I received an ARC of this book which is described by others as fiction and a thriller. It strikes me a book of two parts faction with a political leaning and environmental with a focus on the increasing endangerment of animals. It wraps this up in a series of events that entail getting the better of the other side with lots of violence and indeed deaths. I think there is a lot to be admired in the book but it is wrapped in inappropriate packaging because it can\t be wholly one thing or the other. The characters were difficult to keep a handle on particular those known as "The Veteran" " The Sniper" and "The iphone man" the latter i never really got a hold of. The narrative jumps from wildlife area s to central Johannesburg, to government and protesters and links with London sometime without definitive breaks. I found the whole thing mildly confusing for the first half although it did become a more readable whole as it went on. I think this may be author's first foray into the world of fiction and it is not entirely successful.

A thriller set in South Africa about wildlife trafficking, The Rhino Conspiracy by Peter Hain was an immediate pick for me and I am thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me the ARC to read and review.
A wildlife park in South Africa is, like several others, the target of ruthless poachers and its owner needs to device a plan to take the fight to them. But the poaching industry is as powerful as it is lethal, having connections to the topmost offices of the government. The entire nation is careening towards certain doom – morally, economically, and otherwise – under the corrupt leadership of the president and his cronies, a striking example of ‘state capture’. Appalled by the state of affairs, a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle – a retired minister who has served under Mandela – decides to embark on another struggle, this time against a majority black government that has forgotten all the values it is supposed to uphold. The fight against the corrupt government involves a fight against poaching too, and what follows is the tale of a few good men and women taking on the might of the government and the international wildlife trafficking mafia.
The plot is engaging, with insightful details about wildlife, the poaching industry, and the history of the anti-apartheid struggle. The action is fast, with the excitement building up as the story progresses. The characters are realistic and finely turned out – especially the good ones – and the reader is compelled to care about them. The author’s concern about all things ailing the rainbow nation shows through in his passionate narrative.
On the downside, I found the novel somewhat lacking in sharpness in spite of the compelling theme, which is due to the profusion of details about the evils plaguing the nation, placed at inopportune points in the narration. These details, though well-meaning, impede the story’s flow and make the reader’s attention wander.
Having no idea at all about the politics of South Africa, I searched the internet and found some real-life figures on whom the author has modelled some of his characters. Readers from the country, with knowledge of the said people and their exploits, will be able to relate more to the novel.
With a current and weighty issue at its core, thrilling action and a few remarkable characters, The Rhino Conspiracy is an engrossing read, except for some tedious but factual social commentary that could have been trimmed out.

Note: In the ARC, section breaks are missing at many places, making the changes in narrative points difficult to identify. For instance, on pages 13 & 28, a section break, like the star (*) symbol inserted at many other places, indicating the shifting in narrative would have been helpful.

Free ARC from Net Galley

Great book that tackles not only the poaching of wildlife, in particular here Rhino, but the evil of corruption. I was surprised the detail the book covered of the sad corruption in the high levels of South Africa that freed itelf from a prior evil and corrupt regime.

Truly no man is good and the innocent are victims; in this case the animals.

Lots of good information included in the story. Enojy

This is exactly the book I have been looking for! I find this to be a well-written, realistic, and important work of fiction, because it tackles many problems in South Africa and the rest of the world. Rhinos are going extinct as we speak, and we have to take every possible precaution to stop this! This book explains very well what is going on with rhinos being poached for their horns to fulfill rich (Chinese/Vietnamese) delusions and egos. Another important subject in the book is the infamous corruption in South Africa that sadly goes all the way to the top. There are also many interesting stories about apartheid, and life in general, in South Africa.

The book kept me captivated from the beginning to the end. Illegal wildlife trade, especially fighting against it is my personal area of interest, which makes this book very special to me. I find that the issue is tackled very well, and it is easy for someone who has no prior knowledge of the subject to get a good overview of what is going on in the world. We are talking about a huge amount of money, international criminal syndicates and the loss of species here, and therefore I hope this book will be read by many people around the globe!

The characters in the book are great! There are some you love, others that you hate. They are also realistic. People like this really exist, for better or worse. It is all in all an enjoyable, albeit not a light read. I highly recommend it to everyone.