Storms Over Africa

by Beverley Harper

Desperate poachers are stalking the dwindling populations of Zimbabwe's great game parks. Ancient rivalries have ignited modern political ambitions and nothing is certain for those of the old Africa.

But for Richard Dunn the stakes are even higher. Into his world comes the beautiful and compelling Steve Hayes, a woman struggling to guard her own dreadful secret. Richard has no choice: face the consequences of the past and fight for the future. To lose now is to lose everything.

Genres: Africa, Fiction

680 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

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

[Margitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, this is a romance with an African adventure thrown in. A fictional account of a man and his children who try to come to grips with the death of his wife, their mother. All three had their own way of getting on with life and emotional distance from each other creates a void in all of them. They live on a beautiful farm in Zimbabwe. A serious of events changes everything for them.

Facts, fiction, history, cultures, and hot steamy romance are blended into a fantasy tale.

Find in the story:
The romantic aspects: two gorgeous looking people; wealth and breeding; perfect romantic setting.
The adventure and suspense aspects: historical facts are bent a little to fit the story line; poaching, politics and high drama from a woman's point of view.

This is an African tale through only half rose-tinted glasses. If Wilbur Smith wrote this book, it would have been a totally different onslaught. Only, the story line will be the same with similar elements added to bring more reality into it. Much more reality, with a lot less chic-lit sentimentality added. It is still written with a Wilbur Smith blueprint as starting point, for sure.

However, as much as I do not like the sweet nothings and fairy tale approach to the romance in the story ( a personal preference), it is still one of the best African reads in a long time: well-researched, high drama, consistent action, beautiful scenery, brutality and hardship, laughter and tears, heartbreak and sorrow, humor and wit, and animal tales added to make it a perfect African experience. There is nothing too sentimental in this book. Parts of the text contained too much tell and could have been edited out. Perhaps fifty to a hundred pages of it. Stopping at the final 589 pages, the cuts would not have been missed at all. I skipped the flowery parts. Over all though there is not too much frills or fuzz to the narrative. Some of the events are as shocking as others are beautiful. The tale inspires contrasting emotions and every possible emotion is at work.

I loved this book. A fast, action-packed, informative adventure, with a woman's onslaught. It worked. It was really brilliant! Simply beautiful!

IT COMES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

PS. Beverly Harper passed away in 2002, before she could witness the recent events in Zimbabwe. It is important to view the story in this context.

[Morgan Moroney · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those I can’t put it down but it’s breaking my heart kind of books. There are so many times where this book truely made me FEEL like I was there next to Beverley Harper while she narrated the storyline.
Proceeded to buy the rest of her books after this one!

[Diana E. Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at a book exchange while sailing in Fiji. That's one of the greatest advantages of using a book exchange...you discover books and authors that you've never heard of. This is especially true in the South Pacific where people from all over the world trade in their books. Storms Over Africa was written by an Australian, who at age 26 traveled to Africa. What was meant to be a one year holiday turned in to Beverley Harper living 20 years in Africa.
I really, really enjoyed this book, mostly because of the African setting and the many things to learn about the culture and wildlife preservation. The personal relationships were in-depth and made for a great story in one of my favorite countries. I look forward to reading more Beverley Harper.
Diana Young #1 Amazon best-selling author www.financialfitnessbooks.com

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's insight into what makes Africa different set this book apart. The story is strong and really hots up towards the end. Expect to feel angry, sad, shocked and amazed.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Australian Author . Enjoyed this book about living in Africa and the poaching

Desperate poachers are stalking the dwindling populations of Zimbabwe's great game parks. Ancient rivalries have ignited modern political ambitions and nothing is certain for those of the old Africa.

But for Richard Dunn the stakes are even higher. Into his world comes the beautiful and compelling Steve Hayes, a woman struggling to guard her own dreadful secret. Richard has no choice: face the consequences of the past and fight for the future. To lose now is to lose everything

[Batoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just phenomenal. I love Beverley Harper and everything she wrote. Her stories are alive. They’re breathing. They have hearts that beat with blood gushing through them, honestly. Have read other books by her and just WOW. They’re so memorable! I can’t put this one down. 5/5 always. I wish her stories were hyped up more. I’ve never seen her stories recommended anywhere. What a pity.

[Stephanie Kotterer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a powerful story. The characters are all at times incredibly frustrating and difficult to understand, but in the most human way. The book intertwines the human story so beautifully with powerful themes of racism, colonialism, decade-old power struggles and dynamics that you don't often read about from both angles.

[Susanna Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting read! Embarking on my first African Safari in the near future, I felt compelled to read more about the history and destination, I’m soon to visit. This book ticked all the boxes with a nice little love story thrown in.

[Edennehy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book but the complete lack of awareness of racism in Australia by the main character (who is white Australian) was hard to stomach - particularly given that the author was Australian...

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be quite an enjoyable read. With the plot revolving around poaching and its consequences, I had to agree with Steve who believed that the only shooting of Africa's magnificent animals should be done with a camera. Having seen many of the animals mentioned in this book last year on my own trip to Africa, I cannot support their senseless murder.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a book! This book has everything and more, it was so well written all the characters were so well thought out and believable. The descriptions of the beauty of Africa and the people there made me feel like I was right there along side them. This author is one hell of a story teller and I want to read every one of her books!

[Rani · Rating 5 out of 5]

was my first time reading Beverley Harper and i fell in love with her wonderful, engaging writing style.

[Larina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too graphic for me in places, but an interesting story.