The Leopard Hunts in Darkness

This is the penultimate book in the Ballantyne series. The book opens, as all the others do, with a snapshot of the landscape. This time we follow a bull elephant and his desperate escape from hunters. It's a savage start to Leopard, but very typical of Smith and very telling of the rest of the story, for it's all about poachers. The story then follows Craig Mellow out of Africa and into the urban jungle of New York City. At the end of Angels Weep Mellow has just found out his book, Flight of the Falcon has been accepted for publication. Unlike other Ballantyne books in the series, Leopard does not start with a date. The reader is not grounded in the era until later. Of course, in order to make the story go back to Africa, Mellow show more returns to his homeland to revitalize his country and start a nature preserve with photographer, Sally-Anne. Typical of all Smith/Ballantyne books there is savage violence, passionate love scenes and gorgeous landscapes to draw every kind of reader in. show less

Wilbur Smith just as powerful as ever depicts this epic tale of love and strife set in the Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) of late 20th century

As always, a really good yarn

A very good read.

Part of Smith's family sagas set in Africa.

He is the son of Ballantynes, the powerful dynasty that had conquered a continent. Today, amid the violent conflicts of emerging Africa, Craig Mellow confronts a bloody colonial past . . . and a perilously uncertain future.

### From Library Journal

Wild Justice, nicely read by Steven Pacey, involves Col. Peter Stride, who leads an elite force in an assault on a hijacked airliner in an attempt to free endangered hostages. Though the raid succeeds, Stride is fired for not fully following orders. Free from his military connection, he is then in a position to fight terrorism and conspiracy independently. A good story with lots of twists and treacheries. Together or separately, these three books are fine short adventures; each tale is about show more one-sixth the length of its original novel and loses an awful lot in the abridging. A recommendation: get these audios if you must for patrons in a hurry, but point them to an unabridged version if you can. - Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

### Review

“Smith deftly evokes not only the horrific but also the beautiful, particularly the lush landscape of Africa."—*The Washington Post Book World*

"Wilbur Smith's written another page-turner."--*Daily Mail*

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**Praise for Wilbur Smith**

“Smith is a master.” *—Publishers Weekly

*“One of the world’s most popular adventure writers.” *—The Washington Post Book World
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*“A rare author who wields a razor-sharp sword of craftsmanship.” *—Tulsa World*

“Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared.” *—The Times* (UK)      
"Best Historical Novelist--I say Wilbur Smith, with his swashbuckling novels of Africa.  The bodices of rip and the blood flows.  You can get lost in Wilbur Smith and misplace all of August."--Stephen King

"Action is Wilur Smith's game, and he is a master."--*The Washington Post Book World*

“The world’s leading adventure writer.” *—**Daily Express* (UK)

"Wilbur Smith rarely misses a trick."--*Sunday Times*

“Smith is a captivating storyteller.” *—The Orlando Sentinel*

“No one does adventure quite like Smith.” —*Daily Mirror *(UK)

"A thundering good’ read is virtually the only way of describing Wilbur Smith’s books.” —*The Irish Times

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