The Delta by Tony Park

Publisher's Synopsis

After a failed assassination attempt on the president of Zimbabwe, ex-soldier turned mercenary Sonja Kurtz is on the run and heads for her only place of refuge, the Okavango Delta in the heart of Botswana. She's looking to rekindle a romance with her childhood sweetheart, safari camp manager Sterling Smith, and desperately wants a fresh start and to leave her perilous warrior lifestyle behind.

But Sonja discovers her beloved Delta is on the brink of destruction. She is recruited as an "eco-commando" in a bid to halt a project that will destroy forever the Delta's fragile network of swamps and waterways.

Soon Sonja finds herself caught in a deadly web of intrigue involving Sterling, the handsome Martin Steele - her mercenary commander, and a TV heartthrob and wildlife documentary presenter "Coyote" Sam Chapman who blunders out of the bush in a reality show gone wrong.

Instead of escaping her violent past, Sonja is now surrounded by men who are relying on her killer instincts to save the day. Where she came to find peace, she finds war... and it is not just the survival of the Delta that is at stake.

My Review of The Delta by Tony Park

The first book in the Sonja Kurtz series, The Delta takes place mainly in Botswana and Namibia. Apart from featuring Kurtz, one of the most accomplished former soldiers not working as a mercenary, the story discusses the potential devastating consequences of damming the Okavango River, both for the wildlife and the Caprivi people who live downstream. 

When we first meet Sonja she’s in the process of carrying out an attempted assassination of the president of Zimbabwe. It’s an attempt that goes spectacularly wrong owing to the fact she’s been set up and it’s only due to her extensive training and cunning that she’s able to escape the trap. She has no choice but to head for the safety of Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

A plan has been hatched by a bunch of local rich landowners with the help of an outside mercenary commander to save the delta. It’s an audacious plan that’s filled with danger and requires personnel who know their way around illegal incursions and explosives. As it happens, one of the landowners is Sterling Smith, a local safari manager and the mercenary commander is Martin Steele. Both Sterling and Martin have a history with Sonja and she’s roped into taking an active part in the plan.

Also in the area is a wildlife documentary crew from the US who are putting together a series featuring their main man ‘Coyote’ Sam Chapman. Think Bear Grylls, I guess. After Sam is rescued by Sonja after a poorly thought out solo survival expedition goes awry he and a few of the more obnoxious members of his crew, come along for the ride to visit the dam under the pretense of creating a promotional piece to present to the world.

This introduction to the unstoppable force that is Sonja Kurtz is filled with full-on action sequences that barely gives you time to catch your breath. She presents as a highly competent killer who is well versed in survival in the African wilderness. She’s also no-nonsense who doesn’t suffer fools gladly which appears to augur very badly for ‘Coyote’ Sam. But through all this we catch her more vulnerable side and gain a more complete understanding of the motives behind her mercenary actions.

As usual, Tony Park provides us with a highly informative picture of the countries in which his story is set. Drought, selfish governments looking after only local interests and the effects of climate change are all key issues that have a huge impact on this part of Namibia and Botswana. His in-depth knowledge of the region shines through and plays an important part in bringing this action thriller to life.

As with all action thrillers, though, there are many sequences that push the boundaries of believability. That being said, this is an endlessly entertaining story that provides numerous running gun battles, unexpected double crosses and deadly twists that completely change the course of the plot. And it all flies by at an incredible pace.

There’s a lot to like here and definitely whets the appetite to come back for more to see what Sonja Kurtz is going to do next.