Mark of the Lion: A Jade del Cameron Mystery

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Mark of the Lion: A Jade del Cameron Mystery (Jade del Cameron Mysteries #1)

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 569 ratings · 125 reviews

After driving an ambulance along the front lines of World War I, she can fire a rifle with deadly precision. Still suffering trauma from the Great War, she sets off for Africa determined to fulfill a man's dying wish...never expecting to become involved in murder. Rich with romance, mystery, and adventure, Mark of the Lion introduces a fascinating new heroine and explores...more

ebook, 352 pages

Published December 5th 2006 by New American Library (first published 2006)

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Feb 20, 2013 Angela marked it as to-read

Shelves: mystery, to-read-ebook

Out of SF/F mode for a while, and jumping over into mystery/vaguely paranormal, I have just finished off Suzanne Arruda's first Jade del Cameron novel, Mark of the Lion. Jade has just survived a stint as an ambulance driver in WWI France, and has promised the pilot she loved to carry out his dying wish: to go to Africa and finding his long-lost, heretofore unknown brother. Complicating the matter is a mysterious laibon who has been sending beasts he controls to carry out attacks around the count...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Kara Jorges rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While Jade del Cameron is driving an ambulance near the front lines in World War I, she sees a friend’s plane shot down and runs to his aid. Her almost fiancé dies in her arms, making a last request: that she find his brother, and his father’s murderer. Since David Worthy had no brother, to her knowledge, it’s a tall order. David’s mother refuses to even discuss the possibility her husband may have fathered an illegitimate son, so Jade’s next step is to venture to Africa, where David’s father, G...more While Jade del Cameron is driving an ambulance near the front lines in World War I, she sees a friend’s plane shot down and runs to his aid. Her almost fiancé dies in her arms, making a last request: that she find his brother, and his father’s murderer. Since David Worthy had no brother, to her knowledge, it’s a tall order. David’s mother refuses to even discuss the possibility her husband may have fathered an illegitimate son, so Jade’s next step is to venture to Africa, where David’s father, Gil Worthy, mysteriously died.

In British East Africa, Jade meets an array of colonists, almost none of whom remember Gil Worthy. She hears that he was killed by a hyena in his hotel room, and the natives believe the hyena was controlled by a witch. Jade makes new friends in Neville and Madeline Thompson, colonists farming coffee, Lord Colridge, an old man everyone defers to, and piques the interest of Harry Hascombe, a successful rancher. Jade’s excuse for being in Africa is writing and taking photos for a travel magazine, so she always manages to be in the thick of things. It is Jade who kills a hyena that has been troubling a native village, earning a ceremony in her honor, and a new name, Simba Jike. A shaman paints a lion claw tattoo on her arm that won’t wash off, and she is given a noxious paste to ward off witches and lions. Since the paste seems to work, she wears it always, despite the complaints of those around her.

Her dear friends, Lord Avery and Lady Beverly Dunbury, arrive for a visit just in time to go on safari with Jade, Madeline Thompson, Harry Hascombe, and his surly neighbor, Roger Forster. Lord Colridge breaks his leg and cannot go, so he sends his right-hand man, Pili, to accompany Jade. During all this time, Jade questions everyone about Gil Worthy, hoping to find who would have gained from his death, and also trying to find David’s brother and fulfill his last request.
Jade is in almost constant danger, which she faces fearlessly with her trusty Winchester. She makes wry observations about the foibles of the society around her, completely comfortable with being different. She’s too practical to care much about fashions, but winds up setting trends when she breaks convention. She is a heroine almost without flaw, but she is also devoid of arrogance and very likeable.

It soon became obvious that Gil Worthy’s killer lived in the colony, and several clues point to who it is, though suspicion is cast on others. It’s not easy for Jade to find David’s brother, though she manages to do that, too. The mystery solved, the book ends rather abruptly, as another Jade del Cameron story will be along.

This is a fun and refreshing series in a time and place that have not been overdone, starring an old-fashioned heroine with modern independence. The mystery was a good one, but the real star was the setting of Africa, vividly and lovingly described in a way that transports the reader there. This is definitely a promising new mystery series worth reading.
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Aug 31, 2012 Lizzie Hayes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

‘Mark of the Lion’ by Suzanne Arruda
Published by Piatkus December 2010. ISBN: 978-0-7499-5331-7

Jade Del Cameron is the heroine we all long to be. In the 1914-18 war she drove an ambulance on the front in France. Although surviving physically untouched herself, she lost her friend David. His last request to her was for her to find his estranged half-brother and avenge his father’s death.

