Description from Amazon:
Tannie Maria might be the Karoo’s favourite
agony aunt, but when it comes to matters of her own heart, she doesn’t have all
the answers. Why is she having trouble telling her beau – the dashing Detective
Henk Kannemeyer with the chestnut moustache – that she loves him?
There are other, more pressing problems
too. A tall, dark stranger zooms in on her Ducati motorbike: she is Zabanguni
Kani, a journalist renowned for her political exposés, who, after receiving
threats, moves in with Tannie Maria for safety.
And who could tell that a trip to the
country’s northern parts was on the cards? The journey plunges Maria and her
friends into pools of danger, amid water maidens, murders, and Harley
Davidsons.
Ladismith’s famous crime fighter is back –
with a tin of buttermilk rusks in hand – to restore peace from the Klein Karoo
to the great Limpopo River.
Well I got my paws on the third and fourth
book so am currently working my way through them. The third was not what I
expected at all, as it leans quite heavily into politics and the ramifications
of apartheid and not the murder mystery we had come to expect.
Initially I did not like Zaba as she seemed
to arrive already having decided that things would go her own way. But as a
murder happens close to them and Zaba is desperate to keep some letters that
point to a killer safe, Maria realises there is a lot more to this than meets
the eye.
Maria has some childhood memories of her
father, but mostly that she didn’t get to see him a lot as he was murdered up
North when she was young. However, he did introduce her to the concept of the “great
grey-green greasy Limpopo” from the famous Kipling book Just so Stories.
And when Zaba asks Maria to accompany her to the Limpopo, Maria’s newly awoken
wanderlust comes into play (and a long trip in a bakkie that size is going to
play hell with your butt).
The two head off to solve a mystery that
somehow ties them together, but on the way are stalked and nearly killed a
number of times. Henk wants Maria back ASAP, but this is her time – she needs
closure on something she didn’t even know was coming. And she needs a bit of
time away from Henk, who has professed his love for her. Something she can’t quite
say back yet.
The story ends with a bit of an improbable
scenario but who am I to argue with what a baobab can do? And who would kill to
save their reputation? The family tie-in makes for an interesting connection
and shows just how deep love is and has no boundaries.
As usual there is food involved – a lot of
it. And the recipes at the back of the book sound fabulous yet again. Bring on
the last book!
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