African crime fiction in the news

If you subscribe to both of my blogs I apologize that you got this post twice. Posting here I hope will reach readers who hadn't thought about African crime fiction.


Cary Darling, writing for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, looks at the changing face of African crime fiction in his article "African crime writers are gaining attention outside the continent."

He starts off

We sure have come a long way since Out of Africa and The Flame Trees of Thika.

In the second decade of the 21st century, some of the most compelling contemporary crime-fiction novels are either set in or coming from Africa. Much as Scandinavia became associated with the genre a few years back -- thanks in large part to Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy -- Africa may become a new capital of literary crime.

Later he points out in reference to Alexander McCall Smith's Botswana books "...this new wave is often far less soft-centered and more hard-boiled, less nice and more noir."

Cary approaches the topic by profiling two authors —South Africa's Roger Smith and Mukoma Wa Ngugi who was born and lives in the US but raised in Kenya. Mukoma Wa Ngugi I wasn't familiar with but after reading about him in Cary's article I have his book Nairobi Heat on pre-order. Taking an African-American detective from an "extremely white town" to Nairobi, Kenya has wonderful possibilities  to explore cultural attitudes, differences.

Roger Smith, as anyone who reads my blog knows, is one of my favorite authors and the one that got my interest in African crime fiction going. Though I've been corresponding with Roger for several years, Cary's interview gave me several new insights. For example, I hadn't known how Roger's books are received in South Africa. Cary also points out how Roger had to turn to electronic publication to make his latest book, Dust Devils, available to US readers, perhaps because publishers are looking for safe and commercial books.

Please read the entire article at African crime writers are gaining attention outside the continent.

In Memoriam Margaret E. Lundy

My mother, Margaret E. Lundy (née Hudson), 1929–2011, passed away at 0230 on July 30 in a Port Charlotte, FL nursing home of complications from stroke, breast cancer, and the poignantly described condition of failure to thrive.

I have a longer tribute on Africa Screams.

In Memoriam Margaret E. Lundy

My mother, Margaret E. Lundy (née Hudson), 1929–2011, passed away at 0230 on July 30 in a Port Charlotte, FL nursing home of complications from stroke, breast cancer, and the poignantly described condition of failure to thrive.

She grew up in the town of Pulaski, Virginia and never lost the country twang in her speech ih her 85 years of life.

A member of Tom Brokow's The Greatest Generation, she often joked that she didn't know she was poor growing up because no one had any money. During the war she worked for American Viscose Corp., a plant in Front Royal, VA producing rayon.

At war's end she married my father, Mack A. Lundy, Jr., just back from Europe and 10 months as a German prisoner of war after the bomber on which he was radio operator and waist gunner was shot down. She traveled the country making a home for us while my father continued his aviation career as an enlisted man in the Air Force.

In 1952 our family began one of our greatest adventures when my father was accepted for a posting to the Air Attaché in Pretoria, South Africa. He was a member of the crew of the aircraft assigned to the American Embassy. I can look back now at the horror that was apartheid during the time we were there but for a young couple not far removed from southwest Virginia it was a remarkable time. The community was small enough that not much distinction was made between officers, enlisted men, and members of the diplomatic corps. The photograph above was taken in front of our house on Mackie Street as my parents left for some formal event. I think my brother and I are there because it was an opportunity for a family photo.

Returning from South Africa in 1956, my father remained in the Air Force, retiring in 1964. My brother and I went off to college and away from home and 39 years ago Mom and Dad settled in the town of Arcadia, Florida where my father worked for a company that managed orange groves.

They were not content to just live in Arcadia, they made it their home and embraced the community, involving themselves in many community organizations. I frequently hear "Oh, you're Mack's/Margaret's boy, I worked with your father/mother on..." as I go around town settling the estate. It was the longest place they lived in their lives.

As I sit here writing this I can look around my house and see things from our life together: figurines, plates, a five shilling piece from South Africa; a photograph of me in a rugby uniform and another of my brother in a baseball uniform on the cover of a South African magazine; my father's hat that he wore hunting in Rhodesia; baskets from Charleston, SC; an oak hall tree that belonged to my mother's parents; a teapot that was part of an Air Force china set. Just objects but ones that remind me of happy times and the way I want to remember my parents and not the way they were when their lives ran out.

Rest in peace, Margaret and Mack.

Live Wire by Harlan Coben

Dutton, 2011. 978-0-525-95206-0. 375 pages.
I received this book as a review copy.

Myron Bolitar is the principal partner of MB Reps representing athletes, actors, and writers. Suzze Trevantino, a former tennis star and one of Myron's first clients, has a problem and she turns to him. She is pregnant and someone has posted on facebook that the child is not her husband's. Suzze fears that the suspicion will kill her marriage to the rock legend Lex, who Myron also represents. Myron agrees to help and with the assistance of his partner, Esperanza Diaz,  Windsor Horne Lockwood III, his silent partner/investor(?) begins an investigation that will drop into his dark past and put him into physical, personal danger, and threaten his career.

I was aware of Harlan Coben's books but had shied away because of the sports theme. I have low sports awareness and when confronted by sports enthusiasts I generally tell people that I follow cricket  because there is a very slim chance in the U.S. that I'll have to explain. I took the review copy because Coben is a popular author, a friend of mine at the public library likes him, and I was curious. This is an example of why a reader should be careful not to allow preconceptions to get in the way of a good read; I thoroughly enjoyed the book and plan to go back to the beginning of the series.

