Book Review: E D Bird's "Goldenviron"

 

E D Bird, Goldenviron (Createspace, 2016) 446 pages, fiction, £10.87. On Amazon.

E D Bird has written an entertaining, if clumsy, mystery novel set in South Africa. This is not the kind of mystery you read to exercise your powers of deduction, however. The reader isn't given the chance to solve the case. But we are along for a "dude flick" plot.

The title refers to a gold mining company at the heart of an alarming number of murders. The characters stumble through several adventures - a hot air balloon ride, an abandoned mine, a kidnapping, a hyena attack, and even an AIDS clinic straight out of Stephen King's imagination - in an attempt to unravel the knots. 

Those sensitive to themes of racism should avoid this book. The "good guys" do at times display a less than open mind and the "bad guys" are overt neo-nazis. There is even a smoking chimney. This is your fair trigger warning.

There are times when the author's clearly evident love of cars overshadows the story. But this is a somewhat fast-paced, action driven book that is sure to delight a readership that prefers an escape rather than a think.