Jill Hedgecock

Fiction Writer

Book Review

Book Review: The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild



Review by Jill Hedgecock

The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence (2012, St. Martin’s Griffin, paperback, 384 pages, $10.63) is the fascinating true account of Lawrence Anthony’s experiences after introducing a small herd of rogue elephants into his Thula Thula game reserve, an area of approximately 5,000 acres of pristine bush in South Africa. The adventure does not start well when the elephants break out of their enclosure. Anthony gets in a helicopter to track them down while his wife takes to the road. As Anthony’s wife, Francois, desperately questions the locals on whether they’ve seen these giant animals, the tribes people have no idea what she’s asking. Elephants had been extirpated from this area before they were born. The runaways are rounded up, but are in imminent danger of being killed if they break out again, so Anthony, whose original intention was to discourage human-elephant interaction, is forced to befriend the herd.

In addition to heart-rending and occasionally terrifying accounts of Lawrence’s encounters with these three-ton beasts, the book explores the politics of running a game reserve, the delightful as well as idiosyncrasies of Zulu culture, the darkest consequences of trophy hunting and poaching practices, and the mysterious beliefs surrounding native witchcraft. Along the way, readers experience the hazards of South African weather, snakes and crocodiles.

Throughout the narrative, Anthony’s absolute respect and love for the animals of Thula Thula, both wild and domestic, shines through the pages. But it is the elephants that captivate. From this book I learned the extent of how sensitive and tactile these creatures are. How intention and the sound of a human voice can transform these intelligent giant animals from an emotional state of malevolence and distrust to a condition of utter gentleness.

At the end of this book, I was left with the absolute conviction that to be a true advocate for the wildlife in Africa is to commit acts of heroism again and again and again. In 2003, Anthony founded The Earth Organization, a non-profit group with a mission to reverse the dwindling spiral of plant and animal kingdoms through education and action. To learn more and to see a video of Anthony interacting with an elephant, visit www.earthorganization.org. Lawrence’s other books include Babylon’s Ark : The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo (2007) recounting his efforts to help the zoo animals during the Iraq war. He received the UN’s Earth Day award for this work in Baghdad. His last novel, The Last Rhinos: My Battle to Save One of the World’s Greatest Creatures (2013), was published after his untimely death from heart failure on March 2, 2012. Fortunately, his voice will live on through the books he left behind and his nonprofit organization. The Elephant Whisperer is one of those books that takes ahold of you and leaves behind lasting vivid memories. The audio version of this book, which was how I read it, was an Audie Award Winner in the Biography/Memoir category in 2014.

Click here to buy the book:

https://amzn.to/4bvr9Es

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Book Review: The Lake House by Kate Morton

Review by Jill Hedgecock

What happened to little Theo? Was the toddler kidnapped? Murdered? This is the major premise of The Lake House by Kate Morton (2016, Atria Books; Reprint edition, paperback, 512 pages $11.88.) Theo had disappeared from the Edevane estate in Cornwall, England, during the Edavane’s annual Midsummer party in June 1933. The case has remained unsolved for 70 years.


Fast forward to 2003 in London when Sarah, a former policewoman who has been put on leave and has returned to Cornwall to stay with her grandfather, stumbles upon the abandoned Edevane property while out running. The derelict house intrigues Sarah because it appears that the former occupants up and left without packing a single possession. When Sarah learns about the tragedy of Theo’s disappearance, her detective skills kick in. She contacts one of Theo’s sisters, Alice. Theo’s sister wants to bury the past, but through Sarah’s prodding, Alice learns that one of her assumptions about what happened on that fateful evening in 1933 has been wrong.


The story unfolds in pieces between Alice’s childhood and the Edevane family saga in 1933 and Sarah and Alice’s current lives. Red herrings tucked into the novel keep the reader guessing about Theo’s fate. Several nannies, a retired medical doctor, and a handsome young groundskeeper could have played a role in Theo’s disappearance. Then there’s the backstory of Theo and Alice’s parents: Eleanor, a fiercely devoted wife, and Anthony, a nature lover, war veteran, and loving father.


