Game Drive is a cozy mystery by Marie Moore about a New York-based travel agent on a research trip for her agency who suspects foul play after a colleague is killed in a tragic accident. Game Drive is the second book in a series featuring amateur sleuth Sidney Marsh. This time Sidney’s travels take her to Cape Town, South Africa, and a private game lodge near the Kruger National Park.
Sidney Marsh is a Mississippi-born, New York-based travel agent. She and her best friend and business partner, Jay Wilson, are struggling to remain standing in a world where the ground is shifting. Their boss at Itchy Feet Travel has a new scheme to attract customers—safari tour packages. He sends Sidney and Jay on a familiarization trip to Cape Town and safari country to check out the accommodations and confirm that the experience lives up to the hype in the brochures.
Sidney looks forward to the deluxe trip and so does Jay, despite his deathly fear of animals, both wild and domesticated. Their experience will be far wilder than either could have imagined. First Sidney stumbles upon a suspicious rendezvous and possible murder scene in Cape Town. After Sidney’s pocket is picked on a cable-car ride up Table Mountain, she suspects that someone in their group is an imposter, a suspicion that is soon confirmed. At Leopard Dance—the luxury game lodge near Kruger National Park that serves as their base camp—one of the other agents on the “fam trip” turns up dead.
Sidney carries on a risky flirtation with a handsome Afrikaner, who may or may not be the latest manifestation of the “Marsh Curse,” which seems to jinx her every relationship. And Sidney and Jay discover that they have far more to fear from predatory humans than wild animals.
I adored the first book in the series, Shore Excursion, so I was delighted to read the next book in the series, Game Drive. No cruise ship this time for Sydney, but instead its to Cape Town, South Africa to a private game lodge. There, Sydney and Jay are to check out the place for a potential safari package. But nothing is ever easy with Sydney.
Not only do they have to check every shadow and corner for predatory animals, but when someone is found dead, Sydney puts her amateur sleuthing abilities to the test once again. The men still flock to her, but she keeps her mind sharp and focused on doing her job, finding a killer and trying to stay alive. Through-out it all though, she is still the quirky heroine who I came to love in the first book.
Lively, suspense-driven and adventure through-out, Game Drive is an exciting mystery that quickly had me trying to out-guess Sydney. Moore has a flair for scattering clues through-out, even though sometimes I'm just wrong with my conclusion. I thought the backdrop was beautifully detailed, bringing the safari to life. If you enjoy cozy or light mysteries, pick up Game Drive! It can be read as a standalone, but I'd urge you to not miss the first one in the series, Shore Excursion!
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Wendy, thank you so much for the terrific review! I'm so glad you enjoy Sidney and all her crazy adventures, and I hope all your followers will too.
ReplyDeleteI am hard at work on the next book in the series, which will take Sidney and Jay to mystical India and Nepal. It should be out in early 2014. Thanks for the kind words! Marie