A Spear of Summer Grass
A Story of Love and Friendship on the African Savannah
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4.3 • 8 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
From New York Times bestselling author of Killers of a Certain Age, Deanna Raybourn.
Paris, 1923
The daughter of a scandalous mother, Delilah Drummond is already notorious, even among Paris society. But her latest scandal is big enough to make even her oft-married mother blanch. Delilah is exiled to Kenya and her favorite stepfather's savanna manor house until gossip subsides.
Fairlight is the crumbling, sun-bleached skeleton of a faded African dream, a world where dissolute expats are bolstered by gin and jazz records, cigarettes and safaris. As mistress of this wasted estate, Delilah falls into the decadent pleasures of society.
Against the frivolity of her peers, Ryder White stands in sharp contrast. As foreign to Delilah as Africa, Ryder becomes her guide to the complex beauty of this unknown world. Giraffes, buffalo, lions and elephants roam the shores of Lake Wanyama amid swirls of red dust. Here, life is lush and teeming—yet fleeting and often cheap.
Amidst the wonders—and dangers—of Africa, Delilah awakes to a land out of all proportion: extremes of heat, darkness, beauty and joy that cut to her very heart. Only when this sacred place is profaned by bloodshed does Delilah discover what is truly worth fighting for—and what she can no longer live without.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestselling author Raybourn's latest (after The Dark Enquiry), set in 1920's Kenya, finds plucky, party-loving American divorcee Delilah Drummond about to be shunned from Parisian social life when her husband kills himself after receiving her divorce papers. With Delilah's team of advisors insisting she seek refuge while the story cools off, she reluctantly agrees to an African excursion with her plodding cousin Dora as chaperone. Even on another continent, Delilah's reputation precedes her, yet she harbors more heartbreak and depth than is evident from her actions. With her unflappable veneer in place, Delilah meets Ryder White, an intriguing, maddening man who challenges her bravado. Despite her initial dismay at her exile, Delilah finds her nursing experience helpful to the local Kikuyu, which brings her life the purpose it had been missing. As Delilah adjusts to her exotic new landscape, she finds more than she expected, both in the people she meets and within herself. Rayburn's breezy, straightforward style is a nice counterpoint to the complexity of her heroine.