This quest takes Jade to Nairobi where she becomes involved in intrigue and murder. This is a true adventure, f...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Jadaloves rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book really surprised me. I have to be truthful and tell you I only really bought it because I wanted to read a mystery and the heroine’s name was Jade. My name is Jade so my vanity was definitely at play in my choice of book here! As I began reading I had my doubts as to whether or not I would really enjoy this book. As I had been discovering and loving historicals though, I thought I’d give it a try even though the period is not what I’m used to. I’m glad I stuck with it.

I will say this b...more This book really surprised me. I have to be truthful and tell you I only really bought it because I wanted to read a mystery and the heroine’s name was Jade. My name is Jade so my vanity was definitely at play in my choice of book here! As I began reading I had my doubts as to whether or not I would really enjoy this book. As I had been discovering and loving historicals though, I thought I’d give it a try even though the period is not what I’m used to. I’m glad I stuck with it.

I will say this book started off very slowly. The heroine as an ambulance worker during the war was pretty brilliant to me. I love that she had a great purpose outside of her own wants and comfort zone. But the story kind of dragged in the beginning. From almost the beginning we know what her mission is; to find her recently deceased friend’s lost brother, and discover how his father died as the circumstances were suspicious. So when she gets to Nairobi, I’m expecting her to just jump right into her assignment since she is so driven by her friend’s last wish. But she meets some locals and gets familiar with the area and the people before anything really starts happening.

I will say the author does almost immediatley start playing up the back story that will eventually tie into everything. And strange things do begin to happen to and around Jade but to me it doesn’t seem as if she is actively looking for clues to Gil Worthy’s death or the loction of his other son. There are many opportunities to ask questions and inquire about things that she just lets slip by or she’s not as firm or persistant as she could be. Especially considering she’s from the West.

But when her friends Beverly and Avery arrive, things finally seem to pick up and Jade begins to slowly uncover the mystery surrounding Gil Worthy and his lost son. Once they go on their Safari things really begin to start happening and that’s when I finally found myself really engrossed in the book. But unfortunately the Safari starts when more than half the book is done. I would have like to get to all the action a bit sooner, or at least have a bit more in the first half. But as slow as the first half began is how fast the second half picked up and it did not disappoint.

With several animal attacks, the uncovering of the identity of Gil’s surviving son, and the discovery of the ‘map of rings’, Jade thinks she has it all figured out until the true intentions of her traveling companions surface. Fueled by David’s last dying wish and an uncanny will to survive, Jade finally learns the truth of Gil’s second son and discovers a murderer in their midst.

Overall it was a great story and I recommend reading it if you like mysteries and period pieces. Jade del Cameron is a great heroine with great personality. She’s very likeable and definitely believable. Great story, pick it up! I’ll defintely be getting the other books in this series.

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Aug 25, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: africa, kenya, mystery, wwi, france

Jade del Cameron is an American woman attached to a British ambulance corps serving in France during WWI. One night as she's transporting injured soldiers from the front to the evac hospital, she sees an air fight in progress and recognizes the plane's marking as belonging to her RAF pilot friend David. David's plane crashes and she is able to be with him in the final moments. As a dying request, he removes a ring from his finger and gives it to Jade with instructions to find his brother. After...more Jade del Cameron is an American woman attached to a British ambulance corps serving in France during WWI. One night as she's transporting injured soldiers from the front to the evac hospital, she sees an air fight in progress and recognizes the plane's marking as belonging to her RAF pilot friend David. David's plane crashes and she is able to be with him in the final moments. As a dying request, he removes a ring from his finger and gives it to Jade with instructions to find his brother. After the war, she begins investigating and learns that the brother was illegimate and that the father died mysteriously while searching for this son. Jade uses her job with a travel magazine as cover and travels to British East Africa (now Kenya) to try to fulfill David's request.
I'd happened upon this and thought it sounded really good. Since I was going to be on travel for most of a week, I took this along figuring it would last me the trip which it did but only because of limited time to read. There's a bunch of history in here; from the credits at the end, it sounds like Arruda did her research to hold true to the period - both during the war and in the colony. The story is fast paced and certainly kept my attention. My only negative comment is the extent of witchcraft in this, but it is an integral part of the storyline. A couple nights, I had some reallty strange dreams after reading and feel that my mind had been opened up to the witchcraft which directed those dreams.
I could make some comparisons from this to the Maisie Dobbs series: women who served during WWI who go on to investigation after the war, while dealing with war memories. The difference is that Maisie's profession is investigation, while Jade is doing it to fulfill a friend's request. I'm glad this is a series; I'm looking forward to reading the other books and seeing how Jade's character develops further. This one certainly ended with a possibility to go in a number of directions.
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Jun 14, 2013 Lianne Burwell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library, mystery

