Elephant Safari: a Mbuno and Pero Thriller by Peter Riva 
Guest Post + an Excerpt + Book & Author Info + a Giveaway!
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Elephant Safari
A MBUNO & PERO THRILLER
A documentary team hiking through East Africa collides with a gang of deadly poachers, in this gripping adventure by the author of Kidnapped on Safari.
Years of filming, extreme dangers, and daring rescues have taken their toll on documentary producer Pero Baltazar and his team. To relax and reconnect with the East African wildlife they love, Pero organizes a walking safari for him, his camerawoman Nancy Breiton, and their elite guide Mbuno Waliangulu. Still, Pero has trouble truly disconnecting from work. When the team comes across a herd of elephants making their annual migration north of Lake Rudolf, Pero decides the team will film their journey from Kenya into Ethiopia along the Omo River.
What begins as a peaceful trip quickly turns into a chaotic nightmare as the trio crosses paths with a crew of poachers whose ivory sales are financing terrorists. The three are determined to protect the endangered herd from slaughter, and Mbuno enlists the help of local tribesmen. But the corruption of ivory poachers has deep roots that stretch to UN refugee camps, Chinese gangs, and the Iranian elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Faced with overwhelming odds, the trio must now rely on Pero’s contacts in the CIA, as well as Mbuno’s skills in the bush, if they hope to ever return from this excursion alive . . .
Praise for Elephant Safari:
“If you’re in the mood for an African thriller series to add to your summer reading pile, Peter Riva has got you covered. Riva’s impressive career has provided him with plenty of inspiration for his novels, which he writes as a form of relaxation.”
~ The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News
“Many readers will enjoy this story for its fast pace, engaging characters, and insights into world politic. I particularly loved the depth of knowledge about the natural history and ecology of the East African landscape. This may be a thriller but it’s also an important book about the killing of elephants for their ivory tusks.”
~ Sharman Apt Russel- John Burroughs Medal winner
Elephant Safari trailer:
Book Details:
Genre: Action and Adventure Thriller
Published by: Open Road Media
Publication Date: January 30, 2024
Number of Pages: 302
ISBN: 9781504085335 (ISBN10: 1504085337)
Series: The Mbuno & Pero Thrillers, 4 | Each is a Stand-Alone Novel
To purchase your copy of Elephant Safari, click any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | BookaMillion | Goodreads | Open Road Media
Read an excerpt of Elephant Safari:
In modern Kenya and most of East Africa, elephant were dying out, Mbuno knew this and lamented. His chest ached for them. Gone were the innumerable small herds of his youth, mostly replaced by farms, settlements, human sprawl, and tourist attractions. What elephant remained had their age-old pathways and migration routes blocked, stopped, fenced, and constantly monitored. White men came and collared them, watched them on scopes, darted them, sampled them, and even shot them when they became a nuisance to farmers with cash. What elephants modern man did not manage in parks were easy prey for poachers. The days of the Liangulu hunter were over. Mbuno knew this, accepted this, and did not mind even half as much as he mourned the passing of the realm of the elephant.
All of Africa had once been the realm of the elephant. As the largest beast, immune to the normal prey and hunter battles going on all around, the elephant set the pace of the land, fertilized the forests, cropped the prairies, and paved the migration routes that all the migratory species followed. In times of drought, their superior intelligence showed where water could be found and even taught man to dig in dry riverbeds for a boundary layer of precious liquid. They created mud holes for mud baths to keep the insects at bay, used also by Cape buffalo and rhino. Over the millennia, they brushed aside acacia thorns and baobab saplings with equal ease creating the open plains. And, in time, Africa’s rhythm resounded to the beat of their feet and their migratory timekeeping. Without the elephant ruling the land, the land fell into the discordant rhythm of the upright apes and began to fracture. Mbuno had known the last best years of the elephant’s realm and, sadly, was now witnessing the fall of Africa’s harnessing stability. Without the elephant to freely roam, the balance of nature would be broken, herds would grow to enormous size in protected parks and, outside that protection, devoid of traditional hunters, herds could be led by weak leaders who would fail to protect them from ivory hunters. Mbuno had heard this had happened before. At the end of the slave and ivory trade, in 1911 there were fewer elephants than now and the herds were only brought back from extinction by White Hunters—led by Teddy Roosevelt—using farm and ranch husbandry methods – culling every senile cow and bull. Young, vibrant, herds repopulated the migration routes. But now the elephant and Mbuno’s tribal way of life were both threatened once again.
