Murders in the Mist: Who Killed Dian Fossey?

From Publishers Weekly
When gorilla expert Dian Fossey was murdered in Rwanda in central Africa in 1985, local authorities charged her research student, Wayne McGuire. He escaped the country, but Fossey's chief tracker, Emmanuel Rwelekona, was arrested as an accomplice. He was later found hanged in his prison cell; the official verdict of suicide was widely doubted. In 1991, Gordon ( Ivory Knights ), accompanying a food convoy from Kenya to the Sudan, heard from the drivers about extensive smuggling of gold, drugs and gorillas from Rwanda. Back in London, reading about Rwanda, he discovered conflicting accounts of Fossey's death and began an investigation that would take him to the U.S., Belgium, Estonia and Africa. With Abdul, a raffish interpreter he met in Nairobi, he pursued answers from anyone associated with Fossey. Learning of more, connected murders and finding evidence that Rwelekona's death was not suicide, Gordon follows a trail that ultimately incriminates those at the highest levels of Rwanda's government, including the king's wife and her brother. As this review goes to press, civil strife in Rwanda is making front-page news. Photos. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Murders is about violent death in Rwanda; it is not about Dian Fossey's life or gorillas or conservation. Gordon heard stories about illegal trading: When they were linked with Fossey's puzzling murder, he decided to pursue the story. His pursuit covers three continents and dozens of participants, Rwanda officials, and witnesses, who are corrupt and dangerous, incompetent, or fearful of their own lies, reporting different versions of most facts. Clues lead to other dead people; at least seven associated with Fossey's killing died suspiciously, one unquestionably killed. Gordon and his sidekick Abdul have a taste for risk and indulge in crude asides comparable to fictional adventures in exotic places, but they amass solid evidence that Fossey's murder was linked to illegal trading in gorillas and other contraband. It was misrepresented and led to a cover-up. Virginia Dwyer


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When gorilla expert Dian Fossey was murdered in Rwanda in central Africa in 1985, local authorities charged her research student, Wayne McGuire. He escaped the country, but Fossey's chief tracker, Emmanuel Rwelekona, was arrested as an accomplice. He was later found hanged in his prison cell; the official verdict of suicide was widely doubted. In 1991, Gordon ( Ivory Knights ), accompanying a food convoy from Kenya to the Sudan, heard from the drivers about extensive smuggling of gold, drugs and gorillas from Rwanda. Back in London, reading about Rwanda, he discovered conflicting accounts of Fossey's death and began an investigation that would take him to the U.S., Belgium, Estonia and Africa. With Abdul, a raffish interpreter he met in Nairobi, he pursued answers from anyone associated with Fossey. Learning of more, connected murders and finding evidence that Rwelekona's death was not suicide, Gordon follows a trail that ultimately incriminates those at the highest levels of Rwanda's government, including the king's wife and her brother. As this review goes to press, civil strife in Rwanda is making front-page news. Photos. (May)


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