This series caught my eye as I was walking past their shelf in my local public library. Intrigued, I decided to pick up the first book and give it a try. I found it a pretty engrossing story.

Jade del Cameron, at the start of the book, is the daughter of American ranchers, and of mostly Hispanic blood, serving in WWI as an ambulance driver near the front lines. In the first chapter, you get an idea of the horror, an example of casual racism (from her best friend, of all things), and witnesses the...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Susan Ferguson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, adventure, mystery, nook-owned

Read the second book of this series because this one wasn't yet available as ebook (which it now is). That was intriguing enough to make me want to read this one to see what went before. Just finished first chapter and I'm hooked....

Jade del Cameron is an ambulance driver for the French in the war. She is often teased for liking the Model T ambulances, but she could fix them and find parts for them when she needed to. She is an excellent driver and a crack shot because she grew up on her parents...more Read the second book of this series because this one wasn't yet available as ebook (which it now is). That was intriguing enough to make me want to read this one to see what went before. Just finished first chapter and I'm hooked....

Jade del Cameron is an ambulance driver for the French in the war. She is often teased for liking the Model T ambulances, but she could fix them and find parts for them when she needed to. She is an excellent driver and a crack shot because she grew up on her parents ranch in New Mexico and was quite independent, managing in the remote areas of the ranch on her own - killing predators and dealing with other things that came up. Jade had turned down a proposal of marriage from David Worthy, a pilot, who swore to win her with his feats of daring. One of these caused his plane to crash near the hospital. With his dying words, he asked Jade to find his brother and that his father's death was suspicious. No one knew he had a brother. When Jade returns to London, she visits his mother who declares that such was not the case - no brother, nothing suspicious about his father's death in Africa. She takes a solicitor's card from the silver tray of people who called on his mother - and finds out something very different from the solicitor. Feeling that she owes David, Jade goes to Africa. Being so independent she has little patience for the customs among the colonials and begins to impress that fact upon them, by killing a dangerous "witch" hyena and punching a drunken fellow at the club. It helps that her best friend, Bev, has married an English duke who has insisted she have letters of introduction - which impress many of the people she meets. She acquires several allies among the population because of her spirit and courage.

She is paying her way through Africa by working for a travel journal and writing an article for publication.
There are several (quite a few) obstacles thrown in her way in the effort to discover David's younger brother and she eventually figures out what is going on. There are also episodes of drug smuggling, witches, and prospecting. The most serious encounters are caused by the "witch" and his animal familiars. But she has received protection from the shaman of the village she protects by killing the hyena.

The headings of the chapters are brief descriptions of Africa that supposedly appear in her article, showing the love she has developed for the country.

Now, I shall have to reread the second book and read the rest of the series -- and so it goes.....(less)

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Sep 19, 2009 Kim Ryser rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009booksread

Set in 1919, immediately after WWI, this first book in a series introduces Jade Del Cameron, an American from New Mexico who drove ambulances in France during the war. The last request of a dying soldier leads her to British East Africa to search for his long-lost brother and investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding his father's death. The strength of the novel is the atmosphere and setting. Colonial Africa is brought to life convincingly. The heroine, like many in historical fiction...more

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Aug 03, 2011 AfricaAdventureConsultants rated it 4 of 5 stars

I tend towards non-fiction books about Africa, perhaps to excess. I do read the occasional novel about Africa and usually enjoy them, but I was skeptical when I picked up Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda, as I was initially put off by some of the more quirky period language in the book. However, as soon as I got a few pages into the story, I quickly ignored the irritation in favor of the entertaining story.

