THE LAST LEOPARD

Jambo! to the third of Martine’s magical-realism–laced South African adventures. When a friend of her grandmother’s who runs a tourist lodge in Zimbabwe calls for help because she’s broken her leg, Martine, her friend Ben and her grandmother immediately trek to the remote location and find themselves in the center of a plot to trap and kill the last leopard and find an age-old, hidden treasure belonging to the indigenous Ndebele people. It’s Martine’s ability to communicate with animals that both endangers and rescues the leopard, as the compelling action-driven plot romps through the jungle setting. This skillful twining of exotic flora and fauna with Martine’s innate affinity for animals will gratify fans of the first two (The White Giraffe, 2007; Dolphin Song, 2008) and ready them for number four. An author’s note provides the background plus a conservation plea. (Fiction. 10-14)