AustLit

'South African-born Doctor Lily Winters, a consultant with the World Health Organization, has been in the thick of some of the worst humanitarian disasters across the globe. But when she's posted back to South Africa following the suspicious death of an ex-colleague, she faces the biggest medical mystery she's ever seen.

'The resettled Platfontein San People population is exhibiting a higher than average HIV epidemic, and their people are dying. The cases Lily takes over are baffling and despite her best efforts the medicine doesn't seem to be helping.

'To save this unique community, Lily and a policeman from the Kalahari, Piet Kleinman, join forces to trace the origins of the epidemic and uncover the truth. Their search drags them into the dangerous world of a corrupt industry driven by profit while the authorities meant to protect their community turn a blind eye. In a race against time Lily and Piet will put not only their careers but their lives on the line...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Hiding from the law, they never expected to be caught in the crosshairs of a hunter…

'After relocating to South Africa on the heels of scandal five years ago, Chloe and her invalid father, Mike, once wealthy Zimbabwean landowners, now have little. Away at university, Chloe has had to rely on her father's best friend Enoch and his son Xo to watch over Mike.

'When a violent confrontation puts Chloe in danger, Enoch steps in to help - with inadvertent fatal results. With increasing pressure from a right-wing group on the police to charge Enoch, this mismatched family have no choice but to flee back to Zimbabwe.

'But crossing the border will be dangerous and near impossible with their route taking them amid warring dissident armies and landmines, and their every footstep is stalked by a shadowy ring of hunters - whose trophies are taken from more than animals...

'Only with help from Nick, formerly a soldier under Mike's command, now a professional game ranger, will the fugitives have a chance of making it home. But Nick has long struggled to come to terms with his fellow soldiers' choices before their unit was abandoned. Will his past demons put them all at risk?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'After returning from Afghanistan, ex-British marine Joss Brennan embraces living as a double amputee, but he finds life at his safari lodge near Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, not quite as idyllic as when he left.

'Peta de Longe is a big game veterinarian and no stranger to hard decisions. Working in the messy political society of Zimbabwe, she’s engaged in a constant struggle to save the national parks. When she nearly drives over Joss, the reunion isn’t joyous – Joss let down her dying sister eighteen months before, after all. But once she uncovers the terrible ordeal that Joss has gone through, can she learn to forgive and move forward?

'When a corrupt and dangerous businessman with close ties to government threatens all he holds dear, Joss realises he doesn’t need to save strangers in a faraway land. But will he fight to save his own country and the people he considers his family?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Slowly, slowly, you catch a monkey ...

'Bongani wants to go to school but he is too young. To prove to his family that he is big and strong just like his cousins, he tries to catch a monkey.

'Slowly, slowly, he must go.

'Luckily his family is there is to school him in the lessons of patience and compassion.

'Adapted from a South African story, this variation of ‘Softly, softly, catchee monkey’ was originally an Ashanti (Ghana) proverb quoted by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Founder of the Boy Scouts.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Mackenzie came to South Africa to escape the trauma of her past and build herself a bright new future: love is the last thing on her mind. But she’s finding it increasingly hard to ignore her feelings for the strong-minded Cole, who runs the game reserve for cheetahs just outside her town. Cole has made no secret of his feelings for her, but he realises that Mackenzie cannot be rushed so he is prepared to wait.

'However, neither could have predicted the terrifying events that are about to overtake them. When Cole saves Mackenzie from a vicious attack, it is only the beginning of an ever-spiralling maelstrom of violence.

'Someone is decimating Africa’s cheetah population, and when the poaching threat comes to their door, Mackenzie and Cole have only one option: they must fight to save the animals and life they love.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Recently widowed Rodger de Jonge is losing his bond with his daughters. He’s a man of the African bush, and coping with ‘girlie feelings’ was always Helene’s department, not his. When an orphaned baby elephant is found, Rodger sees an opportunity that might help him reconnect with his children. But interfering with the orphan goes against his usual conservation methods. It will require a new approach to save both the baby and his family.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A vivid and suspenseful portrayal of the brilliant contradictions of Africa and her people - and of family, love and brotherhood – from the acclaimed author of My Brother-But-One.

'Tara grew up during the War of Independence in Zimbabwe. As a twelve year old, she witnessed the murder of her father and uncle, but was saved by a black worker from the farm next door: Shilo Jamison Khumalo.

'When Tara is 15 she falls for a schoolmate, Wayne, and soon finds herself pregnant. They are too young to start a life together, and Tara is forced into single parenthood. Fourteen years later, diagnosed with a brain tumor, she sends a letter to Wayne in the hope that if things go wrong in surgery, he will come for their son Josha.

'Ex-soldier Buffel and Jamison share a history from their time serving together in the Rhodesian Army. Since he discovered that it was Jamison who rescued Tara, Buffel has been determined to silence him, to ensure their once proud motto of ‘TIRI TOSE’ — there is no escape — is enforced. To hide the truth about the ritual killings that were responsible for Tara’s father’s death.

'When Tara's letter arrives, Wayne and Jamison's friendship and loyalty is tested, as the imminent attack from Buffel threatens to stop Wayne from reuniting his lost family. ' (Publication summary)

'Scott Decker and Zol Ndhlovu are partners in a private game ranch in Zimbabwe. They have a friendship borne from Africa — a brotherhood that endures the generation gap — and crosses the colour barrier.

'Australian Ashley Twine is a thirty-something dynamic achiever and a confident businesswoman. When a gender mix-up secures her a position on a volunteer program in the Hwange National Park, Ashley gets a chance to take stock of her life and reassess her situation. But the chauvinistic Scott — who runs the operation — is adamant she isn’t cut out for the job.

'After Ashley witnesses firsthand the devastation left behind by poachers, Scott finds himself torn between wanting to protect Ashley or force her to leave Africa for her own safety…and his sanity. However, nothing can prepare her for being ambushed and held captive by the psychopathic Rodney — an old enemy of Zol’s — from a war fought years ago. But now that their world has been threatened, circumstances take hold of their lives and begin to shape and change them forever.

'Set against a magnificent backdrop of Africa across the decades, T.M. Clark explores and challenges the traditions between the white and black families of rural Africa.' (Publisher's blurb)