The story follows Jade del Cameron, a particularly adventurous woman for the time period...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Skigirl rated it 4 of 5 stars

I tend towards non-fiction books about Africa, perhaps to excess. I do read the occasional novel about Africa and usually enjoy them, but I was skeptical when I picked up Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda, as I was initially put off by some of the more quirky period language in the book. However, as soon as I got a few pages into the story, I quickly ignored it.

The story follows Jade del Cameron, a particularly adventurous woman for the time period near the end of World War I. An American, she...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Lolly's rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-mys-suspense, part-of-a-series

I admit, I went into this book with preconceptions, which probably increased my disappointment with it. Being such a huge fan of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series as I am, a series concerning the exploits of an adventurous Victorian woman, I had been on the lookout for another similarly-themed book or series. When I saw Arruda's book, I was excited, thinking I'd found an Amelia Peabody stand-in for those long lags between Peters' book publications. After all, it's a story of a bold America...more I admit, I went into this book with preconceptions, which probably increased my disappointment with it. Being such a huge fan of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series as I am, a series concerning the exploits of an adventurous Victorian woman, I had been on the lookout for another similarly-themed book or series. When I saw Arruda's book, I was excited, thinking I'd found an Amelia Peabody stand-in for those long lags between Peters' book publications. After all, it's a story of a bold American woman, Jade de Cameron, a former ambulance driver on the French front lines during WWI, who undertakes the fulfillment of a dying man's last wish, a quest which takes her to the wilds of East Africa and into the heart of darkness (ooh, such a cliché, but I had to use it).

The concept is great and sounds wonderfully exciting, but the actual execution is disappointing. After the initial chapters set on the French battlefields, full of explosions and near-misses and heart-pounding action, the excitement quickly drops off and the story dissolves into a weak mystery (in which the perpetrator is quickly identified by any astute reader, leaving us to suffer through many more pointless chapters of characters running around like chickens with their heads cut off as they try to solve the murders, poorly-done "red herrings," and unnecessary breaks in the story to allow brief babbling excerpts from the villain's P.O.V., a feature which does nothing to enhance the narrative). As we wait for the mystery to be (finally) resolved, we're treated to what basically amounts to a travelogue of East Africa in the 1920's with a bland quasi-romance thrown in for good measure.

Halfway through the book, with my patience worn thin and the culprit already figured out a few chapters back, I couldn't help thinking that if this were a tale of Amelia Peabody, she would've already gotten into a scuffle with some minor miscreants, been kidnapped by the Master Criminal, escaped, figured out what treasure had inspired the M.C.'s interest, and been on her way to grabbing it first, as well as had a loving quarrel or two (with the requisite romantic making-up afterwards) with Emerson (who would've been knocked on the head at least once already) and (depending on his age at the time of the story) corralled/rescued/disentangled Ramses from some sort of perilous situation. In comparison, Arruda's story had barely gotten off the ground. And while the landscapes of Africa are lovingly and lavishly detailed (the aspect in which Arruda's writing talent shines), narratives rich enough that you can hear the cough of lions in the sunset-shadowed savanna, the laugh of hyenas on the prowl in the inky night, passages where you can almost smell the earth baking under the noon sun and hear the crisp grass bending in the breeze, it almost clashes with the flatness of writing when it comes to the rest of the novel. The characters are 2-D and uninspiring, with no real purpose other than to orbit Jade and provide motives for her movements. Jade herself is rather jarring, her independent spirit coming off at times as heavy-handed and anachronistic. Again, to compare (probably unfairly), while Amelia Peabody is feisty, independent and bold, those traits are always with the context of the times in which she was born and raised and lives. So while she'll wear Bloomer's bloomers and defy certain conventions when and how they become cumbersome to her, to other rituals and mores she'll adhere fiercely and become quite shocked at the idea of doing otherwise. Jade comes off more as a woman of the 21st century plonked down in the 1920s: there's no obvious chafing from her at the constraints against women of that period, no indication that she's of her time yet slightly ahead of her time, no evidence that her independence costs her anything either socially or emotionally. She's bold and everyone simply accepts that, attributing her independence to the fact that she's American and just doesn't "get" the social niceties of the society around her, a cop out that doesn't sit well with me.

