Stalking Ivory

Jade del Cameron Mysteries #2

by Suzanne Arruda

On a photographic assignment in the northern territory of Mount Marsabit, Jade del Cameron and her friends, Beverly and Avery Dunbury, plan to capture the area's elephant population, but their trip is threatened when they stumble upon the mutilated remains of a man and four elephants, a cache of hidden rifles, and slave traders. 40,000 first printing.

Genres: Mystery, Africa, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Historical Mystery, Adventure

352 pages, Hardcover

First published December 4, 2007

About the author

Suzanne Arruda, a former zookeeper-turned-science teacher and freelance writer, is the author of several biographies for young adults. She has also published science and nature articles for adults and children and is a regular contributor to a weekly newspaper supplement. An avid hiker and outdoorswoman, she lives in Kansas with her husband, twin sons, and a small menagerie of pets.

Reviews

[Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A caveat at the outset: IMO, the Goodreads description for this book, which reproduces the cover copy, has more plot information than most readers will want. If you want to discover the events in the book as they unfold, I'd recommend reading neither description nor back cover.

This second installment of Arruda's Jade del Cameron mystery series reunites us, not only with our heroine, but with other characters from the first book as well, especially best friend Bev, Lady Dunbury; her husband Avery; 12-year-old Kikiyu lad Jelani; and safari guide Harry Hascombe. I'd recommend reading the first book, Mark of the Lion, first to get a better feel for the characters, and to be aware of events there that have continuing relevance. My comments about setting and style in my review (which is here: www.goodreads.com/review/show/251297098 ) of that book are mostly relevant here as well.

Here, though, it's now 1920; and Jade's assignment from her magazine is to photograph elephants and other wildlife up in the Mount Marsabit area, near Kenya's border with Ethiopia (here referred to as Abyssinia). So our setting will be almost entirely in the bush; and the author evokes it masterfully. (Mount Marsabit, like the settings of Mark of the Lion, is a real place, and Arruda draws on contemporary descriptions by African travelers of the period, cited in the short Author's Note, to bring it to life; the level of authenticity achieved by this research is impressive, and a definite strength of the series.) But Jade has also promised Kenya's chief game warden that she'll be on the lookout for the activities of ivory poachers in the area; in the Africa of the 1920s, elephants aren't yet endangered, and are still legally hunted by "sportsmen" who buy licenses, but they're already the prey of vicious ivory poachers who brutally slaughter whole herds. She'll quickly find poaching activity --with slave trading, gun running, and murder thrown into the mix, in the shadow of a political unstable Abyssinia, with raiding across the border a common occurrence.

This time, the mystery element is more deftly constructed, with a solution that's not as readily apparent. I guessed the identity of the villain as soon as the character was introduced, but that was more a matter of intuition than anything else; my wife (I read the book out loud to her) didn't guess it until Arruda revealed it. Jade's deductive abilities are correspondingly more in evidence here. She continues to be one of the coolest heroines in contemporary fiction, and a favorite of both my wife and I! (The Kikiyu call her "Simba Jike", or "lioness," and the titular "mark of the lion" from the first book is the tattoo of a lion's talon on her wrist, placed there by a Kikiyu shaman.) Here, Arruda also presents Jade with a real moment of moral choice: how far is she prepared to go in inflicting justice --even vigilante justice-- on the perpetrator(s) of genuinely heinous crimes? And while I didn't characterize this book as supernatural fiction, as I did the first one, it definitely has a plot strand that hints at the supernatural, though here the supernatural just adds a flavoring to a basically descriptive-fiction yarn.

One reviewer liked this even better than the first book, and I'm inclined to agree! In any case, it's a strong continuation of a fine series, and one that Barb and I will definitely continue to follow.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1920s, Africa, a kick-ass female protagonist and a good ol' adventure. What's not to love?

[David Lucero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second in a series of six books written by Ms. Arruda, and readers will not be disappointed.

