The Rhino Conspiracy, Peter Hain

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I picked it up in the airport in Cape Town after spending a week in South Africa and had high hopes based on Haim’s biography, the subject matter, and the promise of a gripping thriller. Sadly, this book just was not what I was expecting. Haim seemingly could not resist turning this work of fiction into a vessel for preaching South African Politics and History 101. The characters are distant, cold, and unrealistic, and their dialogue is so unnatural that it pulls the reader out of the story completely. This book is so interested in being a “did you know” scolding lesson on corruption, racism, sexism, and so many socio-political issues that it falls flat as an effort to tell a gripping story. Maybe Haim would be better off sticking to his work as a politician and non-fiction author.