Title: The Rhino Whisperer
Author: Evadeen Brickwood
Genre: Crime Mystery
Another
mystery novel set in modern South Africa. This time, the murders of a
ranger and a rare black rhino in the idyllic Shangari Safari Park rattle
the local community of Rutgersdrift. Sofia Helenius from Finland lives
at the lodge with her boyfriend Tom Rutgers, the owner of Shangari.
Sofia is tormented by a secret she yearns to share with Tom, but the
cruel events grab the limelight and put everything else in the shade.
One of the native Khoi-San families is known to communicate with wild
animals, but what if the criminals get wind of this gift?
When another murder happens in the city of Johannesburg, smouldering secrets begin to unravel. How are the murders connected and will it be possible to halt a relentless crime-syndicate in order to save an African paradise?
When another murder happens in the city of Johannesburg, smouldering secrets begin to unravel. How are the murders connected and will it be possible to halt a relentless crime-syndicate in order to save an African paradise?
1)
“There is a beautiful place in South Africa between the Kalahari Desert
and the Magaliesberg, where rocks and water and all living things pulse
to the rhythm of nature. A place, where harmony reigns and the
possession of money is not considered all-important.
It
is here that you can find the Shangari Safari Lodge; a piece of
paradise to many. The area hovers on the sandy edge of the mighty
Kalahari Desert and a white-water stream churns past sandy beaches,
hemming in woodland and bushveld and agave-covered hills.
If
one follows directions, it is easy enough to find Shangari, as there is
no need for street names in the countryside. All you have to do is take
the new tar road north of Rutgersdrift and turn right by the great
baobab tree. Two business-savvy women in traditional garb tend to their
stall in the shade of the tree, selling avocados, macadamia nuts and
delicious baobab jam. If you are lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of
baboons in the expansive branches or of a few inquisitive meerkats,
scanning the road from the top of their burrow.
The
tar road carries on north, past avocado and citrus farms, over a bridge
and through the village of Renosterspruit, until a dirt road takes over
all the way to the border with Botswana. Not much has changed here in
many years and not much ever happens.
Rutgersdrift
is the largest town in the district. It boasts shady streets, a small
hospital and a sleepy police station next to the church steeple. Just
five minutes outside of town lies an airstrip; the frequent destination
for small single-engine planes coming in from Johannesburg and Pretoria
with their bellies full of tourists, hungry for the spectacle of
nature...”
2) Obakeng, the grey-haired sangoma walked down the stairs. Despite his grey hair, his face looked remarkably young. Even his eyes were unlined and his gaze alert. Nobody seemed to know his exact age, which was not unusual around here. In the absence of a tribal chief, Obakeng was the most important man in the compound. For more reasons than one.
His
skill with the divining rod was legendary. Farmers sought him out, if
they were in need of finding new water veins. Obakeng’s method was
always the same: he placed a tiny bottle with water on his head, covered
it with a hat, held another water bottle in his right hand and the
forked divining rod in the other.
Evadeen
Brickwood grew up with two sisters in Germany and studied cultural
sciences and languages. As a young woman, she travelled extensively and
many of her books are inspired by her experiences abroad. Feeling
adventurous, the newly qualified translator moved to Africa in 1988 and
worked for two years as a secretary and language teacher in Botswana.
The author eventually settled in South Africa, where she got married and
raised two daughters. In Johannesburg, Evadeen Brickwood studied
computers and management of training and worked as a corporate software
trainer, professional translator and lecturer at WITS University.
In
2003, she began her writing career with youth novels in the ‘Remember
the Future’ series, about adventures in prehistory. Book 1, ‘Children of
the Moon’, has been published twice in South Africa and translated into
German. The author now self-publishes and other books in the series are
now released on a regular basis. Her works include the novels ‘The
Rhino Whisperer’, ‘Singende Eidechsen’ (in the German edition) and
‘Abenteuer Halbmond”, which will be published in English with the title
“A Half Moon Adventure” soon.
Instagram: @evadeenauthor
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