Just Jennifer

The Boy Who Stole the Leopard’s Spots by Tamar Myers (William Morrow, May 2012)

Tamar Myers grew up in the Belgian Congo and adds a great authenticity to the setting of this third mystery set in Belle Vue.  Set in 1958 with flashbacks to 1935 when the birth of twins born to a chief set in motion a chain of events that will have far reaching effects, including a murder, when the two are reunited in Belle Vue.  At the center of the investigation is police chief Pierre Jardin and Protestant missionary Amanda Brown, who share a mutual attraction, much to the dismay of the locals.  Myers deftly depicts the tension between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, the Belgians and the Congolese, in a nation so torn it will be almost impossible to become whole without much strife and death.  The ritualistic cannibalism and other superstitious activity collide with Amanda’s mission, and that of Monsignor Clemente who carries his own secrets, dating back to the 1930’s.  Myers is known for her Pennsylvania Dutch Inn mysteries featuring the farcical Magdalena Yoder and are filled with silly, often outrageous situations, a tone that sometimes creeps into this series and doesn’t match the tenor of the time.  The authenticity of colonial Africa life and politics is very interesting and could not be done as well by someone who had not lived it.