Dark Heart

July 15, 2012
Richard and Robin Mariner are drawn into the deadly civil war of a turbulent West African nation. The small country of Benin la Bas is notable mostly for its dense forests and the ultrarare orchid known as the Ghost. Tyrannical President Liye Banda has seized this tropical paradise, but the freedom-fighting army of Gen. Dr. Julius Chaka has constantly challenged his rule. Part of Chaka's campaign several years ago (Benin Light, 2008) involved the kidnappings of Robin Mariner and Anastasia Asov, the best friend of Chaka's daughter, Celine, as bargaining chips. Politics makes strange bedfellows, however, and now, four years into the new administration, Robin and her husband, Richard, an international industrialist and avid seaman, are attending a celebration for Chaka in Benin la Bas and even considering financial support for the struggling country. While the Mariners rub elbows with other wealthy guests at the Presidential Palace in Granville Harbour, Celine and Anastasia, who are working at a jungle hospital and school in the far north of the nation, come under siege from a terrorist group called the Army of Christ the Infant. Its child soldiers, led by the terrifying Gen. Nlong, have already killed the hospital and school's leader, the Rev. Antoine. Fortified by their experience in the previous coup, Anastasia and Celine try to organize the workers, nuns and students to fight back, but they need reinforcements. Will the Mariners arrive in time? Although Tonkin forgoes his usual maritime action, he energetically describes the wielding of weapons and fists in another solid adventure with a dash of current world events.

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May 1, 2012
Tonkin's Richard and Robin Mariner series always provides entertaining, action-packed, suspenseful reading for fans of adventure thrillers. The latest is set in West Africa, where President Chaka, whom Richard and Robin helped take over the presidency from the former, corrupt leader, has invited a group of potential investors to his country's capital. But no sooner do Robin and Richard arrive than the up-country mission where President Chaka's estranged daughter, Celine, and her friend, Anastasia, are working is attacked by the murderous Army of Christ the Infant. Most of the teachers, nuns, and children are mercilessly slaughtered, but Celine and Anastasia manage to escape by boat. With the army in hot pursuit, their only hope is Richard and Robin, who take a high-speed boat up the river to attempt a rescue. As usual, Tonkin offers nail-biting suspense in a gripping, extremely bloody, pulse-pounding adventure that will have readers glued to their seats.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)