Good Reading Magazine (01/06/2008)
Sydney Morning Herald - Spectrum (15/06/2008)
Author: Tony Park
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Detective Sergeant Tom Furey, veteran of Special Branch and now a protection officer, is accompanying the British Assistant Minister for Defence to South Africa after the person who was supposed to do it, Furey's colleague Nick Roberts, has mysteriously disappeared. Furey, newly widowed and therefore bearing the load of sadness that all good thriller heroes carry, has barely arrived when his charge is kidnapped.
Helped by an assortment of lovingly itemised tools, weapons and vehicles, as well as by the obligatory tall, willowy and clever blonde, Furey tries to redeem himself in a quest to find the kidnappers that takes him across three or four African countries and straight into harm's way.
This better-than-average airport thriller has some good writing, some memorably exciting scenes and some real feeling for its African setting. Park sorts out his heroes and villains with admirable pacing and inventiveness. There's also a lively plot, which is detailed and clever without ever becoming convoluted.
The Independent Weekly, Adelaide, South Australia (04/07/08)
GEORGIA GOWING
Detective Sergeant Tom Furey is a bodyguard with the London police, protecting politicians and VIPs at home and abroad. When his colleague Nick Roberts disappears, he must accompany government minister Robert Greeves to South Africa . Greeves is kidnapped from a luxury game lodge, setting Furey and his South African counterpart Sannie Van Rensberg off on a high-octane chase that covers half a dozen countries. Tom starts off fighting to find the kidnappers and win back his good name, but he and Sannie end up fighting for their lives.
Thriller writer Tony Park can be best described as an Aussie cross between Wilbur Smith and Tom Clancy. A former journalist and ex-army reservist, Park spends five
months of the year researching and writing in Africa and for much of that time lives in a tent pitched in South Africa 's iconic Kruger National Park. Silent Predator is his fifth book and regular readers will not be disappointed: the story is twisty and exciting, the writing is pacy and there are plenty of gun fights. Park's heroes are tough, blokey types - soldiers and coppers - and his heroines
Sassy and smart, but Africa always steals the show. Park knows and loves the bush, the animals and the people and it shows. Silent Predator is a page-turner and a great way to spend a winter evening, transported to somewhere warm and exotic. Pan MacMillan RRP $32.95
The Age, Melbourne (05/07/08)
Cameron Woodhead
WHEN HE'S NOT AT home in Sydney, Tony Park enjoys travelling through Africa, where many of his
novels are set. His latest, Silent Predator, is a thriller that benefits from Park's experience of the
continent and his military knowledge. Protection officer Tom Furey is on special assignment,
guarding the British defence minister on an official trip to South Africa. When his charge is
kidnapped by what appears to be a new terrorist organisation, Furey teams with a South African
counterpart, Sannie van Rensburg, to track down those responsible and find the minister, dead or
alive. Furey and Rensburg are nursing romantic wounds, and as the hunt gets increasingly personal,
they throw the rule book out the window in pursuit of a nightmarish criminal conspiracy. Silent
Predator is better written than your average thriller. It has been judiciously edited, the author evokes
a strong sense of place and the plot - fraught with dangers and unexpected twists - unfolds at a
satisfying pace.
Audiofile.com talking book review - August 2009
(Reader) Mark Davis's melodic accent is an excellent match to this South African thriller. Detective Sergeant Tom Furey anticipates an easy few days in a luxury private game lodge as he protects a British government minister. Instead he is compelled to launch a mission through several African countries to find the kidnapped official. Davis's muscular voice suits Furey's heavy-handed determination as he reluctantly partners with his local counterpart, an attractive woman who turns out to be more capable than she first appears. As Furey discovers, there are more predators in Africa than those found on safari. Davis's respectful handling of the background narrative, bursting with the challenges African life and the beauty of her native inhabitants, reflects the author's reverence for the culture and land.