I won't say this is a bad book, but I will say, in order to finish it because I was so bored, I skimmed over the last third. Otherwise, I don't think I'd been able to force myself to slog through and finish the book in a normal fashion. With a plodding storyline and a lackluster plot, I fear this book has little to recommend it. It's possible the succeeding books in the series improve, however I doubt I'll give them a try to find out.(less)

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Jul 13, 2009 dfenn78 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a murder mystery set in Africa after WWI. Jade Del Carmen is a fearless female hunter/photographer, don't mess with me kind of lady who stumbles into a tale of murder and ancient, tribal witchcraft.

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Mar 04, 2013 Sara Ganung rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a difficult one to get through. It started off strong but became tedious to keep reading.
The flashbacks Jade kept having were realistic but I thought kept being over dramatic.
The love interest was also obnoxious and I also felt dragged out and forced.
The idolization of David also felt forced to me as well. And I felt that I've read it before in the same genres.
The whole Africa thing is getting over used as well, in my opinion. Same with the idolization and deep love for the dec...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Sue added it · review of another edition

World War I ambulance driver Jade del Cameron travels to Africa after the war to fulfill the dying wish of her good friend David—to find his brother. Jade has little to go on—a map and a pair of rings—but she perseveres with the help of old and new friends. Complicating matters, a local witch, or laibon, is on a killing spree; and due to her investigation, Jade is also soon in danger. Jade is a fearless woman, who knows how to handle a gun, and she is determined to keep the promise she made to D...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Gayle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Set in Africa shortly after the 1st World War, this is a mystery novel that has a strong female lead and it is beautifully written. You feel as if you are in Africa, Ms. Arruda is so descriptive and realistically detailed. I very much enjoy mysteries especially those that challenge me though, somewhere around or before the half-way point in this novel I'd decided who done it. And through the rest of the novel was inwardly shouting 'Look out!" but still, I very much enjoyed this book. Because it...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Karmen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

jade is a fantastic character. look forward to having her more fleshed out in the future books.

The story takes place after Jade served as an ambulance driver in WW1 France. She undertakes a journey to fulfill her boyfriend David's last request to locate his brother. A brother that his father sired while in East Africa.

Her journey, coupled with an introduction by a rather high ranking member of the British aristocracy, opens her world to what is now Kenya and its environs.

Characters: Harry Hascom...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Catherine Woodman added it

I picked up this book because I recognized the treee on the cover as African and I had just come back from Tanzania and loved loved oved the topography as well as all the wonderful big mammals. THis book is a period book, set in the peri-WW I era, and so something that I would normally shy away from. That would be a mistake with this series, because they are not dated--they focus on things that are timeless rather than on what would make you realize it is set in that time, and the main character...more

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Jan 27, 2013 K.M. Weiland rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I stumbled upon the author's blog in researching my own historical novel set in 1920s Kenya. Mysteries aren't really my cuppa, but I snapped this one up and thoroughly enjoyed it. The protagonist is a delightfully (if perhaps a bit anachronistically) independent, feisty, and proficient adventuress - something like an Indiana Jones in skirts, except she prefers trousers. The mystery was both a bit more predictable and more far-fetched than I would have preferred. But the magnificent setting makes...more

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Aug 31, 2009 Phair rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-mystery

This book drew me for several reasons: I like post WWI era, spunky heroines and I was in a mood for an African adventure. This one was OK but it lacked real depth- still, good enough that I will probably read more of the series. The author mentions the Ghost and the Darkness lions [one of the scariest, most evocative films ever about Africa:]. Don't know if I could buy the whole witch doctor/shapeshifter thing. Overall, not the period feel of, say, the Joe Sandilands books set in India in same...more

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Mar 31, 2013 Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ashford_april, mystery

*Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance during Ashford April (April 2013).

Jade del Cameron is a plucky girl. Growing up in the American West she knows how to handle herself in just about any situation. Yet she is still haunted by her ambulance work in the great war. The insane laughing of the wounded will never leave her, nor will the memory of David. David wanted to marry Jade and have a happily ever after. Jade wasn't sure but didn't really have the chance to decide w...more *Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance during Ashford April (April 2013).

Jade del Cameron is a plucky girl. Growing up in the American West she knows how to handle herself in just about any situation. Yet she is still haunted by her ambulance work in the great war. The insane laughing of the wounded will never leave her, nor will the memory of David. David wanted to marry Jade and have a happily ever after. Jade wasn't sure but didn't really have the chance to decide when David was shot down and died in her arms pleading with her to find his secret half brother and look into his father's suspicious death in Nairobi at the start of the war. Jade takes dying wishes seriously, and with writing work for the magazine The Traveler as cover, she sets out for British East Africa to find out just what is going on.

