Publisher's Weekly Review
An air of authenticity and masterful detailing keep this rousing tale buoyant despite its tangled plot lines. Before avenging the deaths in Ethiopia of his sister and her husband, a former country singer, poet George Devis looks into the philanthropic organization for which they had worked. Although the local terrorist leader quickly emerges as a prime suspect, Devis also wonders why the late singer insisted that his two young sons return to the isolationist, fundamentalist New England cult that he himself had rejected in his youth. Further questions are posed when a radioactive corn sample is found, in lieu of ashes, in the murdered couple's urn. Llewellyn, an English author known for his highly effective nautical mysteries, sets Devis on a jaunt across the Atlantic that publicizes the murder and flushes out the killer and brings the poet help from a crusty sea dog and a pretty, ambitious woman journalist. The sailing scenes are terrific, the American characters are provided with highly credible dialogue and the various moments when Devis seems about to cash in his chips (in dense sea fog, on the bridge of a collapsing airship) are suitably tense. Why all this is happening is, however, never made quite as clear as most readers might wish. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
An apolitical wildlife artist gets partial responsibility for his orphaned nephews--and full responsibility for the discovery of the men who murdered his sister and her husband. African and American politics figure more heavily here than Llewellyn's usual sailboats (Blood Knot, Dead Eye), but the sea is still seen. Bachelor George Devis, author of a bestseller about Auks, up in the Ethiopian air in a helicopter with the young nephews he's taking to their English boarding school, is horrified witness to the murder of his sister Camilla and her husband Rhyd. Camilla and Rhyd, an American C&W singer, have been involved in a private project to restore the agricultural base of an African village. They're nearly saints. Why would anyone want to kill them? Landing immediately after the flight of the killers, George is told that the murders were ordered by Ras Hamil--a soldier who seeks to overthrow the government. Installing the boys in school, the grief- stricken George teams with Bill Marsden, an American reporter, on a transatlantic race. Marsden thinks the race will publicize both PloughShare, Camilla and Rhyd's charity, and their deaths. But just off the American coast, Bill is brutally murdered and the boat deliberately sunk. George survives to begin a relentless hunt for the truth behind the violence. All he has to go on are some cryptic hints on tapes Rhyd made just before his death. He receives assistance from a media mogul, who is awfully like the late Robert Maxwell, and from a bungling but rather attractive American reporter. He gets no help at all from Rhyd's creepy sister, who shares custody of the boys and who is the last believer in an ultaconservative pre-revolutionary sect. Before everything is sorted out, the acrophobic artist will have to climb a lofty grain elevator and fly a dirigible. Several scary scenes and some amusing caricatures, but it's rather too long and the momentum occasionally flounders as Llewellyn gets trapped in the American scenery. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The murder of his activist sister and her husband while working on famine relief in Ethiopia sends George Devis, a modest, bird-watching sailor, on a voyage to America. He seeks to discover the cause of the murders and to implement his sister's last wishes. He hopes that through speeches and lectures he can raise funds for those starving in Africa, thus carrying on her work. In a brilliantly sinuous plot, Devis becomes entrapped by the media he believes are promoting his cause. Romance, heroics, and even country music are neatly interlaced in a gripping tale. (Reviewed Jan. 1, 1994)0671789899Denise Perry Donavin
Library Journal Review
In the best espionage thriller tradition, ornithologist-sailor-poet George Devis finds himself battling an international conspiracy in order to avenge the deaths of his sister and her husband, who are murdered before his horrified eyes in Ethiopia just as he and their sons set out for the United States. Devis undertakes an ocean voyage that begins a menacing progression of beatings, kidnappings, and political double-dealing. He confronts religious cults, corporate magnates, and hired thugs, usually coming out the worse for wear, until the final chilling battle in a state-of-the-art airship. Llewellyn, whose 1990 novel Death Roll ( LJ 4/1/90) was a New York Times notable book, is an avid sailor who brings his knowledge and love of the sea to each page. He has created a cast of memorable characters, including drug dealer Scotch John and Rickie Lee, a fledgling news reporter. This rare treat should send readers in search of Llewellyn's earlier novels. Elsa Pendle ton, Boeing Computer Support Svcs., Ridgecrest, Cal.(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.