Predators
Non-series
Frederick
Ramsay
Poisoned
Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-684-0 (1590586840)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-684-6 (9781590586846)
Publication Date: December 2009
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Leo Painter is the CEO of Earth Global, a large energy,
mining, and real-estate development firm. He and his party of company
executives are traveling in Botswana to consult with the government
about accessing their extractable resources.
Sekoa is a male lion who shares with his bipedal enemies the misfortune
of being the bearer of HIV/AIDS. Weakened by the disease, he loses his
place as the alpha male in his pride and now, dying and harassed by a
pack of hyenas, seeks only a place to rest in peace.
Painter, pursued by his own "hyenas", only wishes to find a last
resting place where he can further his dream: to build a resort/casino
on Botswana's Chobe River.
Their paths cross with tragic consequences as police, a plucky woman
game warden, and myriad local authorities, hoteliers, and tribesmen vie
over what happened and to whom.
Review:
The absorbing accounts of an aging CEO and an aging lion are creatively
juxtaposed in Predators,
a stand-alone novel by Frederick J. Ramsay.
Leo Painter is the chief executive officer of Earth Global, a natural
resources company. Though suffering from a weak heart and ready to
retire, he's asked by the State Department to travel to Botswana to
consult with the local government to negotiate mineral rights. Painter,
together with executives from his company and his wife and stepson,
arrive in Botswana but Painter isn't sure this trip is in the best
interests of the company or his family. Separately, Sekoa, a lion, has
been displaced as the alpha male in his tribe because of an AIDS-like
virus. Weakened, and only able to hunt for small animals, he is hounded
by hyenas that sense his imminent demise.
Common to both Painter and Sekoa is Mpoo Kgopa Sanderson, a game ranger
who is looked down upon by the men of her village because she is a
woman doing a man's job. It is her responsibility to investigate the
death of Painter's attorney. He is found dead in the bush, with the
head of Sekoa (also dead) on his chest. The authorities want to label
the death a lion kill, but Sanderson knows otherwise: he was killed by
a spear through the chest. The prime suspect seems to be Bobby,
Painter's stepson, who not only holds a substantial amount of company
stock but seems anxious to take control of his family's company. When
it comes to kill or be killed, there is not much distinction between
the laws of the jungle and the laws of the boardroom.
Ramsay is clearly drawing a parallel between Painter and Sekoa, both of
whom (which) know they must eventually (and sooner than they might
choose) cede control of their respective empires to a new generation,
and would like to do so gracefully but don't trust those that follow in
their footsteps. Yet the story is told in such a way that is doesn't
seem like the obvious parable it is. Predators
is really quite riveting, a murder mystery set in an exotic land
peopled with a diverse cast of characters and motives as old as
humanity itself. A word or two or advice to potential readers: set
aside plenty of time to enjoy Predators,
as once started, it will be hard to put down.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Predators and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Predators? How would you rate it?
Novels by this author …
Impulse
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), June 2006
ISBN-10: 1-59058-283-7 (1590582837)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-283-1 (9781590582831)
Predators
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), December 2009
ISBN-10: 1-59058-684-0 (1590586840)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-684-6 (9781590586846)
Omnimystery
keywords for Predators
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Location(s) referenced: Botswana.