David's father did indeed die under strange circumstances. How was he mauled to death in a hotel, on the second floor? Africa though is not what Jade expected and it looks like her duty to David might be harder then she thought. Things happen in Africa. Weird things. Everyone just accepts this. Death by animal is common, even if it was in an uncommon location. Here they believe in witches capable of using animals as their familiars to kill. Yet, what if the witches are real? And what if they have taken against Jade?

As Lauren Willig says, "the past can feel like a very small place." This was indeed what I felt upon first cracking open the pages of Mark of the Lion. Having a little African reading extravaganza means that I am reading these books back to back. I try to insert a little something different between the volumes, but to all intents and purposes, I've been living in British East Africa for awhile now, both in fictional and non-fictional works. So therefore hearing anecdotes directly lifted from other books, in particular The Flame Trees of Thika, which I had just finished, seemed a little redundant. I would say this could have been amusing, seeing the same cast of characters through yet another author's eyes, but coming directly after reading the one, it felt a bit like flogging a dead horse. Thankfully Suzanne Arruda soon went off in her own unique direction that was actually inspired by a true tale from Bror von Blixen, the husband of author Isak Dinesen, and the book soon found it's own legs with a dash of danger and more then a little mysticism.

The mysticism is what really drew me into the story. For those who know me there are two obvious categories my reading tastes lean to, firstly is the historical fiction, secondly is the urban fantasy. By bringing in witches and animals controlled by these dark forces, it's like adding a dash of urban fantasy into Kenya's Happy Valley. While of course it's traditional folklore and not fantasy that is feeding the laibon, aka witch, isn't all urban fantasy rooted in folklore? Therefore this book is like the urban fantasy of the day, if the day was 1919. Even in more biographical books like The Flame Trees of Thika, Elspeth Huxley fully admits that whether you believe or not, that sometimes it's better to be open to other things that can not be understood. I love that Suzanne Arruda was willing to embrace the fact that there are just some things that can't be explained away unless you expand your definitions of what is possible and what is impossible. A world where everything can not be neatly compartmentalized and there is room for magic is a world I want to live in.

Now to the nit-picky bit, which little old me can never just skip. Let's talk about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder folks. This is a trap that many modern writers fall prey to. The thing is, while I fully admit that PTSD was around prior to it's official designation in the 1980s; if this were really a book set in 1919, yes Jade would be shell shocked after her work in the war, but there would be the whole "stiff upper lippedness" that had people dealing with it on their own and just carrying on as it were. Sure, you can use the excuse that she's American, so she handles things differently... but I've seen this more and more that any book written by a current writer set after a war the hero or heroine will have textbook PTSD, it's almost rote in mystery books at the moment. It just gets to be a bit much, know what I mean? I like that Arruda used a specific incident in Jade's past to have hyena's trigger her attacks, but still, enough with the PTSD, ok folks? (less)

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Oct 16, 2012 Abbey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: myst-historical, myst-set-andor-auth-uk, series

BOTTOM LINE: action, blood, guts, and a surprising amount of psychological subtlety make this first in series a very good read.

The exploits of the intrepid Ms. del Cameron engage us in a satisfying adventure, with a gorgeous setting and a strong plot, plus some well-drawn characters. Having been an ambulance driver during the worst battles of WW1, after Armistice Jade takes on a personal task - find her now dead best friend’s half-brother, and help him claim his inheritance. The trail leads her...more

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Dec 10, 2011 J rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Disclaimer - my "reviews" are not truly that. Rather than a critical analysis, each "review" is mostly my quick summary of the plot -- so I can refresh my unreliable memory. Also, I find that once I journal a book, it's easier for me to give it away. That's important, as our house is getting "overgrown" with books.

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I was predisposed to really like this book. I like the era (between the World Wars). I like the concept of a plucky young American woman who helped on the war fr...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Out of Africa lovers and D. Preston & L. Child Lovers

Shelves: read-in-2012, re-readable, need-it, 4-or-5-stars, great-adventure

I found this book captivating almost instantly. To me it was a cross between the movie and book Out of Africa and Relic. The setting was pure Out of Africia but there was a sense of mystery/monster from Relic.

