A good book about a film maker safari to Mount Kilmanjaro in the 1920's. Is there a murderer in the company or are they just cursed? Is Jade the reason bad things keep happening? I enjoyed this book about very different people and different cultures in Africa. It still is somewhere that I would like to go visit. ( )

Treasure of the Golden Cheetah by Suzanne Arruda is the 5th book in her Jade del Cameron series. Jade has been hired to escort a film crew on Safari to Mount Kilimanjaro where they are making a movie that is based on an African legend about a secret treasure. But on the eve of departure the producer of the film is killed by a seemingly crazed native and this begins a series of mis-adventures that plague the making of this film.

Out in the bush Jade is trying to find out who is trying to sabotage the film while back in Nairobi, her fellow, Sam Eastlake is trying to find out the backstory behind this film crew, as he too feels that things aren’t quite right. When Sam does put some of the pieces together he tries to rush to Jade’s side, but he is too late and Jade is left to face a vicious murderer on her own.

This series of historical mysteries is a fun one. Set in 1920’s Africa it has strong characters and exotic locations. In each book time is always taken to explore native traditions, but the mystery is usually front and center and requires Jade and her friends to pick up on clues and put the pieces together. ( )

Jade once again finds herself in danger when she joins Harry Hascombe as a guide for a film crew. Before the group even leaves, the producer is killed by a crazed native who was drugged. As the team continues up Kiliminjaro, further mishaps as well as a death curse create danger and tension while Sam Featherstone, who remains behind, begins to question his proposal to marry Jade. ( )

While I enjoy Jade del Cameron stories and Arruda can spin a great tale, jade was not on the top of her game in this adventure. There were so many mishaps that were written off and over looked that the reader is tempted to call out 'Wake up you idiots!." Or "Are you all blind? Little things got my goat one of which was that I found it too hard to believe that men would rather have frostbite than wear socks. All in all what the problem was that Jade's was inconsistent. She usually is observant and can add two and two. ( )

First Line: The woman astride the poppy red Indian Power Plus motorcycle would have been considered beautiful in many cultures.

When I saw that there was a new Jade del Cameron mystery out, I knew I was running behind. Sure enough, there was Treasure of the Golden Cheetah sitting on my shelves staring balefully out at me. Although I do try to keep one unsampled volume of favorite mystery series on hand, I don't want to get too far behind the story. Off the shelf came the book, and I began to read.

It's Kenya in 1920, and Jade finds herself hired on as second-in-command on a safari run by Harry Hascombe. Hascombe has agreed to take a Hollywood film crew to Mt. Kilimanjaro to make a movie based on an ancient legend of King Solomon's lost treasure. Before they even have a chance to leave Nairobi, the producer is stabbed to death by a native who then commits suicide. This death throws a pall over the entire expedition which, once it begins to climb Kilimanjaro's slopes, is beset by deadly hoaxes and serious accidents. Before this is all over, Jade will be glad that she's accompanied by the young healer Jelani and her pet cheetah, Biscuit.

At one time I referred to these books as a guilty pleasure and my "Saturday Matinee Reading". It is past time for me to say that they have involved into much more than that. Jade-- although still talented, beautiful and headstrong-- no longer behaves as though she's ten feet tall and bulletproof. Arruda has done an excellent job in researching the area and the era. (For example, this book had the added bonus of showing us what train travel was like in the Africa of 1920.) The character of the young Kikuyu, Jelani, not only gives us a look at native life and customs but allows us to see how natives were treated by the white people who ruled the roost.

I enjoy the early motorcycles and airplanes, and being on safari with a Hollywood crew of actors and technicians was in turn funny and exasperating, as Jade discovered: "Sweet Millard Fillmore. Can't these people be left alone for more than five minutes without someone having a hissy fit?"

An added, enjoyable, plot thread is the relationship between Jade and pilot/ filmmaker Sam Featherstone. Both of them are a bit too stubborn for their own good. Neither of them want to live alone. They love each other. But Sam won't think outside the box and Jade refuses to even look inside the box as far as making that final commitment to each other.

This entire series has been a fascinating journey, and I can't wait for it to continue in the next book, The Crocodile's Last Embrace. ( )