Jade Del Cameron is a feisty World War I veteran from New Mexico, now residing in British East Africa as a freelance journalist called, The Traveler. While traveling in the Marsabit territory she comes across slaughtered elephants, the victims of poachers, and a murdered African Askari, a soldier of the King's African Rifles. Aided by her new-found friend, American film-maker Sam Featherstone, her friends Avery and Beverly, Jade sets out to stop the poachers from destroying herds of elephants. Along the way she encounters her admirer, Harry Hascombe, an English hunter with a dubious nature. Although Jade is a take-charge woman, the dangers she faces against the poachers could well indeed be more than she bargained for.

Ms. Arruda writes with clarity and tongue-and-cheek style. Do not be surprised how entertaining the year this book takes place in. After all, Raiders of the Lost Ark took place in the 1930's. Ms. Arruda's obvious research for the time this book was set, write after WWI, makes the book fun and enjoyable. My wife is reading the first and I'm about to start reading the third book of this series. I enjoy the Jade Del Cameron series not only for fun, but for research on my next novel. Believe me, this book series is well worth your time.

David Lucero, author

[Jaclyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. I give up. If you like armchair travel and really, really descriptive writing and zero character development than this book might be for you. Sadly, this series is a no-go for me. Jade has contracted special snowflake syndrome. Unfortunately, there is no cure.

[Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

She lost me at the phrase "remembering his musky manly scent". C'mon...

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this second book of the series more than the first. Once again, the author does a remarkable job of depicting Africa immediately following WWI. Africa is the star here. Also, the elephants, as this book focuses on that animal as the last one did on lions and hyena. I felt this book was better plotted and paced than the last and less predictable as well. The mystical element was kept to a subtle minimum that I was able to accept gracefully.

My only real reservation is in the romance angle of the plot, because I really have no idea where the author is going with that and am pretty sure the author isn't either. Consequently her main character suffers from a somewhat unbelievable waffling in her feelings towards not one but two romantic prospects. It all feels unnatural and contrived to me, with it's only purpose being to keep the reader interested in continuing the series.

[Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun series of books. The stories are more tales of adventure in 1920's colonial Africa than true mysteries but that's what I like about them. There is nothing complicated in these stories. Arruda's use of foreshadowing is a little heavy handed so the outcome is usually very predictable. There is not a lot of depth to her characters, they are very one dimensional. The main character, Jade del Cameron, is one of those heroes that is perfect in every way: Beautiful, strong, courageous, faultless. Her plans always work out, she never needs rescuing, and she always wins every fight, which can get to be a bit much. As I write this I was going to say these novels seem like young adult books but I think comparing them to early pulp fiction books about adventures in Africa (think Allan Quartermain in King Solomon's Mines) is a better comparison.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars - English Ebook



On a photography assignment in the northern territory of Mount Marsabit, American adventuress Jade del Cameron and her friends hope to film the area's colossal elephants. Instead, they discover the mutilated remains of four elephants and a man. Although the authorities suspect Abyssinian poachers and raiders in search of ivory and slaves, Jade has her own suspicions. Could it have been Harry Hascombe, her nemesis and unremitting suitor? Soon the Kikuyu boy accompanying her is captured by slave traders. Ultimately, it will take all of Jade's mettle to rescue her guide from slave traders, protect the animals, and expose another kind of beast.

I have to say that I fell in love with Jade Del Cameron. What a hiroine she is. I like reading a good mystery, add a little history and some romance to the novel and I can be hooked.

In this links the historical time period to a fun and easy reading mystery.

Along the lines of Elizabeth Peters "Amelia Peabody", whose sleuthing escapes keeps us coming back, you will find Jade captivating .

I can't wait for the next adventure!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzanne Arruda's Jade del Cameron reminds me so much of Kerry Greenwood's Miss Phryne Fisher--if Miss Fisher had been an adventuress in Africa. I adore both Jade & Phryne! ... Love the scenery, the details, and the mystery of this novel (much like the other book in the Jade del Cameron series I read a few years ago). In this story, however, Jade just wants to photograph elephants, but poachers keep killing them and taking their ivory tusks. Then Jade finds a hidden cache of illegal guns, and, to make matters worse, her guide is wounded and her young companion is taken by slave traders. Jade decides to get to the bottom of the entire fiasco... but not without some life-threatening situations cropping up. Luckily, she has her wits about her and some very good companions to lend a hand! ... This is a clean read; no sexual situations, no foul language, no graphic violence (but there are a few instances of elephant deaths).

