Ghosts of Tsavo by Vered Ehsani Series: Society for Paranormals #1
Published by the author on February 14, 2015
Source: Purchased
Genres: Steampunk, Historical Fantasy
Pages: 206
Format: eBook
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Armed with Victorian etiquette, a fully loaded walking stick and a dead husband, Beatrice Knight arrives in colonial Kenya desperate for a pot of tea and a pinch of cinnamon. But she’ll need more than that if she’s to unravel the mystery of the Ghosts of Tsavo without being eaten in the process. All this while surviving the machinations of her best friend’s dashing godfather and the efforts of her safari guide to feed her to any lion willing to drag her away. What is a ghost-chasing widow to do?
This is Case #1 in the “Society for Paranormals” series: A series concerning dead husbands, African legends and the search for a perfect spot of tea.
Ghosts of Tsavo is not my typical read, but it is. It’s kind of like a cozy mystery set in Victorian-era Kenya, except instead of a traditional mystery, our heroine, Beatrice Knight, “Bee” to her friends, needs to solve a paranormal problem. There are ghost lions killing goats and the railroad workers worry that soon the lions’ appetites will turn toward people.
Bee, of course, is not alone. She has a family who are totally over-whelmed by moving to Africa, their servant, the local man she semi-partners with who is as mysterious as the lions, and a new friend who seems a bit ditzy. Oh, and her dead husband who is haunting her. And a local man that is interested in the lions for another reason altogether.
It’s a fun story and I enjoyed the historical Kenya setting. I like Bee. She’s intelligent, but also likes people to observe the customs of the era when possible. Politeness and tea are important. She’s brave and perhaps a bit fool-hardy. I do wonder if she gets paid for her work with the Society. I wish she wasn’t at the mercy of her relatives. She’s a widow, I wish she could be more self-sufficient. Although, the family does add to the amusement value.
Ghosts of Tsavo is currently free for Kindle. I’ve already picked up the second in the series. I’m looking forward to reading more of Bee’s adventures.
About Vered Ehsani
Vered Ehsani has been a writer since she could hold pen to paper, which is a lot longer than she cares to admit. She lives in Kenya with her family and various other animals. When she isn’t writing, she pretends to work as an environmental consultant. She was born in South Africa and raised in Canada, but has lived in Kenya since mid-2000 with her husband, two children and other amusing animals.
I think I have several books in this series on my Kindle, but have not read them. I’m glad to hear it was good from someone I know. I’ll have to move this up on my reading list. Thanks for the review. 🙂
I enjoyed both of the first two. They’re light and fun. Honestly, I also liked that that the first was free and the second cheap.