Predators [Hardcover]

Frederick Ramsay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

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 of Botswana about accessing their extractable resources.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Through parallel stories, Ramsay's clever stand-alone shows the ruthlessness of the business and the animal worlds without resorting to gimmickry. Sekoa, an aging, mortally ill lion, is being forced out by younger rivals and hyenas on the Botswana plains. Meanwhile, Leo Painter, a Chicago energy czar with a bad heart, is up against ambitious employees and greedy relatives. While Sekoa stands up to his rivals, Painter and his entourage come to Botswana to build a resort/casino. Painter's callous nature has alienated him from his stepson, Bobby Griswold, who has “the brains of a guppy,” and Bobby's wife, Brenda, a former stripper. Painter's business plan would leave the Griswolds without any money, but not, the couple learns, if the old man dies first and his will remains intact. Ramsay (Impulse) matches keen characterizations with an obvious affection for Botswana, a complicated country that's more than Alexander McCall Smith's “quaint mysteries,” as one character observes. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

Predators come in all forms in this stand-alone mystery by the author of the Ike Schwartz series. When Leo Painter, CEO of Earth Global, travels to Botswana to assess that country’s natural resources, Painter’s COO schemes to acquire enough stock in the company to take command. Ramsay parallels the story of these corporate predators with that of the real thing: an ailing lion, called Sekoa by the Botswanese, who teeters on the edge of losing his pride to a younger, healthier challenger. Painter, even with heart disease, is healthier than the AIDS-inflicted Sekoa, yet the CEO faces multiple challengers, including his bumbling stepson, who is urged on by his slutty wife to claim his just deserts. The law of the jungle, as portrayed here, is more straightforward than human behavior, and animals are altogether more admirable than people. There’s nothing subtle about the analogy Ramsay draws between animal and human predators, but his descriptions of the vivid landscape and its inhabitants win the day. An unusual, sometimes clumsy, but finally engaging mystery. --Michele Leber

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590586840
• ISBN-13: 978-1590586846
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,300,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Frederick Ramsay was born in Baltimore. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and received his doctorate in Anatomy from the University of Illinois. After a stint in the Army, he joined the faculty of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine where he taught Gross and Micro Anatomy and Embryology. Collaborated and did independent research in the immunological system and its relation to cancer. He is the author of several scientific research and general technical articles.
During this time he also pursued studies in theology and in 1971 was ordained an Episcopal priest. After leaving the University, he served two congregations in the Baltimore area full time and several part-time.
He is now retired from full-time ministry and writes fiction.
His first novel, Artscape, was published by Poisoned Pen Press and launched July, 2004. His second, Secrets, (Poisoned Pen Press), was published in August of 2005 and Impulse, July 2006, was cited by Publishers Weekly as one of the one hundred best books 2006. He is the author of the Ike Schwartz mysteries, A series beginning with Predators set in Botswana, and a stand alone, religious historical fiction-Judas the Gospel of betrayal.
He is an iconographer, an accomplished public speaker and once hosted a television spot, Prognosis, on WMAR-TV, Baltimore. He currently lives in Surprise, Arizona with his wife and partner, Susan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars super parable thriller, December 4, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Predators (Hardcover)

The American State Department permits Earth Global CEO Leo Painter, his wife, stepson and other executives to travel to Botswana to negotiate with officials to allow his firm to extract minerals. He believes the mineral rich African country will prove profitable for his energy, mining and realty company. However several of his companions believe Leo is too old and ethical sot hey want to push him aside at the firm along with his spouse. He would like to rest but knows a respite means death from the human hyenas stalking him.

At the same time, Sekeo the elderly lion once ruled his pride with a strong alpha paw or two. However, he is not only turning weak with age, but suffers from HIV/AID, which compounds his health issues. The younger males want to replace him and challenges are coming all the time. He would like to rest but knows a respite means death from the lion hyenas (or the game ranger) stalking him.

With a darker look at human nature than Alexander McCall Smith's genteel "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" and Michael Stanley's Detective Kubu police procedural, Frederick Ramsay provides a super parable thriller as the king of the jungle rules fleetingly. The story line is fast-paced but it is the cast especially the parallel Leos who meet their respective Snows of Kilimanjaro Hemingway moments that makes for one of the year's best glimpses at what drives the living.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine story of intrigue and mystery evolves, July 15, 2010

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Predators (Hardcover)

Frederick Ramsay's PREDATORS tells of one Leo, the CEO of Earth Global who travels to Botswana, a country rich in resources his company and the U.S. government covet. Pursued by corporate danger, Leo's search for peace pairs with a maneater's stalking of the savannah, bringing the two on a collision course. A fine story of intrigue and mystery evolves.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Roar of the Lion, February 22, 2010

By 

Ted Feit (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Predators (Hardcover)

This is not an easy novel to review because it is difficult to determine or simplify its various themes. At first blush, it is a tale of corporate intrigue. But added to that thread is the development of character in some of the participants, a paean to Botswana, a murder mystery, a 'green' promise, and an insight into the wildlife of Africa. It is nonetheless a well-constructed and -written tale.

Leo Painter, CEO of Earth Global, a large natural resources company, and various of his executives fly to Botswana in an attempt to make a deal for various mining deposits. Leo also has other ideas: to develop a high-end resort-casino. Meanwhile some of his underlings are scheming to force him out. Also part of the entourage: Leo's stepson and the latter's sexy wife, who provide some comic relief and contribute to the complications.

Throughout the novel, we follow a sickly lion suffering from old age, tuberculosis and a form of AIDS, who is followed by hyenas anticipating his death. Of course, the hyenas symbolize the title of the book, as well as various corporate raiders.

Recommended.