I would like to thank NetGalley for the wonderful novel Rubbing Stones by Nancy Burkey. This story is about two families from different parts of the world, coming together in unlikely events, and spiraling into dangerous circumstances. A family from California, trying to get a grip on values for their teenage children, and in the parallel, a family from Botswana, whom a brother is in serious trouble with the law in Zimbabwe, all travel to rapids of Victoria Falls, where their lives and missions intertwine. A very interesting read about desperation, politics in Africa, as well as family and human bonds formed in unfortunate circumstances.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Dr. Jane O'Neal and her husband Rick, a state legislator, take her sons on a trip to Africa. The primary objective is building a clinic, however, the trip starts with a rafting trip down the Zambezi River. Their trip takes a turn when Japera and Katura, a brother and sister in Zimbabwe hoping to free their older brother, become involved with members of the MDC. Dr. Burkey's story about a contemporary American family and their interactions with African natives includes insight into family dynamics, the political upheaval that the natives are facing, and how the two became entwined.

I am always up for a new author and Nancy Burkey has achieved a spectacular first novel. With strong female characters, the journey from California to Botswana and the rafting trip down the Zambezi River is well-developed and enticing. Definitely worth reading. Recommended.

Dr. Jane O’Neil, an American psychiatry professor decides to book her family first on a rafting trip down the Zambezi river in Africa, and then on to help a colleague, Sam Mtubu who has been building a clinic in Botswana to help give back to his homeland. Jane's eldest son Michael gets into trouble and she feels this trip would be a good way for him, and his younger brother to see outside their little world of girls, soccer, friends etc. hoping that it might make Michael feel good about himself, doing for others.
Then the story is also about Katura and Japera, a brother and sister who take off from their home with their cousin Thabani, to see if they could release their brother in Zimbabwe, where he was arrested by mistake.
All of these characters end up involved in the Rafting expedition, where the clients of the trip become hostages. The story from there becomes quite interesting with a look out how they fare in the camp, who is on whose side, who can be trusted and schemes to find a way out of the situation. This part I enjoyed quite a bit.
I felt that there was not enough information on most people and one was left with what happened to some of the characters. I got the main gist of what the reasons were, but not in depth enough to make me feel the cause.
I would definitely read another book by this author.

Although I generally avoid the suspense/action genre, Rubbing Stones by Nancy Burkey caught my attention for two reasons. First , it is a cross cultural narrative, involving a contemporary American family and a contemporary African family. Secondly, family is an important part of that narrative. Common themes of honesty, loyalty, and what it means to be part of a family emerge very quickly. After reading the opening chapters, I decided to take a chance on the genre. Rubbing Stones did not disappoint.

The story opens in Northern California with a family in crisis. From the beginning, I was quickly drawn into the narrative. The fast action of the opening chapters made me curious about this American family. Within just a few chapters, I was introduced to a likable family in Botswana but a family that was also on the edge of crisis. The action does not slow down nor did my fingers as I turned the pages. Ms Burkey does a masterful job of weaving the details together, creating a tightly constructed plot that unfolds with a variety of twists and turns. Some of these are predictable but there is enough unpredictability to keep the reader wondering. Since the story involves political unrest and hostage taking, there is a lot of action and many “how are they going to get out of this” moments but that’s what the genre is all about, right?

For me, characters are the most interesting part of any novel. Are they engaging to me? Do I care about what happens to them? In Rubbing Stones, the characters that I came to care about the most were the younger people. The teenage characters from the Botswana family are strong, attractive, and sympathetic. I had a harder time getting to know the American teenagers, especially the older brother Michael. I was, however, curious about him and wanted to see him work out the issues that were in front of him. The mother in the American family was a little less believable. I can’t imagine how a real person could be as calm and collected under crisis as this character was but, hey, it’s a novel. The least developed characters were the “bad guys”, those politically motivated hostage takers, but I knew enough to know that I wanted the characters that I cared about to get out of there safely.

In short, I recommend Rubbing Stones to anyone who is looking for a fast paced, thoughtful, and entertaining read. Five stars.