In her fifth adventure, Jade del Cameron is still debating whether or not to accept the marriage proposal of American pilot, Sam Featherstone, when she lands a job as a safari guide. Both Sam and Jade are upset when they learn Jade's old acquaintance, Harry Hascombe, is leading the safari, but Jade refuses to back out, needing both the money and a paid trip to Kilimanjaro so she'll have material for magazine articles. Jade is surprised, but not upset, when her young friend Jelani stows away on the safari with her pet cheetah, Biscuit. She needs a friendly face in between skirmishes among the Hollywood actors on the safari and Harry's inappropriate comments. Jelani fears for Jade's life, especially after the movie's producer is murdered by a crazed native who turns a knife on himself. Someone needs to keep Jade safe from a murderer.
As their party treks up the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, more drama plays out among the movie actors than what goes on in front of the cameras. Their trip is also plagued by sabotage, and, when she intervenes in a catfight between native women, Jade is followed by a dangerous curse. Death is stalking their party, and while Jade untangles the murderous intrigue among the Hollywood safari-goers, Jelani makes it a full-time job to watch over her. Meanwhile, Sam learns some disturbing information about one of the safari party, and he tries desperately to reach Jade with a warning before it's too late.
Though there still has been no resolution of the relationship between Jade and Sam, there was some ink devoted to their thoughts on the matter. Jade has feelings for Sam, but fears being tied down as a wife and mother, while Sam admires her strength and courage but fears constantly for her safety. I confess I found their dithering on the subject distracting. Either Jade will marry Sam and continue her adventures with him, or she won't. I'm getting tired of waiting for the decision. The series would be all the better for developing their relationship and making Sam a permanent fixture, and I can imagine many intriguing plot lines that could be followed in this way. It is a tired cliché that adventure heroes must go solo, and since Sam was introduced a few books ago, one I hope this series will not adopt. That said, this is one of my favorite mystery series with an excellent locale and great characters. The mysteries are an intriguing combination of old-fashioned sleuthing mixed with African lore. The last two books suffered slightly with Jade and Sam's dithering, but it's a hump I hop the series will soon be over, and I impatiently await Jade's next mystery.