A small girl, her man and her books: The Rhino Whisperer by Evadeen Brickwood

Title: The Rhino Whisperer

Author: Evadeen Brickwood

Genre: Crime Mystery

Another mystery novel set in modern South Africa. This time, the murders of a ranger and a rare black rhino in the idyllic Shangari Safari Park rattle the local community of Rutgersdrift. Sofia Helenius from Finland lives at the lodge with her boyfriend Tom Rutgers, the owner of Shangari. Sofia is tormented by a secret she yearns to share with Tom, but the cruel events grab the limelight and put everything else in the shade. One of the native Khoi-San families is known to communicate with wild animals, but what if the criminals get wind of this gift?

When another murder happens in the city of Johannesburg, smouldering secrets begin to unravel. How are the murders connected and will it be possible to halt a relentless crime-syndicate in order to save an African paradise?

1) “There is a beautiful place in South Africa between the Kalahari Desert and the Magaliesberg, where rocks and water and all living things pulse to the rhythm of nature. A place, where harmony reigns and the possession of money is not considered all-important.

It is here that you can find the Shangari Safari Lodge; a piece of paradise to many. The area hovers on the sandy edge of the mighty Kalahari Desert and a white-water stream churns past sandy beaches, hemming in woodland and bushveld and agave-covered hills.

If one follows directions, it is easy enough to find Shangari, as there is no need for street names in the countryside. All you have to do is take the new tar road north of Rutgersdrift and turn right by the great baobab tree. Two business-savvy women in traditional garb tend to their stall in the shade of the tree, selling avocados, macadamia nuts and delicious baobab jam. If you are lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of baboons in the expansive branches or of a few inquisitive meerkats, scanning the road from the top of their burrow.

The tar road carries on north, past avocado and citrus farms, over a bridge and through the village of Renosterspruit, until a dirt road takes over all the way to the border with Botswana. Not much has changed here in many years and not much ever happens.

Rutgersdrift is the largest town in the district. It boasts shady streets, a small hospital and a sleepy police station next to the church steeple. Just five minutes outside of town lies an airstrip; the frequent destination for small single-engine planes coming in from Johannesburg and Pretoria with their bellies full of tourists, hungry for the spectacle of nature...”

2) Obakeng, the grey-haired sangoma walked down the stairs. Despite his grey hair, his face looked remarkably young. Even his eyes were unlined and his gaze alert. Nobody seemed to know his exact age, which was not unusual around here. In the absence of a tribal chief, Obakeng was the most important man in the compound. For more reasons than one.

His skill with the divining rod was legendary. Farmers sought him out, if they were in need of finding new water veins. Obakeng’s method was always the same: he placed a tiny bottle with water on his head, covered it with a hat, held another water bottle in his right hand and the forked divining rod in the other.

Evadeen Brickwood grew up with two sisters in Germany and studied cultural sciences and languages. As a young woman, she travelled extensively and many of her books are inspired by her experiences abroad. Feeling adventurous, the newly qualified translator moved to Africa in 1988 and worked for two years as a secretary and language teacher in Botswana. The author eventually settled in South Africa, where she got married and raised two daughters. In Johannesburg, Evadeen Brickwood studied computers and management of training and worked as a corporate software trainer, professional translator and lecturer at WITS University.

In 2003, she began her writing career with youth novels in the ‘Remember the Future’ series, about adventures in prehistory. Book 1, ‘Children of the Moon’, has been published twice in South Africa and translated into German. The author now self-publishes and other books in the series are now released on a regular basis. Her works include the novels ‘The Rhino Whisperer’, ‘Singende Eidechsen’ (in the German edition) and ‘Abenteuer Halbmond”, which will be published in English with the title “A Half Moon Adventure” soon.