As a person who is compulsive about reading a series in order, how do I feel about starting with the latest book in the series? Pretty good. Obviously there is much backstory about the characters I don't know but I didn't feel confused. The plot hold up well on its own and Coben's skill at presenting his characters engaged me without having had to grow up with them.

Though Myron's profession is agent to the stars, Live Wire is essentially a straight-up detective story on the edge of hardboiled. Myron certainly has the wisecracking part down and, like a true hardboiled detective, he is going to crack-wise even if it means it will get him beaten up. He also made me laugh quite a few times. Also like the classic hardboiled detective, he skirts the law, if not outright breaks it, and assists in some extra-legal justice. The plot, like many detective stories, starts out simple but gets complicated the deeper Myron investigates and the more new details of the character's lives emerge. Finally, Myron does have his personal conflicts and demons. Here an incident from his past involving family surfaces forcing Myron to examine his feelings and motivations and look for redemption.

I enjoyed the set of core characters Coben created. Myron Bolitar, basketball star turned sports agent after he blew out his knee. Esperanza Diaz, beautiful, a former wrestler, and ex-bisexual party girl who is Myron's business partner and now married with a son.  Windsor Horne Lockwood III (Win), very rich and very dangerous despite his somewhat effete appearance. People who misjudge Win regret it, often from a hospital bed. Big Cyndi, receptionist at MB Reps, six-five, former wrestler, with an interesting fashion sense and a smile that makes children screen. Think Janet Evanovich's Lula but more extreme. Coben has a lot of fun with Big Cyndi.

The ending left me stunned in that Live Wire could could serve as the end of the series. I haven't read any interviews with the author so I can't say for sure but it doesn't feel like the end. Still, I'm intensely interested how Coben resolves the issues left at the conclusion.

Live Wire is an excellent read and I recommend it to people who enjoy a good detective story.

The Summoner by Layton Green

The author provided me a review copy of The Summoner. It is available as a paperback and e-book from Amazon and as an e-book from Barnes & Noble.

Summary: Dominic Grey's future in diplomatic security is uncertain. He has the career killing compulsion to follow his conscience not to mention a white knight impulse to right wrongs. His "...moral compass guides him far more that partisan dictates."

Now stationed in Harare Zimbabwe (Zim), Dominic gets an assignment that could save him from "protecting spoiled diplomatic kids from mountain gorillas." William Addison, close friend to the ambassador, disappeared from a Yoruba religious ceremony out in the bush. Sensitive diplomatic issues between the US and Zimbabwe mean that Grey can't act alone and he is paired with Nya Mashumba, a beauriful and emotionally distant representative of the Zimbabwe government.

At the ambassador's request, Viktor Radic is brought into the investigation. Radic is a professor of religious phenomology and expert in cults. Apparently Addison isn't the only one to have disappeared recently. Ten others have disappeared under similar circumstances and all within eight months since a babalayo (Juju priest) arrived from Nigeria.

Soon Dominic, Nya, and Viktor are facing off against the owner of a dodgy night club, the Nigerian Cultural Ataché who has an unhealthy interest in Nya, and a mysterious religious leader who's powers seem to defy reason.

Analysis: This is not a supernatural thriller so readers who dislike that genre should not be put off. Viktor Radik sets the approach to the subject when says of his field of expertise:

I observe the practitioner as he's experiencing the alleged phenomena, and analyze the effects. I'm concerned with how the experience impacts the devotee, not the veracity of the event itself.

At the same time, readers of supernatural thrillers will find much to interest them in the details about how a charismatic leader can affect followers perceptions and Radic's discussions on superstition and religion. It isn't difficult to find actual examples of the effects of such phenomena on people. In May, there was a story from Zimbabwe about a man accused of supernatural rape. A search of witchcraft in Zimbabwe also pulls up stories of curses and demonic possession.

I enjoyed The Sumoner and recommend it to readers who enjoy an intelligent thriller. It has the ingredients that make a thriller enjoyable to me: story, characters, action, and location.

The plot, a disappearance under mysterious circumstances, is interesting and moved forward by nicely placed and executed scenes of action and tension building.

The characters have backstories and personalities that engaged me and are plausible within the context of the story. I can believe that they can exist. I wouldn't have minded if Nya hadn't been stunningly beautiful which can be an overworked thriller trope (eg the Bond girls) but it is an important plot element and motivator for some of the action so it isn't a negative here. Viktor Radic reminds me of a 19th Century scholar/adventurer/man of action like Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger and he is a nice balance with the other characters.

I don't want to give away details of the action scenes but I will say that they were well spaced, not overdone, and contributed to the story by establishing the abilities of the characters and giving them realistic obstacles to overcome. The big finale was a excellent payoff for everything leading up to it.

This is the first story I've read set in Zimbabwe. While the author isn't from Zim, his wife is and he has lived there. He doesn't make overt political statements about the state of the country but still conveys the atmosphere of living there. Green's empathy is for the Zimbabwean people, the government and diplomates in residence...not so much. One of Nya's jobs with the government is to assess areas of Harare eligible for urban cleanup and that a government could do that to its people is sobering.

Geographically, I learned about the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe from 1100 to 1450 AD. The cover of the book is based on an area of the Hill Complex (see links below). According to Wikipedia, the ruins were a source of controversy because it was inconvenient for the government of Rhodesia for native Zimbabweans to have created such a city that might have housed as many as 18,000 people.
Wikipedia article on Great Zimbabwe Ruins
Google search for images of Great Zimbabwe Hill Complex

The next Dominic Grey novel may not be set in Africa but I am curious where the author takes the theme. Prior to reading The Summoner I didn't realize that I was interested in phenomenology and I'm looking forward to the next book.