Deadly Safari

Jazz Jasper comes to Kenya to escape a failed marriage and start her own safari company; one of her first contracts is a location-scouting expedition for Wild and Free Shampoo commercials. Out on the Serengeti Plain, one of the owners of the shampoo company, unpleasant bully Boyce Darnell, dies of an apparent heart attack. His demise is followed by the bloody murder with a spear of Jazz's friend Lynn. Police Inspector Omondi eliminates Jazz and her staff as suspects, identifying as the most likely perpetrators Darnell's widow, his partner Al, Al's wife Madge, an advertising executive who was Lynn's boss, and Candy, a model who'd been pursued, then fired by the dead man. Tensions grow in the camp as Jazz launches an investigation to save her fledgling business and avenge her murdered friend, discovering a number of motives based on old secrets and financial skulduggery. McQuillan's evident love for the African countryside, animals and people sets this otherwise pedestrian mystery apart, as does a sensitively handled love affair. Her fine eye for detail and a deft touch with characterization promise much for the future. ( Feb. )