The Serpent's Daughter (Jade del Cameron Series #3) by Suzanne Arruda

From the Publisher

Embark on a "rollicking tale of adventure and suspense"(Library Journal) through 1920s Morocco—third in the acclaimed series, now in paperback.

Joining her mother for a holiday in the ancient port city of Tangier, American adventuress Jade del Cameron expects their trip will be far less dangerous than her safaris in East Africa. But soon after their introduction to a group of European tourists, Doña del Cameron goes missing—victim of an apparent kidnapping—and, shockingly, the French authorities seek to arrest Jade for the murder of a man whose body she discovered in a series of ancient tunnels. Now, Jade must call upon her friends to help find her mother and expose the true villains, who have every intention of bringing about her own destruction.

Publishers Weekly

Set in 1920, Arruda's captivating third Jade del Cameron mystery (after 2006's Stalking Ivory) takes the feisty photojournalist and explorer to Morocco. Jade and her exceedingly proper mother, Inez, have agreed to meet in Tangier to try to mend their contentious relationship. When Inez is kidnapped, Jade's desperate search leads her first to Marrakech and then to a Berber village high in the Atlas Mountains, dodging drug smugglers, slave traders and Jade's old nemesis, Lilith Worthy. Arruda laces her story (sometimes a bit awkwardly) with the myths, history, customs and crafts of the people who live in Morocco and the Maghreb ("the land of the western sun"), particularly the little-known Berbers. Jade's escapades should appeal to fans of Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody series or the Indiana Jones movies. (Jan.)

Jo Ann Vicarel - Library Journal

In a gesture of peace, photographer and adventuress Jade del Cameron (Stalking Ivory; Mark of the Lion) agrees to meet her mother in 1920s Tangier. Unfortunately, Mrs. del Cameron-who believes her daughter should settle down-is promptly kidnapped. While a missing amulet, drug smuggling, a Berber tribe, and the return of the vindictive and dangerous Lilith Worthy add plot direction to this rollicking tale of adventure and suspense, the story takes as its focal point the mother-daughter relationship and the women's growing sense that they are more alike than they care to admit. Jade's World War I experience as an ambulance driver makes her resemble Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs, albeit a bit spunkier in that Jade reacts to bad situations à la Indiana Jones. There isn't much of a mystery here, but the rest is stellar. For historical mystery collections. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ9/1/07.]

Kirkus Reviews

Intrepid adventuress is snagged in dangerous North African kidnap plot. Jade del Cameron hopes that a trip to exotic Morocco will be her chance for a rapprochement with her disapproving mother, Inez, who thinks that proper young ladies of 1920 don't gallivant around the globe flying airplanes and taking photographs. But Jade does, and occasionally solves mysteries as well (Stalking Ivory, 2007, etc.). Their touring party, a cross-section out of Agatha Christie-British missionary couple, American honeymooners, Spanish dowager et al.-has a perfectly pleasant dinner in a Tangier restaurant marred only by the discordant exchanges of Jade and Inez. Next morning, Jade can find no trace of Inez, and suspects abduction. A note leads her to a dark tunnel. There she finds a dead Moroccan with a knife in his back. She rushes to report the body to condescending local police detective Lieutenant Gervais, but when they return to the fatal spot, the corpse has disappeared. Gervais makes no attempt to hide his skepticism about the Moroccan murder and the peril to Inez, so it falls to Jade to investigate on her own. She's briefly reunited with Inez before they're separated again. A nemesis from one of Jade's previous escapades holds a key to the mystery, which also involves an amazing (and heretofore secret) fact about Jade's identity. A blithe and well-appointed period caper in which the author deftly avoids the tempting descent into camp.

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