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would love to be friends with Jade del Cameron! She knows what she wants and how to live. This series is set in the 20's, so strong single women can be a rarity. But Jade knows her own mind and remains in Africa as a photographer and writer.
She sees something that's wrong and evil and wants to make it stop. In this case, it's poachers who are after ivory. They hurt or kill anyone who stands in the way and some of those are people who are close to Jade. She will not stand for it.
She's tough and her heart aches for all that she experiences. She also misses the man she lost in the war, which keeps her on her path of a solitary life but for her friends. Those friends want to help her heal.
Jade is strong and independent, someone to admire. I love this book and look forward to the next in the series. THE SERPENT'S DAUGHTER.
Definitely recommend.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jade del Cameron is traveling on a photographic mission for her magazine to photograph the majestic elephants in British East Africa. She is joined by her friends Avery and Beverly Dunbury but they come upon a ghastly site of massacre. Four elephants, including a small baby, have been brutally killed for their ivory and there is also a man's body with the animals. Jade and her friends start to investigate and find themselves in Harry Hascombe's safari group. Harry would do anything for a dollar and has been hired by a group of Germans - but would he stoop to cruelty? Jade is determined to find out but soon finds herself involved with gun smuggling, slave traders, and ghosts. This was an amazing installment of this series. I can't wait for the next.

[Fareeha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat different mode of story than book 1, this is more crusader-action style Jade focused than finding her footing like back in book 1. Sam is a nice addition though he, like everyone, pales in comparison to Jade’s larger than life character who seems pretty invincible like a vigilante super hero. Beautifully written like book 1, I liked it lesser than the previous book because of the crusader quest nature which seemed a bit unrealistic. Regarding the mystery aspect, it was okay but the ‘lady big baddie’ is quite obvious and seems to be a recurring theme to the series. I’ll probably take a breather before starting book 3 though it’s set in Morocoo which has piqued my interest...

[Farhana Faruq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book - despite its 1960's looking cover. Jade is in Kenya photographing elephants. With poachers and the slave trade happening right there, taking photographs in the wild is the least of her worries.

It's nice to read about a non-white protagonist in a story like this for a change. I also enjoyed the pace of the novel - it's descriptive, but not slow.

This is the second book in the Jade del Cameron Mysteries. I haven't read the first one. Only one or two pages mentioned people I didn't know ( I would assume they are mentioned in book one).

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read that broke my heart to some extent with the discussion of elephant poaching. The elephants are a strong presence in this book and the book is the better for it. Set in Africa between WWI and WWII, this book is a step into another world as well as another time. The mystery aspect is well done but doesn't dominate over the adventure aspect. The characters are interesting and there is a sense of fun in the book that made it an enjoyable escape from school work.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Africa once again comes alive in the second installment of Jade's adventures. Ms Arruda, mirrored the lives of Osa Johnson and her husband in this one, while tackling the very real issues of poaching and slave trading. While some might not believe the outcome of this mystery to be believable, it is all too often the case even today.

[Kathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah! Finally some answers to the lingering questions - well, all but one.
I found this book to be hard to put down. Shooting the elephants has become the thing to do - with cameras as well as guns. Jade must do what she can to find the poachers and bring them to task. In the mean time, they want ivory, gold, and ammunition - not to mention Jade out of the picture!

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jade del Cameron's second adventure takes her to the harsh landscape of northern British East Africa, where her skills at tracking and hunting, learned with her father on their New Mexico ranch, help her solve a mystery and recover her young Kikuyu charge.

[Jek · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping I’d like the main character more in the second book but alas she and I weren’t destine to be friends. She bothers me to no end. But I read the whole book because I had the urge to be in Africa and it took me there

[MRS V G HARRISON · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Enjoyable book with plenty of action. Some of the story predictable. Relaxing, easy reading. Going to read the next book.

[Ginette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun vacation read providing an interesting background of safaris and elephant life in Africa.

[Therese Dotray-Tulloch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun advanced reader copy to read while in South Africa with all 11 of us!