The Lake House received a Woman & Home Reader’s Choice Award for Best Historical Thriller (2016) and a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2015). Readers who enjoy a compelling mystery, learning about the effects of World War I on servicemen, and poetic prose will love this book.

The mystery of what happened to Theo launches this otherwise quiet book into a page-turning frenzy.
Kate Morton is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author. Her five novels are published in over 40 countries, in 34 languages, and have all been number one bestsellers around the world. Kate grew up in Queensland and now splits her time between London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature with a focus in nineteenth-century tragedy and contemporary Gothic novels. Morton says of her experiences as a reader and novelist, “I fell deeply in love with books as a child and believe that reading is freedom; that to read is to live a thousand lives in one; that fiction is a magical conversation between two people – you and me – in which our minds meet across time and space.”

Click here to buy The Lake House:

https://amzn.to/4bnh64k

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Book Review: H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald

Review by Jill Hedgecock

H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald (2016, Grove Press, paperback, 320 pages, $10.06) weaves the author’s grief-stricken journey as she grapples with the death of her father while training a goshawk. In the book, Helen says, “…walking the forest you come across all sorts of things you don’t expect.” But it can easily be said that while reading this book you will similarly encounter the unexpected. Along Helen’s emotional journey, she learns from the mistakes of T.H. White, who also engaged in falconry, but best known as the author of the King Author series, most notably The Sword in the Stone. H is for Hawk is somewhat a literary biography of White and his story is told on a parallel track with Helen’s self discovery.

Riddled throughout the narrative are fascinating details about the sport of falconry. Readers will seamlessly discover what mutes, creances, swivels and jesses are as they learn the dedication needed to train a wild bird of prey. The details of hawk, and specifically goshawk behavior, is fascinating. For instance, instead of attaching bells to hawks’ legs on tiny leather straps called bewits, a tail-mounted bell is much better for a goshawk, which has a habit of shaking their tails. But even more interesting is the bond that develops between, Mabel, our narrator’s goshawk, and her human handler. Throughout the book, the savage, yet somehow endearing, personality of Mabel shines through the pages. This writing is brutally honest, poetic, gut-wrenching, historical, and informative all at the same time.

Helen’s descriptions of frustration at not being able to flush prey to give Mabel an opportunity to “do what she was born to do” are intense. The brutality of a hawk kill is described both vividly and with a kind of stark forgiveness. Mabel’s antics during the hunting flights often put Helen in impossible situations. Yet, the book somehow drifts in nostalgia as our narrator reveals her father’s obsession with warplanes that dotted the skies of his youth. This is a book like no other. I highly recommended it not only to bird and nature lovers, but also for those that have experienced the grief of a loved one.

H is for Hawk landed on more than 25 Best Books of the Year lists, including TIME (#1 Nonfiction Book), NPR, O, The Oprah Magazine (10 Favorite Books), Vogue (Top 10), Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle (Top 10), Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews and Amazon (Top 20). Given the poetical style of H is for Hawk, it is not surprising that her first book, Shaler’s Fish, is a collection of poems. She has plans to tackle the subject of how humans perceive the natural worlds as separate from themselves in her next book. Helen Macdonald is an English writer, naturalist, and an Affiliated Research Scholar at the University of Cambridge. She lives in Suffolk, UK.

Click here to buy the book:

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Book Review: The Scarlet Plague by Jack London


Review by Jill Hedgecock

The Scarlet Plague is a short novel by Jack London. It was first published in 1912 in London Magazine and was picked up by The MacMillian Company in 1915 and released as an illustrated novel . It has since been published by multiple parties with multiple different covers because it is in the public domain. There is a 100th anniversary edition available on Amazon that includes all 25 original illustrations. Don’t be fooled by other versions with missing or made-up pictures.