Mbuno looked back to make sure Pero and Nancy were crouched, waiting a few hundred yards away as he instructed. He then inched closer to the worrying herd, prone again, a sharp stone rolling under his hip painfully. He dared not move quickly, the bush above him would vibrate. He stopped any forward movement as he spotted feet, the small grey feet of a baby elephant, a mtoto.
One foot had an encircling, red, puss-oozing sore. Behind the mtoto’s feet stood the mother. Mbuno could see the way the weight was shifting on both mother and child that the mother was soothing the young one who would be in pain. Silent pain, the sign of a strong herd leader. Or a very frightened herd, one that is being hunted. The mtoto’s sore had been caused by a wire snare that had probably dropped off. Mbuno had seen this far too often. Now Mbuno felt compelled to do something, not just observe. It was now a matter of honor, duty, and common ancestry, not to mention his responsibility for the safety of his safari charges.
Mbuno’s mind made decisions quickly. In the bush, life and death were often just moments apart. Soundlessly, moving no bush or twig, he retreated the way he had come, donned his pants only, and set himself into a running crouch. It was his usual hunter’s pace, swift, determined, and ready for a change in direction. Circling the place where he knew the herd to be, he stayed four hundred yards away at least. Starting downwind and determinedly coming full half circle until he announced his presence to their sensitive noses, he tested their resolve. When he was sure they had smelled him, he knew there was real danger here because there was no charge, no bellowing threat, no foot stomp. The elephants could smell that he was only one man and also that he was a man of the bush. As Mbuno had feared, they clearly had a more dangerous enemy threat nearby, for they did not give themselves away. He continued his crouching circling run, sweating from adrenaline and the jini of the hunt. For he was hunting, but not elephant.
When he was three-quarters the way around his circle, he sensed, and then diving behind a fallen log on his stomach, he saw the men just outside the forest’s edge. One was sitting on a pickup truck’s hood and two stood in the flatbed. They wore no uniform. The man sitting was dressed as an Arab with a face scarf and camouflage trousers and bush shirt. He had binoculars but no gun. And two standing tribesmen looked like Pokot, Mbuno thought–northern, violent Maasai cousins. Hunters, not cattlemen. The two tribesmen had black rifles with yellow wood stocks and foregrips. Mbuno knew AK-47s when he saw them. Mbuno had seen these types of poachers before. They snared a baby and, in its squeals, it attracted the herd; close and closer until the slaughter would be efficient, deadly, machine gun rapid.
Standing behind a tree trunk on tiptoe, peeking out, Mbuno saw the panga (machete) on the flatbed tailgate, unsheathed, its 12-inch blade glistening, freshly sharpened. The back of the truck held two freshly drawn tusks; the brown blood still not yet black. The herd had been running and not just because of the mtoto.
Mbuno did not hesitate, did not reason, did not moralize. In the bush, the law of the land was kill or be killed. These men had killed, wasted the life of elephant, wanted to slaughter the rest, and were dishonorable. He saw them as little more than wanyama—vermin—to be stopped. Without altering his run, he circled behind the pickup and approached them from behind, soundlessly, before the men could even know he was coming.
***
Excerpt from Elephant Safari by Peter Riva. Copyright 2024 by Peter Riva. Reproduced with permission from Peter Riva. All rights reserved.
Guest Post from Peter Riva, Author of Elephant Safari
Imagine you are sitting around a campfire, man, woman, or teenager—and your favorite storyteller tells you a fantastic tale that resonates with values you understand, action that thrills and, above all, humor to offset momentary drama. The lasting impression should be a cozy feeling of a story well shared, a campfire experience memory to cherish—and an increased love of wildlife, if I’ve done my job properly. The backbone to my Mbuno and Pero stories is that Mbuno understands the nature of all wildlife — and Pero understands the complexities of the modern world. They are yin and yang, each complimenting—never competing with—the other. Both are inwardly peaceful men; both respect nature and colleagues as equals. Both also have a very strong protective streak. Once again it is happenstance that lands them in difficult situations and moral dilemmas that only their unique combined talents can extract them from.
