Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2017
400 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
Set in Kenya in the 1950s against the fading backdrop of the British Empire, a story of self-discovery, betrayal, and an impossible love.
After six years in England, Rachel has returned to Kenya and the farm where she spent her childhood, but the beloved home she'd longed for is much changed. Her father's new companion—a strange, intolerant woman—has taken over the household. The political climate in the country grows more unsettled by the day and is approaching the boiling point. And looming over them all is the threat of the Mau Mau, a secret society intent on uniting the native Kenyans and overthrowing the whites.
As Rachel struggles to find her place in her home and her country, she initiates a covert relationship, one that will demand from her a gross act of betrayal. One man knows her secret, and he has made it clear how she can buy his silence. But she knows something of her own, something she has never told anyone. And her knowledge brings her power.
"McVeigh does a good job of charting Rachel's growth amidst political and personal turmoil, set against a backdrop of Kenya's wild beauty." - Booklist
"McVeigh's second novel (after The Fever Tree) may disappoint that book's admirers as this tale is far from heartwarming and not for those who want a happy ending. But fans of historicals in which setting is key, as in Frank Delaney's Irish epics, might appreciate." - Library Journal
"Readers who want a story that keeps them on edge will enjoy this historical novel rich with emotional and sociopolitical drama." - Kirkus Reviews
"Leopard at the Door expertly transports its reader to a richly-depicted world that is fraught both politically and personally. Danger constantly hums around Rachel Fullsmith as she navigates the complex, conflicting desires of men and women, native Kenyans and white colonists. It kept me turning pages well into the night!" - Suzanne Rindell
"The beating heart of Africa springs into dazzling heat-drenched life. I could taste the sun soaked sweetness of bananas, see the shimmering plains and smell the rippling grasslands. I could feel the ever present sense of threat and menace. And within this landscape populated by elephants, baboons and antelope a powerful human story plays out. A simply stunning novel that will stay with me: a magnificent book." - Dinah Jefferies
This information about Leopard at the Door was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jennifer graduated from Oxford University in 2002 with a degree in English Literature. She went on to work in film, television, radio and publishing, before leaving her day job to do an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. She graduated in 2011.
She has traveled in wilderness areas of East Africa and Southern Africa, often in off-road vehicles, driving and camping along the way. The Fever Tree and Leopard at the Door were inspired by those experiences.
In 2014 The Fever Tree won the Epic Novel Category at the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards.
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