Item Condition: Used; Very Good
Joy Packer's new novel is a vivid blend of
romance and adventure. Savage cruclty and
ruthless daring are matched by cool courage
and steadfast faith. Her story evokes the
triumph of love and self-sacrifice over the
dark forces of violence and witchcraft.
Maud Carpenter, 62, world-famous thriller
writer and playwright is kidnapped while on
holiday in South Africa. She disappears into
limbo across the Big River which borders the
Republic and four independent states, one of
which is the tiny land of Nyangreela. Her
son-in-law, the British Ambassador Sir
Hugh Etheridge and his family are
confronted with a peculiarly dramatic crisis.
A ransom demand, gruesomely delivered, at
first suggests a politically motívated
kidnapping. But it becomes clear that the
motivation of the kidnappers is complex. It
is clear, tog, that the captive is stubborn in
her resistance to threats.
What is the role of the sinister 'leopard
men'? What lies behind the dark curtain
that separates the two worlds ? What hidden
forces are at work high in the mountains of
Nyangreela, which is ruled by King
Solomon, a man who is dominated by the
old culture though he partakes of the new ?
Is 'Abelard Cain', his attractive emissary,
an ally or an enemy ?
The challenge is met by Jane Etheridge,
grand-daughter of the hostage, and two
young men, Kim Farrar, a seasoned TV.
journalist, and Desmond Yates, Seçond
Secretary at the Embassy. The young men's
physical courage is dauntless but Jane itis
who understands the gift her grandmother
wants to make her, who draws courage and
renewal from Maud's lonely stand and who
fulfils her own destiny in love as her
grandmother intended.
The Dark Curtain is a novel that shows all
Joy Packer's narrative skill and emotional
warmth. It tells a story of explosive conflicts
between old values and new, between pcace
and violence, set in that haunting continent
she knows so well, where 'nothing is
incongruous'.