[Sherry Winkleblack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. More for the setting and the characters than the mystery

[Nancy Flack · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. If you love mysteries and love Africa, you should enjoy this series.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

written for teen girls

[Florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based in Mt.Marsabit, Kenya in the 1920's, this was a very gripping adventure! I really enjoyed it.
Jade is sent to Mt. Marsabit region to photograph elephants but finds herself smack in the middle of a crime hub ranging from mass poaching of elephants to human trafficking and murder which she feels obliged to solve.

[Angela]

I went from Book 1 of the Jade del Cameron series right into Book 2, since I had it immediately handy--and I had much the same reaction to the second installment as I did to the first. To wit, this series is still riding a fine line for me between being fun and being too cutesy for my tastes.

Let's start with the cutesy. As of this installment, one of the heroine's friends has decided to start writing novels about her adventures--seriously romanced up, of course. And, of course, the dude that shows up in this episode--and who is clearly the Actual Love Interest, as opposed to the guy in Book 1--has fallen in love with Jade because of having read the friend's book. This entire situation does not quite make me go "gak", mostly because the writing is solid enough to save it. But in a lesser writer's hands, this wouldn't have been the case.

Problem number two I've got: Jade gets it into her head, because of events in Book 1, that the guy she was ogling in that story is a scoundrel. From what I saw in the story, though, she's got no evidence to base this on, and nothing to go by except suspicion that's probably fueled by the fact that Harry was hitting on her and she was enjoying it. She spends way, way too much time ranting about what a louse Harry is, though. This too does not quite make me go "gak"--if nothing else because Jade's friends chide her for that very ranting, and to her credit, she shuts up about it.

Now for the good stuff. Plotwise, I liked this story better than Book 1's, actually, since Jade was out on an adventure to photograph animals, not shoot them. The scenes where she comes across the savage work of poachers are effective, and there's just enough of a hint of the supernatural going on this time around as well to land the entire storyline well and firmly in the realm of the fantastic.

Sam, the new love interest, was clearly identifiable to me as such the instant I hit his first scene from his POV; we never got any scenes from Harry's POV in Book 1, I noted. ;) And as he's a lot closer to Jade's age, a fellow WWI vet, a pilot, and American, yeah, he pretty much had LOVE INTEREST flashing over his head in neon letters. He's not a complicated character, but he proves both a good foil for Jade's impulsiveness and decent enough to not press his interest too hard once he fesses up to having fallen for her because of her friend's book. What happens at the end of the story leaves things between them wide open, of course, with plenty of room for the relationship to develop.

And I enjoyed reading about Jade and Sam enough that okay, yeah, I'll be coming back for Book 3, too. For this one, three stars.

[Kara Jorges · Rating 4 out of 5]

The indomitable Jade del Cameron is back in British East Africa, this time out photographing elephants for the magazine she works for. Jade’s best friends, 12-year-old Jelani and Lord Avery and Lady Beverly Dunbury, accompany her to the forest, while another old acquaintance, Harry Hascombe, is camping nearby, leading a safari of his own. It doesn’t take long for intrigue to land in Jade’s lap when she and her friends discover the carcasses of four slain elephants, and one murdered soldier. They send a runner to report the deaths to the authorities, but Jade isn’t about to wait around and do nothing in the interim, especially when she’s shot at twice in one day. Still not willing to forgive Harry for attempting to dupe her in the past, she suspects his safari of being involved in the poaching, so she and the Duburys visit his camp and meet his German clients, who are an odd bunch, to say the least.

During her forest wanderings, Jade also stumbles upon the poachers’ cache of ivory, along with several crates of rifles. She knows there’s more underfoot than just elephant poaching, though the evidence shows that the same individuals are behind both issues. Jade is assisted this time out by an American pilot friend of the Dunburys who joins them on safari, Sam Featherstone. Sam was a pilot in the war, and Jade finds herself attracted to him despite thinking the attraction may be just because he’s a pilot, like her dead almost fiancé. Sam proves a valuable ally, though, when her gun bearer is shot, and then when young Jelani is kidnapped by slave traders. Jade keeps fearlessly investigating the poaching and gun running despite her friends’ worries, not in the least concerned about her own welfare when elephants are being killed and someone is apparently getting ready to stage a revolution. Then when Jelani disappears, all bets are off.

