by Tony Park
As with previous books, I’ve surrendered the difficult (for me, at least) task of thinking up names for my characters to a number of worthy charities who have sold or auctioned off the rights for generous people to have their names assigned to the cast of The Cull and raised money for many good causes in the process.
Thank you to the following individuals and the organisations they supported: James Paterson (Worldshare International in support of the Heal Africa hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo); Rosie Appleton and Ian Barton (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation); Tim Clyde-Smith on behalf of Julianne Clyde-Smith, and Doug Pearse (Australian Rhino Project); Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane, head of the Zion Christian Church of South Africa on behalf of his son, Ezekial Lekganyane (Limpopo Rhino Security Group); Ken Mills on behalf of Helen Mills (Khowarib Village School, Namibia); Dr Nikola Pesev (Friends of Robins Camp, Hwange National Park); and Donna Machado on behalf of Mario Machado (Breaking the Brand, an NGO tackling demand for rhino horn in Vietnam).
I have taken a voluntary role as a media officer for the UK-based charity Veterans For Wildlife, which pairs former military personnel, who have served in conflicts around the world, with anti-poaching units and conservation projects in Africa on a volunteer basis. Sonja’s fictitious unit ‘The Leopards’ is, in fact, based on the real life Black Mambas, South Africa’s first all-woman anti-poaching unit and I was lucky enough to meet this impressive group of people through Veterans For Wildlife. The Mambas are doing inspirational work protecting wildlife, and breaking down gender barriers and empowering African women at the same time. You can read more about the Black Mambas and the real life volunteers who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq and now in the fight against poaching at www.veterans4wildlife.org
I’m often asked if I find the process of editing a book difficult, when I receive feedback on what I’ve written. I don’t. I feel privileged and lucky to be part of the Pan Macmillan family in many parts of the world and when publishing director Cate Paterson, editor Danielle Walker, copy editor Brianne Collins or proofreader Alex Craig point something out to me that I’ve missed or could have done differently my first reaction, invariably, is ‘why didn’t I think of that’? Thank you all for your support, guidance, advice, professionalism and friendship since that first book, Far Horizon, came out in 2004.
And most of all, if you’ve made it this far, thank you. I wouldn’t be here without you.
Tony Park
About Tony Park
Tony Park was born in 1964 and grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, a press secretary, a PR consultant and a freelance writer. He also served 34 years in the Australian Army Reserve, including six months as a public affairs officer in Afghanistan in 2002. He and his wife, Nicola, divide their time equally between Australia and southern Africa. He is the author of thirteen other African novels.
Also by Tony Park
Far Horizon
Zambezi
African Sky
Safari
Silent Predator
Ivory
The Delta
African Dawn
Dark Heart
The Prey
The Hunter
An Empty Coast
Red Earth
Part of the Pride, with Kevin Richardson
War Dogs, with Shane Bryant
The Grey Man, with John Curtis
The Lost Battlefield of Kokoda, with Brian Freeman
Walking Wounded, with Brian Freeman
MORE BESTSELLING FICTION FROM TONY PARK
Red Earth
On the outskirts of Durban, Suzanne Fessey fights back during a vicious carjacking. She kills one thief but the other, wounded, escapes with her baby strapped into the back seat.
Called in to pursue the missing vehicle are helicopter pilot Nia Carras and local wildlife researcher Mike Dunn.
But South Africa’s police have even bigger problems: a suicide bomber has killed the American ambassador.
As Mike and Nia track the missing baby through Zululand and Zimbabwe, they come to realise that the war on terror has arrived in their part of the world.
‘[a] frantic chase . . . told by a master of the craft.’ herald sun
‘Fans of David Baldacci, Wilbur Smith and Ken Follett will love this heart-racing thriller from the master of adventure.’ daily examiner
An Empty Coast
A body. A cover-up. A buried secret.
Sonja Kurtz – former soldier, supposedly retired mercenary – is in Vietnam carrying out a personal revenge mission when her daughter sends a call for help.
Emma, a student archaeologist on a dig at the edge of Namibia’s Etosha National Park, has discovered a body dating back to the country’s liberation war of the 1980s.
The remains of the airman, identified as Hudson Brand, are a key piece of a puzzle that will reveal the location of a modern-day buried treasure – a find people will kill for.
Sonja returns to the country of her birth to find Emma, who since her call has gone missing.
Former CIA agent Hudson Brand is very much alive and is also drawn back to Namibia to finally solve a decades-old mystery whose clues are entombed in an empty corner of the desert.
‘Park writes with vigour and the story unfolds . . . with plenty of action . . . fascinating characters, interesting history and a real love of the country.’ canberra times
‘Gripping action thrillers . . . never disappoints as a storyteller.’ daily telegraph
This is a work of fiction. Characters, institutions and organisations mentioned in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously without any intent to describe actual conduct.
First published 2017 in Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
1 Market Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2000
Copyright © Tony Park 2017
The moral right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.
All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
This ebook may not include illustrations and/or photographs that may have been in the print edition.
The author and the publisher have made every effort to contact copyright holders for material used in this book. Any person or organisation that may have been overlooked should contact the publisher.
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available
from the National Library of Australia
http://catalogue.nla.gov.au
EPUB format: 9781760556112
Typeset by Post Pre-press Group
Cartographic art by Laurie Whiddon, Map Illustrations
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