As Bad As It Gets by
Julian Rathbone
pbk out June 04
(Allison Busby)
at £6.99
Bournemouth based private eye, Chris Shovelin, is holidaying in Kenya courtesy of a satisfied and wealthy client. But inevitably Shovelin attracts trouble like a dung heap attracts flies: as soon as he sets foot outside his Nairobi hotel he is mugged and then picked up by Danielle who is evasive about her business in Africa. Danny disappears, abandoning Shovelin on a safari trip, and when he tries to find her or the men she was associating with he becomes a target. Clues point to an international food giant and GM crops. There is a killer on his heels and Shovelin is unsure who he can trust but knows he must answer all the questions to stand a chance of getting out alive. Traditional private-eye yarn from established author Rathbone sees his gumshoe on the receiving end of some nasty beatings as well as encountering rogue elephants, corrupt police, excruciating fellow tourists and Kenya’s dispossessed - the latter in a moving final section of the book. As with all the best private eyes Shovelin has a moral agenda - a decent man aiming to do justice in a corrupt world - but for my money Kenya: the landscapes, flora, fauna and the people, are the real stars in this book.
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries set on the mean streets of Manchester)
As Bad As It Gets by
Julian Rathbone