I liked Jade del Cameron off the bat in her first adventure, Mark of the Lion. This book just made me like her more. She’s fearless and very independent, but she is not full of herself or preachy. It is fun to see a woman with her personality in this setting, well in advance of the women’s movement. She is not a feminist, just an extremely capable realist. It will be interesting to see where her relationship with Sam goes in future novels. Unfortunately, there has only been one more Jade del Cameron adventure published so far, and once I gobble that up I’ll have to wait several months for her next.

[Christyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stalking Ivory, the second book in the Jade del Cameron series was another wonderful read. While it can be read as a standalone I would suggest reading the books in order (because there will be spoiler's for the first book - and there are some tie-ins to the first book, though not that difficult to pick up on from here). Ms. Arruda's descriptions and setting are wonderfully done, beautiful and at times emotionally provocative (particularly the scenes with the Elephants and Poachers - I really felt for those). Jade's adventure in Stalking Ivory involves Elephants, poaching, and arms dealing with a side of kidnapping/slave trading and really despicable bad guys. The pacing starts off a little slow but once it get's going the adventure, action and mystery keeps on.

Jade, is as wonderful as ever - Quick-thinking, fearless, independent, practical and stubborn. We saw some of her less than positive points in this book (but we also saw the positive ones) - but even then it only added to her character. I'm not saying it made me hate her or love her more - it just helped define Jade's character more. "Love Interest" Harry Hascombe wasn't featured as much in this book - I didn't mind too much as I'm still not sure whether I like him. However a new love interest has shown up, who seem's to be Jade's match - the balance each other fairly nicely and I look forward to seeing how that unfolds. Sam Featherstone - I liked - though I'm not sure how I felt about his feelings for Jade, but I suppose I have to admire a man willing to put himself out there. Some familiar faces here were Beverly and Avery Dunbury, Jelani and Biscuit. There were new faces, some interesting and some not. I grew fond of Chiumbo (Jade & Co.'s Headman), and Boguli who often appeared and helped Jade when she was in a tight spot.

I enjoyed Stalking Ivory a great deal and look forward to seeing what adventure Jade finds herself in next! 4.5 Stars

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jade is in northern Kenya on a photography assignment for the magazine. Her friends Beverly and her husband Avery are along for the trip, as is Jelani, the Kikuyu pre-teen who was with her in book 1. Jade had finished setting up the camera in the blind to try to get some night shots and the group was heading back to camp when they came across a group of dead elephants - poached for their ivory tusks. With the dead elephants was a dead officer, shot beyond recognition. Jade knew there was something bigger going on, vowed to uncover it and avenge the officer's death. Jade becomes convinced that the Germans on safari in the area (led by Harry Hascombe who led the safari in the previous book) are somehow involved and she needs every ounce of strength in her to get to the truth.
As with the first one, I had a hard time putting this down once I got started. It has been several months since reading *Mark of the Lion* and I was having to think back when several bits from that story are mentioned near the start of this one. Parts of this seemed a bit far fetched to me but still, overall thoroughly enjoyable and it even includes a teaser for the next installment.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not awful, but the character development has kind of an amateurish feel to it. We have a swash buckling female photographer with some friends, on a trip to Africa, who stumble upon a crime. And encounter some old friends. The author clearly wanted to have a strong female heroine presented in the context of being in the midst of men, but over compensated. We end up with a situation in which all of the characters are too much of what they're supposed to be. The guys are too guy-like, the play-it-safe friends are too play-it-safe, and our heroine is just too headstrong, stubborn, over-reacting, etc.

And our heroine has a pet cheetah. The book loses 1/2 a star for that, right off the top. That's foul ball.

And the book loses another 1/2 star off the top for having her characters make too many references to stuff that happened in the book that preceded this one. A few hints and quick references would be ok, but there's too much of it.

Good enough to finish, but not good enough to highly recommend.

I did, however, like her final few sentences.