I've been reading Suzanne Arruda's first Jade del Cameron mystery, Mark of the Lion and am not sure what I think of it. It's definitely a very light read, a cozy mystery with an exotic East African setting. I am inclined to like it as it has lots of characteristics I tend to enjoy in a good comfort read--a likable heroine, interesting setting, promise of an unusual mystery and possibility of a dash of romance. The protagonist is a smart, independent woman, in this case an American from Cimarron, New Mexico. She drove an ambulance in the War, so she isn't faint at the sight of blood and knows how to handle a gun. She makes a promise to friend who was a pilot on his deathbed to find the brother she didn't realize he had, and who he had never met. This takes her to Nairobi shortly after the end of the war in 1919 under the guise of a writer for a travel magazine where she'll do a little investigating on the side.
So far, so good. I have had this book for a while now and it's one I've wanted to read for ages, so I was excited to finally pick it up, only I'm only feeling lukewarm about it at the moment. I like Jade. I like spunky heroines and given the era and her background I think she can get away with it. The thing is, so far the mystery aspect of the story hasn't impressed me. The situation seems to be based on pure chance, a few coincidences and the odd stretch of the imagination, and now there doesn't seem to be a lot of detecting going on. Normally this might not bother me, particularly when the characters are interesting and the historical setting can carry the plot along. Certainly Colonial Africa is an interesting place, but the killing of wild hyenas and safaris (despite being accurately rendered) doesn't seem to be what I'm in the mood for at the moment. Still, the descriptions are well done.
"A full and spectacular view of the waterfall cascading over the volcanic rocks greeted her when she rounded the corner of the outcrop. The falls initially dropped from a height of at least ten feet before tumbling the last three over two shorter stair steps. Fine white spray ricocheted off the dark boulders and splattered the surroundings with refreshing dampness. Lush, flowering shrubs and vines clung to seemingly impossible places on the rock, their roots grasping for a purchase in the precious, wet environment, while feathery papyrus heads undulated gracefully along the shoreline. A kingfisher, resplendent with a large turquoise-colored crest, dived from its perch into the basin at the foots of the falls. He emergerd a moment later with a fish every bit as long has himself in his massive red beak. It's Eden, thought Jade."
I'll keep going as it is easy reading and I'm curious enough to see how things work out, though I'm not sure this is a series I'll follow. Who knows, though, I may be pleasantly surprised by the end. Has anyone read these Jade del Cameron books? I've already got Elizabeth George's Careless in Red lined up for my next msytery (and am perhaps getting antsy to start it. Maybe that's part of my problem), but I am also eyeing Anne Perry's first William Monk mystery, The Face of a Stranger. It's probably not a good thing to be thinking about your next read while you're in the middle of one.