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Published in USA
Jul 2010
464 pages
Genre: Novels
Publication Information
Mackenzie Ford (a nom de plume) was introduced to readers in 2009 with the publication of Gifts of War, which was praised in USA Today as "an absorbing, morally complex read." In a starred review, Library Journal said, "Ford keeps the reader on a knifes edge as the lies build and the truth is only a word or misstep away. Highly recommended."
Now Ford takes us to Kenya in 1961. As a small plane carrying Natalie Nelson lands at a remote airstrip in the Serengeti, Natalie knows shes run just about as far as she can from home. Trained as an archeologist, she accepted an invitation to be included in a famous excavating team, her first opportunity to escape England and the painful memories of her past.
But before she can get her bearings, the dig is surrounded by controversy involving the local Masai peopleand murder. Compounding the tension, Eleanor Deacon, friend of the Masai, who is leading the excavating mission, watches a rift grow between her two handsome sons. Natalies growing attraction to Jack Deacon soon becomes a passionate affair that turns dangerous when she must give evidence in a trial that could spark even more violence and turmoil.
The startling beauty of the Kenyan setting, the tension of looming social upheaval, and the dizzying highs and crushing lows of a doomed love affair are all captured brilliantly on every page of this extraordinary and utterly unforgettable novel.
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"Starred Review. Complicated parent-child relationships and sibling rivalries add to the complexity of this story, making it ripe for sophisticated book groups. Highly recommended." - Library Journal
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Mackenzie Ford, author of Gifts of War, is the nom de plume of Peter Watson, a well-known and respected historian whose books are published in seventeen languages. He was educated at the Universities of Durham, London, and Rome, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and numerous publications in the United Kingdom. Since 1998 he has been a Research Associate at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge.
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