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Botswana Mystery #1
Predators: A Botswana Mystery
Leo Painter is the CEO of Earth Global, a large energy, mining and real-estate development firm. He and his party of company executives are traveling in Botswana to consult with the government about accessing their extractable resources.
Sekoa is a male lion who shares with his bipedal enemies, the misfortune to be the bearer of HIV/AIDs. Weakened by the disease, he loses his place as the alpha male in his pride and now, dying and harassed by a pack of hyenas, seeks only a place to rest in peace.
Painter, pursued by his own "hyenas" only wishes to find a last resting place where he can further his to build a resort/casino on Botswana's Chobe River.
Their paths cross with tragic consequences as police, a plucky woman game warden, and myriad local authorities, hoteliers, and tribesmen, vie over what happened and to whom.
Sekoa is a male lion who shares with his bipedal enemies, the misfortune to be the bearer of HIV/AIDs. Weakened by the disease, he loses his place as the alpha male in his pride and now, dying and harassed by a pack of hyenas, seeks only a place to rest in peace.
Painter, pursued by his own "hyenas" only wishes to find a last resting place where he can further his to build a resort/casino on Botswana's Chobe River.
Their paths cross with tragic consequences as police, a plucky woman game warden, and myriad local authorities, hoteliers, and tribesmen, vie over what happened and to whom.
- GenresBotswana
263 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
6 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Frederick Ramsay
22 books19 followersDr. Frederick Ramsay was born in Baltimore, the son of a respected teacher researcher and scientist. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in Virginia and received his doctorate from the University of Illinois. After a stint in the Army, he joined the faculty of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, where he taught Anatomy, Embryology and Histology; engaged in research and served as an Associate Dean. During this time he also pursued studies in theology and in 1971 was ordained an Episcopal priest.
Leaving academia, he tried his hand at a variety of vocations. At one time or another, he served as a Vice President for Public Affairs, worked as an insurance salesman, a tow man and line supervisor at Baltimore’s BWI airport, a community college instructor, and substitute. Finally, he accepted a full time position as a clergyman.
He is now retired from full-time ministry and writes fiction.
Dr. Ramsay is the author of several scientific and general articles, tracts, theses, and co-author of The Baltimore Declaration. He is an iconographer, an accomplished public speaker and once hosted a television spot, Prognosis, on the evening news for WMAR-TV, Baltimore. He currently lives in Surprise, Arizona with his wife and partner, Susan.
Leaving academia, he tried his hand at a variety of vocations. At one time or another, he served as a Vice President for Public Affairs, worked as an insurance salesman, a tow man and line supervisor at Baltimore’s BWI airport, a community college instructor, and substitute. Finally, he accepted a full time position as a clergyman.
He is now retired from full-time ministry and writes fiction.
Dr. Ramsay is the author of several scientific and general articles, tracts, theses, and co-author of The Baltimore Declaration. He is an iconographer, an accomplished public speaker and once hosted a television spot, Prognosis, on the evening news for WMAR-TV, Baltimore. He currently lives in Surprise, Arizona with his wife and partner, Susan.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 12, 2016
A very dysfunctional family comes with Leo Painter and his business associates to Botswana to explore business opportunities there relating to minerals and mining. Everyone has an agenda and all want Leo's money and/or business.
There is a killing by a lion, a murder, a thieving monkey and a lot of drama and intrigue.
The thing is, there really isn't much of a mystery per se, but there is a solid interesting story with great characters.
There is a killing by a lion, a murder, a thieving monkey and a lot of drama and intrigue.
The thing is, there really isn't much of a mystery per se, but there is a solid interesting story with great characters.
May 5, 2016
A very easy yet filling read with something for everyone.
I was strongly reminded of Wilbur Smith's fondness for settings far away from the US and Michael Crichton's ability to layer multiple points of view and subplots without losing the reader.
My favorite elements: the time in Botswana, the gamekeeper with a dying son who had the additional burden of dealing with severe gender discrimination from her boss, and two of the myriad characters who took a turn at POV were a lion and a gray monkey.
I find hard to assign to any particular genre. But it's an easy recommendation. I will be picking up the next book very soon!
4.5 stars
I was strongly reminded of Wilbur Smith's fondness for settings far away from the US and Michael Crichton's ability to layer multiple points of view and subplots without losing the reader.
My favorite elements: the time in Botswana, the gamekeeper with a dying son who had the additional burden of dealing with severe gender discrimination from her boss, and two of the myriad characters who took a turn at POV were a lion and a gray monkey.
