Murder On Safari

by Hillary Waugh

Murder On Safari by Hillary Waugh released on Jun 23, 1989 is available now for purchase.

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Aka Elissa Grandower (5 books), H. Baldwin Taylor (3 books), Harry Walker (1 book).

Hillary Baldwin Waugh was a pioneering American mystery novelist. In 1989, Waugh was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

During his senior year at Yale, Waugh enlisted in the United States Navy Air Corps and, after graduation, received his aviator's wings. He served in Panama for two years, flying various types of aircraft. While in military service, Waugh turned his hand to creative writing, completing and publishing his first novel Madam Will Not Dine Tonight in 1947. He quickly published two more novels, but they were not very well received.

In 1949, as the result of reading a case book on true crime, Waugh decided to explore a realistic crime novel. With the cooperation of his fiancée, who was a student at Smith College, Waugh set his police procedural Last Seen Wearing... in a fictional women's college. Published in 1952, the book was a significant success and is now considered a pioneering effort exploring relentless police work and attention to detail.

After Last Seen Wearing..., Waugh went on to publish more than thirty-five additional detective novels, many aptly described as "hard boiled". Pseudonyms include "Elissa Grandower," "Harry Walker" and "H. Baldwin Taylor."

Waugh married Diana Taylor, and the couple had three children. Waugh died on December 8, 2008.

Reviews

[Jazz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twenty tourists on a bird watching tour of Africa find themselves being picked off one by one with no clue why. The story is told through the eyes of James Addison, a NY reporter assigned to cover the safari for its travel interest. Also on the tour is Colonel Dagger, a famous mystery writer, who needs to put all his skills to bear on solving the murders along with Captain Lumumba of the Nairobi police. The story moved from scenic location to location with bodies falling along the way. I found it to be a fun read even though the character were a bit two-dimensional and the solution not exactly fair-play. One jarring note for me was some of the animals like elephants and hippos being described as basically harmless or benign. But all-in-all I enjoyed it.

[Katrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so this book had some outdated notions about race and gender roles. I kept telling myself to ignore it. It is an older book, that is just the way it was. Then at the end of the book, I realized it was written in 1987. It isn’t THAT old. Shush, it isn’t that old, I say! I finished the book, but decided I wouldn’t read anymore. There are so many other books to read, I shouldn’t have to force myself to overlook racism and misogynistic attitudes.

For some examples: “If they had known what was in her pretty little head...” “What enables you to deduce it? Tell me how the white mind works” and “You were wrong when you said I was the only girl who wasn’t looking for a husband from the age of fourteen on. I was too looking! It just took me longer to find one.” There also was the concept of the great white hope. The bumbling “racist” black cop had to go to the superior white guy for help solving the case. I would give it a pass.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like a play than a whodunit mystery - emphasis on dialogue, not on character development or action. All murders occur off stage. There are some interesting side twists, but all in all not that great of a story.

[aubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

lots of characters to keep track of but i honestly liked this book so much. did not know who the killer was till the very end, kept me on my toes at all times.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grabbed it out of the library to read over Xmas holidays. Typical older American mystery.