Cry of the Firebird by T.M. Clark

I have been meaning to read a T.M. Clark book for quite a while, knowing they’re set in South Africa, a place I’ve never been but remain curious about. I was finally able to do so and enjoy being immersed in a culture and land both perilous and beautiful.

When Dr Lily Winters, a WHO consultant, is sent back to her beloved South Africa due to the unexpected death of an unpopular colleague, she and her famous musician husband find themselves embroiled in searching for the origins of an HIV outbreak in the San comminity of Platfontein. Despite being given appropriate medicines and care, the people are dying, leaving behind not only a trail of heartbreak, but many unanswered questions.

With the help of a Kalahari policeman, Little Piet, Lily determines to discover why the disease is killing so many as well as learning why and how her colleague died. Her determination sets her on a dangerous path as there are those equally resolute she’ll remain not only ignorant about why HIV is flourishing, but unable to interfere with their very lucrative business.

This is a slow-burn book that takes the reader on a journey through lush and wondrous landscapes and into unfamiliar but breathtakingly beautiful territory. The descriptions of South Africa are simply lovely and deposit you smack bang in the middle of vegetation, a lake inhabited by flamingos, or scrubland and ghettoes with ease. You smell the earthy afternoons, the crisp mornings and see the beauty of the sky as the sun rises or sets.

Though I’ve seen this book described as a thriller, I wouldn’t call it that, but it is a tightly-plotted mystery, filled with characters you either loathe (because they’re so unremittingly greedy and selfish) or invest in and a place that leaps from the page and into your heart.

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