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03/06/2017

#BlogTour: Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh @McVeighAuthor @PenguinUKBooks

I am delighted to be a part of the blog tour for Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh. Published by Penguin in July 2017. My thanks to the publisher and the author for having me on the blog tour

Stepping off the boat in Mombasa, eighteen-year-old Rachel Fullsmith stands on Kenyan soil for the first time in six years. She has come home.
But when Rachel reaches the family farm at the end of the dusty Rift Valley Road, she finds so much has changed. Her beloved father has moved his new partner and her son into the family home. She hears menacing rumours of Mau Mau violence, and witnesses cruel reprisals by British soldiers. Even Michael, the handsome Kikuyu boy from her childhood, has started to look at her differently.
Isolated and conflicted, Rachel fears for her future. But when home is no longer a place of safety and belonging, where do you go, and who do you turn to?


My Thoughts:

Leopard at the Door takes us to 1952 in Kenya. Rachel Fullsmith returns to Kenya, having been in the UK for six years following the death of her mother. She was hoping to return to the familiarity of family life but things seem different somehow. Her father has a new partner. Her home doesn't seem to feel right anymore.

Packed full of the sights and sounds of Africa, the writing in this book is evocative and lyrical. There are parts of the story about the Mau Mau uprising, which I ashamedly admit to knowing nothing about. I really felt that I learnt a thing or two whilst reading this book.

There is a state of change throughout this story. Cruelty and violence creating a blot on the horizon and making everything seem unsettled. The author has written her characters brilliantly, they are rich and deep. I was utterly absorbed and invested in this story. I found it to be very character driven and emotionally charged, albeit a little upsetting at times.

I would describe this book as an Ode to Africa, you can tell the authors passion and enthusiasm for the country through every single page of this magnificent book. A story of love, secrets and coming of age set upon the most wonderfully described landscape. 

About the Author:


Jennifer McVeigh graduated from Oxford University in 2002. She went on to work in film, radio and publishing before giving up her day job to study for an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. She has travelled in wilderness areas of East Africa and southern Africa, driving and camping along the way. Her first novel, The Fever Tree (Penguin, 2012), was a Richard and Judy Book Club Pick and received widespread critical acclaim.


Twitter: @McVeighAuthor



Please do have a look at some of the other stops on the blog tour.



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