A novel of family dynamics set in MAINE
Thriller set on the slopes of KILIMANJARO, Tanzania
27th July 2023
The Contest by Karen Hamilton, thriller set on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano, created by three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira, and is the highest free-standing mountain in the world and one of the seven summits. What’s so incredible, however, is that you don’t need any specialist equipment to climb it.
I was drawn to this title because of the location. We had a wonderful holiday in Tanzania a few years ago and I wanted to revisit the country through fiction – because that is after all what TripFiction.com is all about.
BVT is a very upmarket tour company, who has arranged a climbing trip to Kilimanjaro for its elite guests. They are accompanied by members of the travel team, who are tasked with a secret agenda – there is a contest between the team members to out-do each other as they usher their charges up the slopes.
Florence is determined to find out what happened to George, who was on a challenging trip courtesy of BVT last year. She also has a life shattering surprise thrust upon her early on in the story but given the terrain and task, she cannot devote the time to thinking through the implications. The lure of the prize at the end of the ascent is the driving force for those taking part.
Hugo Blackmore founded the company in the 1980s and continues to run it now but is looking for a successor. The most obvious choice would be his son Jacob, who is also on this trip vying for the ultimate prize. Hugo is a ruthless man both in business and in his private life and it is his idea to pit his employees against each other. Things have not gone smoothly over the years and an on-line blogger is telling unsavoury tales about the company.
Back home another travel company has set up, challenging BVT on several fronts, especially on the green sustainability ticket, and given that Hugo is an internet dinosaur, the social media savviness of BVT is under-developed. They are distinctly on the back foot. The BVT team keeps a wary eye on their rival’s activities as far as they can.
When the climb is well underway, it is clear that there are dark forces at work, an unusual scorpion is discovered in a zipped bag, a shard of glass in a sleeping bag…
The premise of this novel is good. It is set over a few days as the party makes its way up the mountainside, with overnight stops to eat and socialise and play boardgames, supported all the while with a group of cooks and porters. There is a good sense of locale.
There were several elements that didn’t work so well for me. There were just too many heavy-duty threads slotted into the story that made it feel unwieldy. Storylines clearly had to be found that would flesh out the innumerable trekking periods, filling time as the individuals climb, battling stomach upsets and altitudes sickness, whilst the BVT employees think up ever more zany ways with which to impress the guests. It all felt a bit muddled.
I guess I wasn’t particularly convinced by the exceptional levels of luxury afforded to BVT clients, which is supposed to be a tour agency that goes above and beyond. There is a lot of ‘herding’ and the clients move along in ‘crocodiles’. I wouldn’t pay good money for that. The travel team members, given that this is a competitive assignment, are thinking on the hoof, how to outshine the other tour leaders and impress the punters. It just didn’t feel convincing given the guests had probably paid tens of thousands of pounds to take part and would expect the absolute best.
All in all there was just too much going on, it had everything thrown at it, which made the storyline feel choppy and unrealistic. There could have been considerable tension and pace but there just wasn’t, I felt a bit as though I had laboured up the mountainside in the company of the characters. The storyline, I felt, needed some sharpening and streamlining and perhaps a firmer editorial hand would have given the narrative cohesive shape.
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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With thanks to the publisher for an early copy.
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