In the deceptively stable nation of Terre Diamantee, a former Belgian colony in West Africa, Dvaid Trowbridge, an American field biologist is determined to track the elusive leopard in the rain forest. As he settles into his unorthodox research regimen, three murders occur at the forest station--and Trowbridge himself is ambushed for no dicernible reason.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
And now for something slightly different from the usual run of terrorists and serial killers--a political/ecological thriller set in a fictional West African country and written by an author Joseph Conrad would have approved of. Steven Voien obviously used his time as a United States Foreign Service officer on the Ivory Coast to help shape the background of this story about an American field biologist who gets caught in a tangle of intrigue, black magic, and murder while tracking leopards in the rain forest. Science and superstition combine to create great suspense.
From Library Journal
When field biologist David Trowbridge and co-worker Claire complete their groundbreaking study of leopards in a forest in Terre Diamantee in West Africa, they find that getting out of the country is not so easy. Civil war has erupted. What's more, someone wants them dead, for David has inadvertently run into a plot by high government officials to steal land from both Terre Diamantee and its neighbor to create a new country and sell off the forest, currently protected by World Bank agreements. The biologists overseeing the forest have already been murdered, and more violence is to come. Fascinating information about the leopards and chimpanzees is mixed in with the suspenseful plot. Recommended for popular fiction collections.?Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Voien captures the essense of the poly-ecco thriller.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Black Leopard (Hardcover)
I was given this book and procratinated for a long time before picking it up and actually opening it. I'm so glad I did!!! From the very beginning, the reader is caught up in a complex and compelling drama with many faces. This book is unpredictable and almost impossible to put down. I really hated finishing this book. It will be hard to find proper follow-up reading.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A first-rate eco-thriller that is also an excellent novel.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Black Leopard (Hardcover)
A thriller for those who like to think and read at the same time. There's action and sex, all right, but they involve well-drawn and sympathetic characters, including the field biologist David Trowbridge from the author's previous "In a High and Lonely Place." There's a hair-raising look at what goes on in the backwoods of West Africa -- "lawless" isn't quite strong enough -- and an equally-revealing glimpse into the political structure of a country that seems to bear some resemblance to the Ivory Coast, where the author worked as a diplomat. There's a geo-political angle that sounds like the real story behind familiar headlines out of Africa, and fascinating insights into the lives of chimpanzees, forest leopards and forest elephants studied by Trowbridge and a team of Belgian biologists he encounters in the field. All of it is seamlessly woven into an elaborate plot that will keep you guessing to the very end.The book brings to life an enor! mous variety of people, from ordinary (and not-so-ordinary) Africans in steamy villages to their "maximum leaders" in air-conditioned offices, from a cool Lebanese businesswoman to a frightened American smuggler, from high-minded scientists to clever thugs -- plus animals as vividly drawn as the humans in most books. "Black Leopard" is a great thriller and a rich and satisfying novel.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Animal research+politics=murder,
By A Customer
This review is from: Black Leopard (Hardcover)
American field biologist David Trowbidge is extremely excited about his new assignment, researching the natural habitat of leopards in the West African nation of Terre Diamantee. However, David's research routine is almost immediately disrupted with the murder of the head of the wildlife research station. Two other murders follow and David is ambushed and almost killed.
Still, David continues with his research only to find himself struggling to not become submerged in the nation's political corruption and a potential coup. In spite of some diplomatic initiatives to keep the peace in the nation, David is forced to flee for his life when fighting breaks out. He barely gets out of the country alive.
The political thriller that this novel is intended to be falls rather short as it fails to plow new ground. However, the research into the wild to study the leopard and other animals in their natural habitat is brilliantly written, making this novel worth reading. Readers who insist on a refreshing political thriller need to look elsewhere. However, those who enjoy reading about other material such as the extremely exciting field research (don't be fooled - this stuff is surprisingly ultra-interesting and well written), this is their novel.
Harriet Klausner
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