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The Jade del Cameron Series: Exotic East Africa in the 1920s
Jambo! Come on safari with Jade to exotic Africa. Find mystery, romance, and adventure in the days of Isak Dinesen, Beryl Markham, and Denys Finch-Hatton.
"The Crocodile's Last Embrace ", the sixth in the series, will be available in trade paperback (September 7).
"Treasure of the Golden Cheetah", the fifth in the series, is available in hardcover and trade paperback and all earlier books are available in trade paperback.
Read more about the books below! |
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in trade paperback 9/7/2010
"rip-roaring ... extra intrigue ... Jade, a female Indiana Jones with a touch of Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody, and Biscuit, her campanion cheetah, make a vibrant duo." - Publisher's Weekly starred review
"keeps the action coming and packs its evocative landscape with sharply drawn characters, especially the likable, unsinkable Jade." - Kirkus |
THE CROCODILE'S LAST EMBRACE
After a brief sojourn in Europe, intrepid explorer Jade del Cameron returns to Kenya with bittersweet memories - as well as the certainty that Africa is her home and Sam Featherstone is the man she wants to share her life. But soon she is haunted not only by the past but by a very present danger....
When a letter arrives from France, Jade hopes it is Sam sending word of his return. Instead it is a message written in the hand of her long-dead fiancé asking, "Why did you let me die?" Who would play such a cruel prank on Jader?
She sets aside these preoccupations when she witnesses a car go over the side of a bridge. At first Jade suspects the driver was killed for his share in a northern gold mine, but soon a second man dies, his body prey to a man-eating crocodile.
Are the murders part of a larger, more sinister scheme? Soon, the mysterious deaths - and the threatening letters - begin to form the most dangerous case Jade has ever faced, pitting her against a ferocious crocodile and an even more deadly and devious adversary, who is all too human.
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TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN CHEETAH
In Book # 5 of the series, Jade ventures to Mount Kilimanjaro and literally reaches new heights of adventure. As a "second" for safari leader Harry Hascombe, Jade joins a Hollywood film crew shooting a movie about the legend of a lost treasure. Jade can hardly wait to photograph Kilimanjaro up close - and contemplate Sam Featherstone’s proposal of marriage. Her main responsibility: keep four women from wandering off into the forest. What could be simpler? But on the eve of departure, the film’s financial backer is killed by a native man who then commits suicide. The expedition heads out and as they move higher up Kilimanjaro, events convince Jade that a killer is still at work among them ... and she prepares to be tested as never before -- by both natural and supernatural predators.
“Cinematic in its descriptions of Africa, compelling in plot -- this is a true whodunit” - Jay Strafford, Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch
“…as much a great historical as it is a mystery.” - Harriet Klausner
My most recent event was at the Mysterious Galaxy Book Store. Contact them for signed, stamped, and numbered hard-covers of "Treasure of the Golden Cheetah". They will gladly ship. |
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THE LEOPARD'S PREY
- Book #4
Madeline and Neville's new coffee drier holds a dead body and the local law in the person of Inspector Finch thinks Jades' beau Sam Featherstone is the perp. If using herself as bait to help capture a leopard is not enough danger, Jade also takes off in Sam's biplane in search of the truth.
“The most dangerous animals in Nairobi circa 1920 are the two-legged kind.” -- Kirkus
“… melds Dinesen's evocation of a bygone Africa with (Agatha) Christie's ability to fashion a sharp whodunit.” - Jay Strafford, Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch
"Great characters, careful plotting, and an unusually beautiful depiction of Africa." -- Library Journal
“carefully-crafted mystery ... wonderfully suspenseful adventure ... highly recommended” - Romance Readers Connection
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THE SERPENT'S' DAUGHTER
- Book #3
Jade travels to the ancient port city of Tangier in Morocco to meet with her mother, Inez - but the reunion is cut short when Inez is kidnapped and her guide murdered. Join Jade as she traverses haunted underground tunnels, dangerous souks, and the wild and majestic Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
“Gripping intrigue… a spellbinding read.” - Clive Cussler
“rollicking tale of adventure and suspense … stellar” – Library Journal
“a heroine to admire … feisty, smart and likable” – Romantic Times
"Walter Williams Major Work Award - 2009" - Missouri Writer's Guild
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STALKING IVORY
- Book #2
The magnificant elephants of Mount Marsabit in the remoteness of the northern realm of the British Protectorate are in peril - as are Jade's friends - from murderers, ivory poachers, and slave runners. Join Jade near the real-life home of Martin and Osa Johnson on Lake Paradise.
“Jade ... returns to Africa in 1920 for her second adventure, and I do mean adventure … I've never wanted to go to Africa, but reading this series may make me change my mind … wonderful, inspiring book.” -- Mary Mason, Deadly Pleasures
"a page turner of a mystery ... fans of Ernest Hemingway and Agatha Christie alike will find this second tale of Jade's exploits a ripping good yarn.” -- Jay Strafford, Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch
“… a great female character in an intriguing time and place. Think Tony Hillerman meets the Rift Valley.” -- Barbara Theroux, Fact & Fiction, BookSense Notables
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MARK OF THE LION
- Book #1
Jade encounters the magic of Africa as she searches for the missing brother of her lost lover and the murderer of his father in the first of the series. Killer lions, hyenas, and African sorcery are only a few of the problems that Jade faces in the land of the man-eaters of Tsavo.
“… a heroine who's no ordinary Gibson girl.” -- Publisher’s Weekly
"One of the most memorable mystery adventure stories I've read in a long time." -- Douglas Preston
"an enjoyable romp through a colorful place and period in which the heroine has a Douglas-Fairbanks-in-a-split-skirt-charm ...” -- Kirkus
"Best Novel" - 2006 Missouri Writer's Guild
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Series "Extras"
Jade's "job" in Africa is to write for Traveler magazine. Each chapter in the Jade del Cameron series of books begins with a short imaginary excerpt from her articles. We put together some covers of what the magazine might have looked like. See them here.
In the maps pages, also find a link to a kml file to download and use on Google Earth to find the locations in the books. |
See all of the maps from the books in one place with interactive routes showing Jade's travels in Africa.
In "The Leopard's Prey", Jade flies Sam's biplane, a Curtis JN known as a Jennie. See images of a Jennie and video of a flight in a vintage biplane. |
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