An attempted military coup goes wrong when a journalist
stumbles across Elephant poaching funding it.
Behind the Rainbow
by K.J. Jones
Genre: Thriller
In an African adventure, an attempted military coup goes wrong when a journalist stumbles across a poaching of Elephants report emanating from Tanzania. She discovers that the poaching is funding the attempted coup. Her investigation takes her into the citadels of power and her life is placed at risk. The closer that she gets to the truth, the more menacing the threats with the ultimate result being carnage.
This book is a novel that describes what could have happened in South Africa or possibly still could. The huge gap in lifestyle between the white and black population is still an area of conflict. The new black government has passed laws on black empowerment and insisted that businesses employ minimum quotas of black employees at every level of management. This has led to conflict between the groups, as young whites cannot find employment. This is exacerbated when the ANC appears to use black empowerment to their own ends by limiting business opportunities to those closely associated to their cause.
The emigration of the elite white South Africans from doctors to engineers has created a huge loss of skills. This has resulted in the breakdown of the medical services and the infrastructure. More than 20% of the white population has already immigrated to many countries to avoid the violence and intimidation experienced in South Africa.
There is a build up of tension that inevitably creates clashes and resentment. There is a veneer of calm, but real anger seething below the surface that frequently erupts into violence. Rape and murder is widespread, but in particular, the murder of farmers is commonplace.
I started writing my first book, Behind the Rainbow, a dozen years ago, it was whilst living in South Africa and seeing the changes taking place in the country. There was a swell of optimism now that the transition had taken place, and we all hoped for new beginnings. Yet at that time there was an indication that conservatives in the country were far from happy and the old army personnel were still a strong group. Behind the Rainbow reflects what could have happened at that time.
I didn’t write anything else until I returned to the UK where I started the James Smythe series, Shaiton, Flames and Femme Fatale all based in the UK and the growing threat of terrorism. In Femme Fatale, James Smythe is shot and he recuperates in Botswana with old friends who were the main characters in Behind the Rainbow. The book Predator, Killing for pleasure, covers Smythe’s recovery and his sudden involvement in the anti-poaching unit where he brings his old team together to help bring to justice the mastermind of the poaching gangs, Moosa, but this turns out to be far from easy as Moosa is more than capable of defending himself and he has numerous corrupt government officials, across most of Southern Africa, in his pay. Predator2, The Killing Ground is nearly complete and deals with the arrest and prosecution of a mercenary who works for Moosa. And Predator 3, The End Game, that continues the fight against Moosa, will be released in mid 2024.
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