Suzanne M. Arruda Mark of the Lion

Mark of the Lion

Suzanne M. Arruda

NAL, Jan 2006, $23.95, 352 pp.

ISBN 0451217489

In 1919 France, ambulance driver Jade del Cameron is driving towards one of the fronts to evacuate the wounded when she sees a German plane knocked out of the sky; she knows the downed plane was piloted by her friend David. She goes to help him, but instead he demands she honor his dying wish that she find his brother; he also starts to say that his father's death was suspicious, but dies before he can complete the statement.

Jade travels to London to see David's mother, who insists that she had only one son. Jade assumes that the sibling must be a half-brother sired by David's dad with another woman perhaps when the late father was in East Africa. Feeling it important to accomplish David's dying wish, Jade follows the trail to Nairobi. Her stay leads to romance and adventure as she continues to track down the sibling.

Readers will compare this gem of a historical investigative tale to Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ladies Detective Agency thrillers. The story line is cleverly written so that fans will obtain a taste of life at the end of WWI in England and Africa as Jade goes from one escapade to another whether it is human or hyena. This is the start of what looks like to be a long friendship between historical mystery fans and Jade del Cameron.

Harriet Klausner