Jack London’s dystopian view of 2073 waxes prophetic given the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic. The story is set in the San Francisco Bay Area with the opening chapter set in San Francisco. Berkeley, Oakland, Santa Rosa, and Point Richmond also get mentions. A pivotal scene even occurs at Cal Berkeley.
The story narrator, James Howard Smith, is an aged grandfather and former professor of English Literature. James, now called “Granser”, by his grandsons, Hare-Lip, Hoo-Hoo, and Edwin is a rare survivor of the scarlet plague. Granser reveals the state of the world as it stands in 2073 where people have become goat herders and hunter-gatherers to survive. But the crux of the story is a recount of his memories of the early days of the plague in 2013.


The parallels in the story to COVID-19 are chilling. London describes the post-plague state of San Francisco where bears, wild horses, and wolf-dogs occupy what used to be San Francisco. The return of wild animals is similar to what is currently happening in Yosemite Park as described by Ranger Katie Patrick where bears are now walking down the roads no longer jammed by cars due to the COVID-19 park shutdown. London also laments the demise of the iconic Cliff House restaurant so similar to the closed eating establishments of today. A particularly haunting line in the story is when the old man reminisces about his denial of the disease during the early days of the scarlet plague epidemic: “I told him this flight from the cities was insanity, that there were no symptoms of the plague in me.”


Admittedly, some aspects of the novel can be hard to take. The boys are sometimes cruel to their Granser, who, in turn, is pompous and derogatory toward the boys. Even though the tale is a bit grim, I thoroughly enjoyed London’s cleverness. His use of language and his view of society is reminiscent of the era London lived in so his opinions and treatment of his grandkids should be taken in context. It is worth overlooking these flaws because of the way his words ring with imagery. He describes the collapse of the world as follows: “The fleeting systems lapse like foam,’ and so lapsed our glorious colossal civilization.” Readers of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and fans of classics, including Jack London’s other work, will most likely enjoy the novel.


Jack London (1876-1916) whose given name was John Griffith Chaney, was a pioneer in science fiction and became one of the first writers to become a worldwide celebrity. At his peak, he was the highest paid author of his time. His talent for tackling stories of elemental struggles for survival set him apart as an American novelist and short-story writer. His writing drew heavily on his life experiences in the Klondike during the Gold Rush and as a seaman. His first work was published in 1898. From there he went on to write such American classics as Call of the Wild, Sea Wolf, and White Fang. An animal activist, London’s lesser known novels, Jerry of the Islands and Michael, Brother of Jerry, were written to raise awareness about the cruel practices of circus trainers. London also had a darker side. He was accused of plagiarism, suffered from alcoholism, and was an advocate of eugenics (a set of beliefs and practices that strive to improve the genetic quality of humans, typically by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior.)


London’s local roots are felt today. His ranch in Glen Ellen in Sonoma County has been preserved as Jack London State Historic Park. The ruins of a house that burnt to the ground a few months before Jack London and family were to move in, a cottage in which they had lived, and the graves of Jack London and his wife are located there. The property is both a California and National Historical Landmark and worthy of visiting.


Click here to buy the 100th Anniversary Edition of The Scarlet Plague:

https://amzn.to/4gKu8dd

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Book Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Review by Jill Hedgecock


