Why am I passionate about this?

I have been to, and loved, North, Central, and especially East Africa for over fifty years. Only six times have I been to Africa on holiday; more often, perhaps twenty or more times, as a television producer. Working in Africa gains a perspective of reality that the glories of vacation do not. Each has its place, each its pitfalls like stalled plane rides with emergency landings in the bush or attacks by wildlife. But, in the end, the magic of the ā€œotherness,ā€ what an old friend called ā€œprimitavaā€ captures oneā€™s soul and changes your life.


I wrote

Kidnapped on Safari

By Peter Riva,

Book cover of Kidnapped on Safari

What is my book about?

"Peter Rivaā€™s singular ability to both entertain and inform is captured in this literary tour-de-force; a page-turner in every senseā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Heart of Darkness

Peter Riva Why did I love this book?

Seeing Africa and the dangers of Western assumption played out on that raw terrain was Conradā€™s genius. The ā€œothernessā€ of that land, reflected in actions and reactions by Marlow stand as examples of seeing reality dissolve in favor of desperate perspective needed to survive. The depth of truth here, the experience he brings to the reader of a land people think (mistakenly) has changed are unique and prescient.

By Joseph Conrad,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked Heart of Darkness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Although Polish by birth, Joseph Conrad (1857ā€“1924) is regarded as one of the greatest writers in English, and Heart of Darkness, first published in 1902, is considered by many his "most famous, finest, and most enigmatic story." ā€” Encyclopaedia Britannica. The tale concerns the journey of the narrator (Marlow) up the Congo River on behalf of a Belgian trading company. Far upriver, he encounters the mysterious Kurtz, an ivory trader who exercises an almost godlike sway over the inhabitants of the region. Both repelled and fascinated by the man, Marlow is brought face to face with the corruption and despairā€¦


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Book cover of Radio Free Olympia

Radio Free Olympia by Jeffrey Dunn,

Embark on a riveting journey into Washington Stateā€™s untamed Olympic Peninsula, where the threads of folklore legends and historical icons are woven into a complex ecological tapestry.

Follow the enigmatic Petr as he fearlessly employs his pirate radio transmitter to broadcast the forgotten and untamed voices that echo through theā€¦

Book cover of The Mission Song

Peter Riva Why did I love this book?

A man bereft of connection to the modern world is used, agreeing to be so, by the spy world with consequences neither he nor his handlers predicted. A wonderful journey undercutting & exposing Western misuse of Africa and African rights. Nobody writes the ordinary man stepping up to a great task in thrillers better than Le CarrĆ©. Le CarrĆ© uses intellect as demonstration of character, and in so doing, he finds redemption in morals needed to achieve a thrillerā€™s conclusion.

By John Le CarrƩ, John le CarrƩ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Mission Song as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Mesmerising' Sunday Times

As an interpreter of African languages, Bruno Salvador is much in demand. He makes it a principle to remain neutral - no matter what he hears. But when he is summoned on a secret job for British Intelligence, he is told he will have to get his hands dirty. His mission is to help bring democracy to the Congo - democracy that will be delivered at the end of a gun barrel.

The Mission Song is an excoriating depiction of a corrupt world where loyalty can be bought and war is simply an opportunity to settle oldā€¦


Book cover of The Ipcress File

Peter Riva Why did I love this book?

The perfect example of the anti-hero somewhat reluctantly taking on the responsibility and, in the end, realizing that who he thought was protecting him, were happy to leave him die, if needed. Harry (unnamed in the book) became the perfect anti-hero who wins through.

Deighton always wrote and understood that actions by simple people could rise calamitous events. In his books he writes of simple, brave, actions which, when viewed from the conclusion of events only then, are realized as globally pivotal.

By Len Deighton,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Ipcress File as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Len Deighton's classic first novel, whose
protagonist is a nameless spy - later christened Harry Palmer and made famous worldwide in the iconic 1960s film starring Michael Caine.

The Ipcress File was not only Len Deighton's first novel, it was his first bestseller and the book that broke the mould of thriller writing.

For the working class narrator, an apparently straightforward mission to find a missing biochemist becomes a journey to the heart of a dark and deadly conspiracy.

The film of The Ipcress File gave Michael Caine one of his first and still most celebrated starring roles, while theā€¦


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Book cover of Eclipse Chasers

Eclipse Chasers by Nick Lomb,

Forthcoming eclipses coming up in Australia include that of 22 July 2028, which will cross Australia from the Northern Territory to Sydney, home of the internationally famous sights of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Eclipse Chasers will act as a guidebook for both locals and international visitors, givingā€¦

Book cover of Lightseekers

Peter Riva Why did I love this book?

Understanding and writing brilliantly about the reality of African tribalism and desperate clinging to homeland, this bookā€”words hidden in a page-turning thrillerā€”exposes the reality of modern Africa where politics are used to support millenia-old tribal desires.

An anti-hero, thrust into circumstances beyond his normal ability, Dr. Philip Taiwo mustā€”and doesā€”rely on instinct and personal morals to advance his investigation. He soon realizes that he cannot handle events alone, relying on Chica in much the same way Pero, in my novel, relies on Mbuno.

By Femi Kayode,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Lightseekers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Waterstones Thriller of the Month 'Lightseekers is ripe with all the twists and turns you could hope for... A fast-paced thriller that offers insight into the ever present tensions in a poverty stricken community. An action-packed and spirited debut' Oyinkan Braithwaite, author of My Sister, the Serial Killer Selected as a Best Crime Novel of the Month by The Times, Sunday Times, Independent, Guardian, Observer, Financial Times and Irish Times. Winner of the 2019 UEA Crime Writing Prize, Lightseekers is the start of a major new crime series introducing investigative psychologist Dr Philip Taiwo. When three young students are brutallyā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Kidnapped on Safari

By Peter Riva,

Book cover of Kidnapped on Safari

What is my book about?

"Peter Rivaā€™s singular ability to both entertain and inform is captured in this literary tour-de-force; a page-turner in every sense of the term."ā€”David Ariosto, author of This is Cuba: An American Journalist Under Castro's Shadow and executive producer of Intelligence Squared

ā€œBest of all, Riva delivers rat-a-tat action, rarely letting up, building to a nail-biter conclusion. Move over Jason Bourne. Baltazar is here." ā€” Mary Glickman, bestselling author of Home in the Morning and National Jewish Book Award finalist for One More River

Book cover of Heart of Darkness
Book cover of The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories
Book cover of The Mission Song

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Book cover of Beneath the Stairs

Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett,

In this spine-tingling, atmospheric ā€œnail-biter of a novelā€ (Shelf Awareness), a woman returns to her hometown after her childhood friend attempts suicide at an alleged haunted houseā€”the same place where a traumatic incident shattered their lives twenty years ago.

Few in sleepy Sumnerā€™s Mills have stumbled across the Octagon Houseā€¦

Book cover of Draakensky: A Supernatural Tale of Magick and Romance

Draakensky by Paula Cappa,

A murder. A wind sorcerer. A dark spirit.

On Draakensky Windmill Estate, magick and mystery rule. Sketch artist Charlotte Knight is hired to live on the estate while illustrating poetry under the direction of the reclusive spinster, and wind witch, Jaa Morlandā€”who believes in ghosts. Charlotte quickly encounters the voiceā€¦

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