Shadows in the Grass

by Beverley Harper

Enraged screams filled his head. Deadly shapes bore down. Animal and man driven by one single thought. Kill or be killed. Neither wanted to die.

Falsely accused of a terrible crime, impetuous young aristocrat Lord Dallas Acheson is forced to flee his native Scotland, leaving behind the only woman he has ever loved-Lady Lorna de Iongh. From that day onwards, he must learn to live a different life in a land where danger is an ever-present partner.

Fate takes him to southern Africa and the emerging seaport of Durban, from where he sets off to trade and hunt, seeking his fortune in the little-travelled midlands of Natal and the wilds of Zululand. Tested to the limit, Dallas discovers more than he could have imagined.

Married to a woman he doesn't love, he yearns to abandon the restraints of nineteenth-century society to be with Lorna. And when the Zulu war breaks out, he finds himself torn between old and new loyalties, required to be an enemy of the land that is now his true home.

Genres: Africa, Fiction

539 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Beverley Harper was born in Bulli on the New South Wales south coast. In 1967 she travelled to Africa, intending to spend one year there. She stayed twenty, returning to settle in Australia in 1988. Despite loving the northern tablelands, the memories of Africa have provided the inspiration for her best-selling novels and she visited that continent for research purposes once a year.

Beverley Harper died of cancer in 2002. She rests at peace in the Africa she so loved. Her ashes lay by the Boteti River in Botswana, below a lodge called Leroo-la-Tau. It means footprints of lion.

She left a draft of her final novel, Footprints of Lion, which was lovingly completed by her husband, Robert Harper, and Peter Watt.

Reviews

[Braam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I really enjoyed this book I find it typically from books with this many pages that you enjoy following the story and plots and then....all of a sudden it comes to an end within a few pages. It is as if the writer did not really had a proper ending/closure planned and just "threw a few last pages together" to end of the book.
I have to say that it is not only this book/writer where I experienced this..there are quite a few books out there where I had the very same experience.
I am, however, looking forward to read other books of this writer....and hopefully the ending will be better planned and constructed.

[Cassie Holmes-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me absorbed, but the main character annoyed me more than a pesky fly that keeps landing on me in the exact same spot.
“Dallas’ Brain Lives In His Pants.” That’s literally what this book should be called.

Even though this book isn’t about cowboys and Indians, if you are a Red Dead Redemption gamer, than you will most likely love reading this book. After finishing this novel, you and Cripps should be the best hunters and traders in the West!

This book also has really long chapters, so if you prefer shorter chapters, this book may not be the best for you.

The book did get quite a bit political that made it a tad boring, which is why I gave it a 4/5.
Also, there was no reason to include Ralph. That was an uncalled for trauma 😭

[Chiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the third of her novels I read and i love how her style is so evident and consistent throughout the stories I’ve read. While I would absolutely recommend it, it dragged on a little throughout, hence the reduction in stars. However, her writing completely draws you into the landscape and characters which I have fully enjoyed in her writing overall. Certainly is a wonderful read despite the bits I found dragged the story a little.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that really is like a story told by a big campfire, I see and feel and the sights and sounds of Africa during the Zulu war

[Frans]

very good are looking for more books wriiten by Beverly

[Kaye Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time I have read this author,I enjoyed this novel would read more.

[Tessyohnka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly me-- I was reading this on Kindle and thought it was part of Out of Africa-- but I'm so glad I read it all. I loved the additional stories -- particularly the story of the curative powers of the King's letter.