The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (2017, Gallery/Scout Press; Reprint edition, paperback, 384 pages $9.99) is the perfect book for edge-of-your-seat tension junkies who enjoy sorting through facts with an unreliable narrator at the helm. The mystery of who exactly is that mysterious woman that briefly occupied a cruise liner cabin and then suddenly disappeared provides further intrigue in this twist-and-turn plot that keeps readers guessing until the end.
Laura “Lo” Blacklock has a problem. Actually, she’s facing quite a few challenges: her apartment in England was burgled while she was at home sending her into an emotional tailspin. On top of that, she drinks too much, she’s on anti-depressants, she’s broken up with her boyfriend—though she’s not sure about that—and now her dream assignment on a posh luxury yacht as a reporter for a travel magazine is turning into the trip from hell. Because of Lo’s penchant for excessive alcohol consumption and her fragile state from the trauma of encountering a thief in her home, immediately sets the stage for readers to rally behind this confused young woman. But this also makes it unclear if her account of events that involved a body tossed overboard really happened.
In the spirit of Agatha Christie’s closed room who-dun-its, the lists of suspects is limited to the Scandinavian staff and the ship’s passengers because the person who committed a possible murder is at sea. The perpetrator could be anyone, fellow journalists, photographers, and wealthy people paying for the privilege of participating in the The Aurora’s maiden voyage through the Norwegian fjords. But the list seems to narrow as clues point in the direction of Lo’s former boyfriend, Ben, a dashing photographer named Cole Lederer who’s having problems with his wife, or the ship’s head of security, Johann Nilsson. Still, there are enough red herrings to keep readers scratching their heads.
Ruth Ware brilliantly foretells snippets of future events in the story at chapter conclusions using social media in the form of emails and chat rooms of amateur detectives. She also has a talent for keeping readers wondering if our narrator is a drunken fool or a broken woman prone to hallucinations. It is no surprise that The Woman in Cabin 10 was an Instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller.
Ruth Ware grew up in Sussex, on the south coast of England. After graduating from Manchester University, she moved to Paris before settling in North London. She is the internationally bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Lying Game (2017). She is married with two small children. The Death of Mrs. Westaway, is due to be released at the end of the month. Fans of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn will probably enjoy this book.

Buy the paperback book here:

https://amzn.to/3DWfbH8

Or the kindle ebook:

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Book Review: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Review by Jill Hedgecock

A secret key, a young girl’s curiosity, and a man under house arrest lead to an unlikely pair sleuthing through the bowels of a Russian hotel. These elements make A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Penguin, paperback, 496 pages, $13.10) an intriguing premise. Towles’ inclusion of Russian history further lay the groundwork for an epic reading experience. It is a lengthy tome spanning three decades and requires readers to pay careful attention. Rest assured, it’s worth the effort. According to Towles, “Bit characters, passing remarks, incidental objects come swirling together and play essential roles in bringing the narrative to its sharply pointed conclusion.”

Count Alexander Rostov is an aristocrat survivor of the bloody aftermath of the Russian Revolution. Although spared death, he must live within the confines of the Metropol Hotel, situated near the Kremlin. While all the characters in the book are imagined, the Metropol is based on an existing historic hotel located in central Moscow. In addition to its intriguing setting and main character, Towles infuses the story with a compelling supporting cast. In contrast to the stiff, yet genteel, Rostov, movie star, Anna Urbanova, and her two borzois, bring levity and glamour to lighten the pages. Anna also brings romance into housebound Rostov’s life. Equally compelling are Rustov’s male friendships from the ne’er-do-well American vending machine salesman to Mishka, Rostov’s boyhood chum provide insights into the extent of Rostov’s charm. When young Sophia enters his life, Rostov is jolted from his comfortable routines as he embraces fatherly responsibilities. Of course, no good book is without its villain and the incompetent waiter, Bishop Leplevshy with his antagonistic personality and a penchant for snooping into Rostov’s affairs, fills that literary role quite well. Like many accomplished novelists, Towles interweaves elements of other great creative works into his story—in this case, the movie, Casablanca. The book also has an inherent quirkiness to its structure. All of the chapter titles begin with the letter “A.”

A Gentleman in Moscow is a New York Times bestseller and was ranked as one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Miami Herald and others. Amor Towles graduated from Yale College and received an MA in English from Stanford University. His first novel, Rules of Civility, published in 2011, was a New York Times bestseller and ranked by the Wall Street Journal as one of the best books of 2011. Both of Towles’ novels have been translated into over fifteen languages. This hefty read is the perfect book to escape into on a cold, rainy January day.

Click here to buy the book:

https://amzn.to/3PxhIdC

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