Last Embrace
Author: Suzanne Arruda
ISBN: 9780451231178
Publisher: Obsidian, 2010
Paperback, 400 pages
Genre: Historical, #6 Jade del Cameron mystery
Rating: A
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: From his hidden vantage point, the man watched the young American woman called Simba Jike.


Returning from a rather ill-advised trip to Europe where all destinations did nothing but dredge up painful memories, Jade del Cameron greets the sight of Kenya with two certainties: Africa is her home, and Sam Featherstone is the man she wants to spend her life with. When a letter arrives, Jade hopes it's from Sam, telling her the date of his return. Instead, she finds a message written in the hand of her long-dead fiance, asking "Why did you let me die?"

After witnessing a car going off a bridge and having more deaths follow, Jade begins an investigation that she believes is tied in with a fraudulent gold mine scheme, but when she learns that her old nemesis, Lilith Worthy has escaped from an English prison, Jade knows the case has just turned every bit as deadly as that huge, hungry crocodile that's been hanging around the foot of Fourteen Falls.

Although this Biscuit fan thought the cheetah was cheated out of his share of the spotlight in this book, I really did enjoy The Crocodile's Last Embrace. Arruda continues to draw more and more news and information of the period and the surrounding colonies into the books to give the reader an excellent sense of what life was like in Africa in the early twentieth century. For instance, this time we learned what Leopold, King of the Belgians, had his minions doing in the Congo.

These books just about have it all for me-- probably because I fell in love with and watched "Out of Africa" at least once per week while it was in the theatres here in Phoenix. To have an ongoing series of books dealing with roughly the same time frame, the same land, the wildlife, the early days of aviation and photojournalism is a delight.

The delight does not end with the aforementioned list. Arruda has a cast of characters that continues to adapt and grow with each new experience. Of course the major changes belong to Sam and Jade as these two fiercely independent people have to figure out if they can truly be together, but they aren't the only two who've changed through the passage of books. Just ask Jelani, the young Kikuyu boy befriended by Jade.

Speaking of younger characters, the young band of Girl Guides that Lady Dunbury is trying to gather under her wing? They're a hoot. Whenever those youngsters appeared, they made me laugh. I certainly hope they'll make another appearance in Jade's next adventure. I'll be looking for them (and Biscuit)!

The one thing most readers want to know about a book in a series is can they pick it up, read it, and not get confused if they haven't read any of the other books? In the case of The Crocodile's Last Embrace, readers should not have a problem, since Arruda included enough information from previous books to fill in the gaps.

Buy from Amazon.

Buy from the Book Depository.

Buy from an Indie Bookseller.

The Leopard's Prey by Suzanne Arruda

Title: The Leopard's Prey
Author: Suzanne Arruda
ISBN: 9780451225863, Obsidian, 2009
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #4 Jade del Cameron mystery
Rating: B+

First Line: I'll be fine.

Jade del Cameron is working for an American outfit that's capturing wild animals to take them to zoos in the United States. Shortly after acting as leopard bait, Jade finds the body of a local merchant on a coffee plantation owned by two of her friends. The chief suspect is the man in love with Jade-- Sam Featherstone, an American pilot and filmmaker. Dissatisfied with the way the investigation is going, Jade begins to look into things and discovers that the dead man had his fingers in the sort of pies that would make other people very angry. All Jade has to do is narrow down the list of real suspects. Of course she can never seem to do this without stirring up a bit of trouble: "Can we not leave you alone for a minute, Jade, without your getting kidnapped or involved in something unseemly?" asked Beverly.

In a review of an earlier book in this series, I called Arruda's books my "Saturday matinee reading". The primary reason for this being one of my favorite series has always been escapism. Jade grew up on a ranch in New Mexico. She knows how to ride and how to shoot and how to pitch a tent. She's a former World War I nurse who learned how to take care of her ambulance while shells were bursting all around and wounded men were screaming for help. Now she's in Kenya as a photojournalist, and she's learning to fly. She goes out into the country for a ride on her motorcycle in order to give her cheetah, Biscuit, some quality exercise. Although I have to admit that the idea of going for a run out in the country with my cheetah definitely has its allure, this series is growing into something more.

The "more" is how Arruda shows Kenya and the rest of Africa changing. Populations are exploding in the cities, and as the cities grow out, the wildlife is being chased further and further away. Arruda also begins showing readers the native Kikuyus' unrest as they are required to carry identity papers and travel documents at all times as well as pay the dreaded hut tax. The longer Jade stays in Africa, the more she learns about the people and the land, and we learn right along with her. This time, we learn about the Maasai when Jade crash lands in a plane. Arruda includes several tidbits of Maasai wisdom and folklore in the book, such as the following:

"So you hunt for animals for the white men to take, you hunt for a killer, and you hunt for his wife," Tajewo shook his head. "It is not good to do too much at once. We have a saying. A man cannot walk on two different paths at the same time. It will crack his buttocks."

I like the path these books are taking, away from strictly escapist fare and into a truer depiction of the area and the time. Murder, wildlife, colonial Africa, native customs, and a budding romance-- all this and more is to be found in The Leopard's Prey. The next book in the series, Treasure of the Golden Cheetah, is available starting today. It won't be long until I have my hands on a copy!