Someone once asked me if authors should always follow the old adage of writing what they know. My response was yes… Been there, seen it all there, now share the “other” with readers. On top of that, events that are real can be interwoven to bring dimension to a simple story of an accidental need for action. Within that action can be an explanation of what boundaries have to be overcome and the morals necessary to sustain the protagonists. The premise for my books is always a simple, planned beginning where something suddenly goes horribly wrong or threatens the cast of characters – bringing out Mbuno’s and Pero’s strong sense of protectionism. So, when I start a novel, I plot only the beginning of an adventure that could remain ordinary and peaceful… then all hell breaks loose and my real-to-life global facts begin to weigh in, forcing plot twists and the incredible resourcefulness of Mbuno and Pero.
I knew the real Mbuno in the ‘80s. He and I shared that affinity for nature, an understanding that we are animals too. Seen from that perspective, I never feel I own my dog for example, but share my time with him or her for as long as I can. In the wild—where I live in southwest New Mexico—I respect, observe and generally stay away from some larger animals that I see as equals: lions, bears, snakes. I am never afraid. Wary? Sure. Feel part of nature? Always. Reality in nature as in life is a strength.
I first visited the African continent in 1966, aged 16. In the early ‘80s through the late ‘90s, I produced magazine features, TV commercials, primetime TV specials – all over East Africa –and then 78x 1-hour animal documentaries in 60+ countries. In ’82, at Hog Ranch, in Kenya, I met and spent time with Mbuno, a Waliangulu scout, until he passed in early 1991. His father had been a guide to Teddy Roosevelt and Mbuno, then aged 80 or so, had been Bill Holden’s and Hemingway’s scout. On foot safaris, just the two of us, Mbuno shared the real East Africa with me, his ancestry, and his tribal story. His connection to the land reminded me of the American Indians’ nature-centric culture and oneness. His capabilities in the bush were unique and extraordinary.
My personal passion for the news and a wonderful boarding school experience with 60+ nationalities allows me to have insight into international perspective, events, and possibilities that, cobbled together, can be woven into a gripping tale. I am not a literary writer, but I do tell a good story. I try to be a simple story-teller, sharing my experiences and knowledge for the pleasure of doing so and to give pleasure. Perhaps it is a primordial need to impart what I know and have experienced for the benefit of future generations; kind of like the Norse sagas or the Canterbury Tales – there is deep truth in there even when disguised as thrilling tales.
Peter Riva — Author of Elephant Safari
Peter Riva has traveled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, spending many months spanning thirty years with legendary guides for East African adventurers. He created the Wild Things television series in 1995 and has worked for more than forty years as a literary agent.
Riva writes science fiction and African adventure books, including the Mbuno & Pero thrillers. He lives in Gila, New Mexico.
To learn more about Peter, click any of the following links:
www.PeterRiva.com
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram – @peterriva_author
Facebook – @peter.riva
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06/24 Interview @ Literary Gold
06/25 Review @ Country Mamas With Kids
06/26 Review @ Novels Alive
06/26 Showcase @ Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense
06/28 Review @ FullyBookedInKentucky
07/01 Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
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07/03 Showcase @ Guatemala Paula Loves to Read
07/04 Guest post @ The Mystery of Writing
07/10 Interview @ darciahelle
07/12 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
07/16 Podcast reading of the excerpt @ Books to the Ceiling
07/16 Review @ The AR Critique
07/17 Review @ Why Not? Because I Said So Book Reviews
07/17 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
07/18 Review @ Enjoyingbooksagain
07/19 Review @ fundinmental
08/21 Book Talk with Fran Lewis Radio Interview
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12/13 Mysteries to Die For: Toe Tags Podcast
Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
Very interesting guest post. This sounds like such a great book! 🙂