My faorite books always seem to possess one quality above all others; you only need to read a few words before you feel like Alice in the Rabitt hole falling through to another place and time. This book did this for me. Almost immediately I was near the front lines during World War I riding...more

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Sep 08, 2011 Vickie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: booksthatmakemegowow, keeper-shelf

One could start a review by comparing this series to Jacqueline Winspear's 'Maisie Dobbs' series. It is similar in being set during WWI timeframe and with a strong female lead character. It would also be a good comparison in that both are a favorite series for me with a must get all for the keeper shelf proviso.

I can't remember where I first heard of Jade del Cameron, but the series has been on the WWBL for some time with MARK OF THE LION on Mt Git'r'Read for a while for whatever reason. I am a...more

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Jun 22, 2009 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Barbara by: endcap at the library.

Shelves: mysteries

Found this at the library and took a chance. Enjoyed it enough to be willing to read more but wasn't entirely "blown away." The setting is fun--post WW1 East Africa--with lots of wildlife, colonial idiosyncrasies and cultural flavor; the heroine was kinda cool, but sometimes felt a little too "much" for her time setting (shades of Lara Croft without the gadgets, jumpsuits or artifacts) but enjoyable enough. There's an element of fantasy/magic with a powerful witch-doctor as the enemy and that's...more

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Jun 07, 2013 Carmen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Jade is a nurse in World War I. A young man whom she has become very close to dies. As he is dying, he asks her to find the brother he never knew he had and bring him something. Upon her return to England, she looks up his mom. The mom denies that there is another brother. So Jade wangles a trip to Kenya where David's father had lived for quite a long time, suspecting that his brother is there. The search brings quite a few adventures and surprises along the way.

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Mar 09, 2013 Anna Scholes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

A well crafted mystery that is, surprisingly, not afraid to dip a into the supernatural world of African witchcraft. The author keeps the tension high and is particularly good at the placement of clues. However the most compelling element in this book is the setting, a full rich experience of Imperial Kenya so alive that it is like a character in the book. I really loved the "quotes" at the beginning of each chapter which are supposedly from the travel articles written by the main character Jade...more

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Apr 29, 2010 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Amy by: Lois

Lois highly recommended this. Setting is an American ambulance driver in WWI France. Jade holds her pilot boyfriend in her arms and he gasps a dying request that she find his half brother...in Africa. Some of the descriptions of Africa are poetic, a mention only of Bror Blixen and Izak Dinesen, as same time period. The mystery is solved but with a nod to the
existence of shamans taking true animal form, a bit of a stretch for me.
I only mildly recommend.

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Feb 06, 2009 Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book. There was much info about the country of Nairobi in the early 1900's when it was a British Protectorate. It was interesting to learn how the British colonists lived and how they kept up their aristocratic standands even out in the wild. Also there was info of the many African tribes and the difference in their beliefs and superstitions. Of course I enjoyed it also because it was a mystery and I do like mysteries.

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Aug 24, 2012 Winddancer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mature-high-school-college

I'm only a few chapters in right now but so far it's a ride. The first chapter alone hits like a bombshell. It reminds me of the Mary Russell series by L.H. King, only...different. I'd say grittier, but I'm not that far along yet. I'd say more intriguing, but I've only just begun. I'll let you know.

Having finished, I'm not sure this book lived up to its initial promise. THe opening chapters were tight, moving, and seemed to promise a fast-paced adventure/mystery. ONce Jade gets to Africa, though...more

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About Suzanne Arruda

Suzanne Arruda, a former zookeeper-turned-science teacher and freelance writer, is the author of several biographies for young adults. She has also published science and nature articles for adults and children and is a regular contributor to a weekly newspaper supplement. An avid hiker and outdoorswoman, she lives in Kansas with her husband, twin sons, and a small menagerie of pets.

More about Suzanne Arruda...

Books by Suzanne Arruda

Stalking Ivory (Jade del Cameron Mysteries, #2)

The Serpent's Daughter (Jade del Cameron Mysteries, #3)

The Leopard's Prey (Jade del Cameron Mysteries, #4)

Treasure of the Golden Cheetah (Jade del Cameron Mysteries, #5)

The Crocodile's Last Embrace (Jade del Cameron Mysteries, #6)

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Mark of the Lion: A Jade del Cameron Mystery (Jade del Cameron Mysteries #1)

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