Black Leopard

by Steven Voien

In the deceptively stable nation of Terre Diamantee, a former Belgian colony in West Africa, Dvaid Trowbridge, an American field biologist is determined to track the elusive leopard in the rain forest. As he settles into his unorthodox research regimen, three murders occur at the forest station--and Trowbridge himself is ambushed for no dicernible reason.

Genres: Fiction

287 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Sinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vier sterren. Met name uit respect. De hoeveelheid details en biologenjargon die de schrijver zich eigen heeft gemaakt om dit boek te schrijven is indrukwekkend. De informatiedichtheid is dan ook vrij dens waardoor het niet bepaald lekkerder leest. Algoed, als je je eenmaal door een regenwoud aan informatie hebt geworsteld, pakt hij het tempo op en voert hij je in luipaardtempo naar de finale. (Ja het boek ging over Luipaarden in het regenwoud). Spannend en pakkend en indrukwekkend, ster aftrek voor het hele stroeve begin.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't go wrong with a novel starring leopards can you! This dramatic adventure story set somewhere in the humid tropical forest of West Africa has all the right ingredients - action, romance, political intrigue and of course tense encounters with wildlife. The protagonist is a field biologist with a grant to study the movement of leopards in the thick jungle. In the course of his work things take a turn for the worse with armed men killing his colleagues and chasing him all over the country. The author is quite obviously familiar with the local context, having worked in the area for years. The description of the people, the culture, the scenery both natural and man made was convincing and deeply immersive.

Though I would have liked the story to have more focus on the field work, I can understand having to appeal to the general readership with the emphasis on action and adventure. Too few pages were actually devoted to the titular black leopard, which were incidentally never recorded from that part of the continent interestingly enough.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dutch titel: De dodelijke zijde van het paradijs

The setting of the book is in the tropical rainforest of the Belgian colony Terre Diamantée in West-Africa. In this jungle the American field biologist, David Trowbridge, is searching for a rare leopard species. He has to share his home base with a group of Belgian biologists. The atmosphere in the camp is simply hostile. After David has spent a few weeks in the forest he returns back to the camp to find a bloodbath. Most of the biologists are slaughtered by, apparently found out by research, the local people. David is forced to leave the country. But David isn’t scared that easily. Secretly he returns back to the jungle and to the truth behind the slaughter.
Steven Voien has worked as a diplomat at the Ivory coast where he got his inspiration for this story and it shows. He can describe this beautiful surrounding in such a way you feel like you are actually there. It feels familiar and real. Besides that he can also build up tension very well and make you curious about what will happen next.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much, well written and exciting. A good international thriller with the a fictional African country as background and the nice twist of having field biologist as the protagonists....