'A Death in Kenya' by Michael Hiltzik tells the story of Julie Ann Ward, a likeable young English professional woman with a quiet life, who seeks to expand her boundaries with an adventure trip to Kenya. She loves it and goes again with thought in mind to move there and pursue photography and work with animals. And then she disappears. While the book rambles in some places, and is filled with names, political intrigue, and Kenyan politics, it is gripping. Her father takes up the task of trying to discover what has happened to her in the face of indifference and inefficiency by Kenyan officials. Just as many other things on the African continent, nothing ever gets done as promised, no official ever really takes responsibility for covering the area and, without constant prodding, it appears the idea is to simply hope everyone will quit fussing about the lost girl. When her body turns up in pieces in a remote area of the game preserve there are competing autopsy reports, one quite obviously changed due to political pressure. The book may be a little overlong, and it was written before there was any resolution to the case, but I found it fascinating - both for the view of Kenya and for an example of how hard a concerned parent can push.

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