I find hard to assign to any particular genre. But it's an easy recommendation. I will be picking up the next book very soon!
4.5 stars
January 30, 2015
This standalone by Frederick Ramsey shows the ruthlessness of the business and animal worlds with two storylines. One is of Sekoa, an old, ill lion who's been supplanted as the alpha male of his pride by a younger, stronger male. As Sekoa fights for survival, he's shadowed by a pack of hyenas that is waiting for him to make one mistake. The second storyline involves Leo (the Lion?) Painter, an old Chicago businessman with a weak heart, who has his own pack of human hyenas: his stepson, his stepson's wife, and various business associates. Ramsay shows that one world is every bit as deadly as the other just as he also shows us that Sekoa and Leo aren't as bad as we'd originally thought.
Botswana comes out as the real winner in Predators. It's portrayed as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, and rightfully proud of that fact. It's a jewel of great price and great natural wealth being circled by packs of hyenas (with names like Russia and America) just waiting to strike. I loved the setting and the wildlife depicted in this book. The people of Botswana are shown putting up with the idiocy of tourists because at this point in time tourism is the major source of their livelihood. But once these people are "off the clock," they have their own lives and their own customs.
For me, the best characters in the book were Sekoa the lion and Sanderson the game ranger. I was hoping for a different outcome for that noble old lion even though I knew it wasn't realistic. Sanderson has difficulties in her own life. Her son is dying of AIDs, just like her beloved husband did. She fears for her daughter, eyeing any young man her daughter favors with great suspicion. But what can she do, other than to slip condoms in her daughter's purse and to try not to nag? Sanderson is level-headed and thinks well on her feet, which is good because she is working a man's job and has to outmaneuver the dated way of thinking of her male counterparts on an almost hourly basis. In my opinion, Sanderson is worthy of her own series.
But of all the things I enjoyed about this book, it's Leo Painter and his crew that ultimately knocked the scales out of balance. Between acolytes and family, it was a surfeit of dishonesty, double-dealing, greed, stupidity, and bimbosity. I had to fight the urge to skip the sections dealing with Painter and Crew so that I could focus on Sekoa and Sanderson instead. Ramsay added occasional flashes of humor in Leo's sections that fell flat for me. Perhaps if I hadn't been so disgusted by these Chicago invaders, I would have appreciated the humor more. There's a lot to like about Predators. I just wish I'd been tough enough to deal with the human hyenas.
Botswana comes out as the real winner in Predators. It's portrayed as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, and rightfully proud of that fact. It's a jewel of great price and great natural wealth being circled by packs of hyenas (with names like Russia and America) just waiting to strike. I loved the setting and the wildlife depicted in this book. The people of Botswana are shown putting up with the idiocy of tourists because at this point in time tourism is the major source of their livelihood. But once these people are "off the clock," they have their own lives and their own customs.
For me, the best characters in the book were Sekoa the lion and Sanderson the game ranger. I was hoping for a different outcome for that noble old lion even though I knew it wasn't realistic. Sanderson has difficulties in her own life. Her son is dying of AIDs, just like her beloved husband did. She fears for her daughter, eyeing any young man her daughter favors with great suspicion. But what can she do, other than to slip condoms in her daughter's purse and to try not to nag? Sanderson is level-headed and thinks well on her feet, which is good because she is working a man's job and has to outmaneuver the dated way of thinking of her male counterparts on an almost hourly basis. In my opinion, Sanderson is worthy of her own series.
But of all the things I enjoyed about this book, it's Leo Painter and his crew that ultimately knocked the scales out of balance. Between acolytes and family, it was a surfeit of dishonesty, double-dealing, greed, stupidity, and bimbosity. I had to fight the urge to skip the sections dealing with Painter and Crew so that I could focus on Sekoa and Sanderson instead. Ramsay added occasional flashes of humor in Leo's sections that fell flat for me. Perhaps if I hadn't been so disgusted by these Chicago invaders, I would have appreciated the humor more. There's a lot to like about Predators. I just wish I'd been tough enough to deal with the human hyenas.
July 2, 2010
Except for the last 3 or 4 pages I would have given this book only 2 stars. In those last few pages the author managed to bring it all together for me. The new energy (green) czars are "killer bees"! I like the analogy!
January 11, 2010
The characters were interesting. A lot of humor thanks to the ditzy Griswolds. Sekoa the lion was close to human. But, you gotta love the gray money and the cell phone.
August 20, 2016
Great narrator. Enjoyed the intermixing of stories of people and animals.
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June 8, 2017Miniseries: A Botswana Mystery
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews