In 2017, Laikipia’s entire Wild Dog population of over 300 individuals was wiped out by Canine Distemper.
The Laikipia plateau straddles the equator and extends from the slopes of Mount Kenya to the rim of the Great Rift Valley. The vast open plains accommodate livestock farming, mostly cattle, and wildlife.
Tourism, which is centred around game drives, is increasing as the area is home to many endangered species including black and white rhino, Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffes.
In the 1990s Wild dogs had nearly disappeared from Laikipia but a focused conservation effort saw numbers grow to over 300, the largest population in Kenya.
Then disaster struck. The droughts of of 2017 pushed northern livestock herders south, in search of grass for their animals, and they brought their domestic dogs with them.
The domestic and wild dogs mixed leading to a deadly outbreak of canine distemper which killed the African wild dogs.
I was told the original group was descended from a single female. This may be true, or a story tour guides like to tell, but in 2018, a year after the wild dogs had disappeared, a lone female was spotted on the Laikipia Plateau.
Miraculously, she was joined by two males and the wild dog population is once again increasing. From these three dogs a pack of nearly 20 African wild dogs lives on Impala Ranch and they have been called the Phoenix Pack.
Wild Dog Revenge: A Page-Turning Cozy Murder Mystery
Book 6 in the Kenya Kanga Mystery series
A high-stakes match. An inexplicable death. As the players take their positions, can an amateur sleuth solve the mystery before the final whistle blows?
Mama Rose just wants to enjoy a local polo tournament and care for any injured horses. But when a polo player is found dead in a stable, there’s all to play for if our silver-haired investigator is to discover the deadly truth.
Intrigued by tales from a late-night party, Rose unearths multiple suspects all with motives to harm the victim. But when her enquires lead to dead ends, she begins to doubt her intuition that there’s been foul play.
With the tournament drawing to a close, and the dead man’s influential father demanding answers, the police are on the losing side.
Can Rose unravel the clues before the umpire calls full time?
Wild Dog Revenge is the absorbing sixth novel in the Kenya Kanga cozy mystery series. If you like ingenious whodunits, diverse characters, and fascinating African settings, then you’ll love Victoria Tait’s page-turning tale.
“Excellent book! Couldn’t put it down until the very end.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Goodreads Review
“A very enthusiastic 5 stars for Wild Dog Revenge … The murder mystery is intriguing and very believable.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Goodreads Review
