Safari, Parnell Hall
Safari, Parnell Hall
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Safari

Author: Parnell Hall

Narrator: Johnny Heller

Unabridged: 6 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/15/2014

Synopsis

The new Stanley Hastings mystery caper takes the ever-loquacious private detective on safari in Zambia—what could possibly go wrong?Stanley Hastings on safari? I don't think so. Neither did Stanley, until Alice's small inheritance—coupled with scrimping on a few luxuries like food and rent—allowed them to book a group trip to Zambia. Now the New York PI is hiking with lions, canoeing with hippos, and having close encounters with elephants and giraffes.It's a dangerous safari. The leader is a reckless, gung-ho great white hunter who delights in leaping from the jeep with a hearty, "Come on, gang, let's see where this lion is going!" And a series of bizarre accidents quickly dwindles the group's numbers. Why was the guide's young spotter foolish enough to walk under a sausage fruit tree just as one of the huge fruits fell? And how did the leaves of a poisonous plant wind up in a tourist's salad? Are these really accidents?A stabbing tips the scale. It's murder, and the only policeman in a hundred miles is a park ranger whose only murder case was that of an ivory poacher shot dead in plain sight.It's up to Stanley to crack the case—if he can just avoid being eaten by a lion.

About Parnell Hall

Parnell Hall is the author of the Stanley Hastings private eye novels, the Puzzle Lady crossword mystery series, and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas. His works have been finalists for the Edgar, Shamus, and Lefty awards. He is also an actor, screenwriter, and former private investigator.

About Johnny Heller

Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kylie on November 04, 2019

An amusing mystery, we have New York PI Stanley Hastings going on a well earned safari holiday to Zambia with his wife. What is supposed to be a peaceful relaxing time turns out to be anything but, with a series of accidents overtaking the tour group. Stanley is not convinced they are accidents howe......more

Goodreads review by Bev on April 21, 2015

I picked up Parnell Hall's Safari on my latest trip to the library. It grabbed my interest because it takes place on a safari set in Zambia (and Zimbabwe) and I'm always on the look-out for stories set in different countries to help me with the Travel the World Challenge. It also had an interesting......more

Goodreads review by Kaye on December 21, 2014

This was the first time I had read a Parnell Hall mystery. I picked it up because of the cover. I like murder and adventure in one book. It was simplistic writing, but I've been a traveler so I could see that the author had been on a safari and was writing from his experiences--so far so good. In th......more

Goodreads review by Betsy on December 26, 2019

I just hope my safari is nothing like his!......more

Goodreads review by Robert on December 13, 2021

What happens when Stanley Hastings, the bumbling New York City PI, and his wife Alice go on an African safari? The funniest mystery I've ever read. That first sentence is essentially the plot of the book - this series isn't complicated or profound, just purely entertaining. There are, of course, bodi......more

Quotes

“Edgar-finalist Hall’s rollicking nineteenth Stanley Hastings mystery takes the hapless New York City PI and his wife, Alice, to Zambia and Zimbabwe on safari…Hall’s smooth style, ready sense of humor, and unusual take on murders in an untamed yet confined setting provide an enjoyable outing for armchair travelers.” Publishers Weekly

“When murder and an inexperienced park ranger collide, Stanley has to step up to the plate before he becomes a lion’s dinner.” Library Journal

“Johnny Heller’s narration captures everyone’s attitudes and emotions in this humorous book. He excels at Stanley’s first-person point of view and is especially adept with a tour guide’s accent, which is a bit of Down Under mixed with Kiwi…This is a fun jaunt through the African wilderness as Stanley divides his time between staying out of the way of stampeding elephants and solving murders.” AudioFile

“Wisecracking private investigator Stanley Hastings steps out of his familiar New York surroundings to go on an African safari with his impatient and equally quick-witted wife, Alice…Series readers will enjoy seeing Alice and the always irreverent Stanley outside their comfort zone. The tour guides and their charges provide an interesting cross-section of suspects, and Hall rewards genre devotees by throwing in a librarian pair who became friends on the popular listserv DorothyL. Another funny, brisk entry in the long-running series.” Booklist

“In his  nineteenth appearance, Stanley once more faces a case he’s convinced is too tough for him. Hall complements his struggles with amusing repartee and enough red herrings to keep it interesting.” Kirkus Reviews

“Parnell Hall succeeds in making Stanley Hastings one of a kind. Pleasantly reminiscent of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.” Wall Street Journal, praise for the series

“The charm in Stanley Hastings lies in his chummy, loquacious, self-deprecating commentary as the narrator of his adventures.” Washington Post Book World, praise for the series

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