Umbilical
It’s the early nineties in southern Africa. Not far from Cape Town, a small chartered plane on its way to Namibia crashes unexpectedly. On board is a nun who is hiding an undocumented baby.
Today, thirty years later, two people have very different reasons for wanting to find out what happened to the child: Ruth Masisi, a prominent African judge about to be appointed to the International Criminal Court, and Arthur Coleman, a pharmaceutical industry tycoon from America, who is finalising the deal of a lifetime with China to establish southern Africa’s first full-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Botswana.
Werner and Ella, the descendants of the men who rescued the child, know nothing of the complex history that connects them, but when Ruth tracks them down and pleads for their help, they find themselves faced with an almost impossible situation. Will they be prepared – or able – to sift through their shared past and find the child in time?
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Reviews
Reviewed by Ronél Steyn for Readers’ Favorite
Jane Kay spins a magnificently tangled story that slowly unravels in Umbilical. More than 30 years ago, a baby was onboard a charter airplane that crashed on its way to Namibia. There was no record of the baby on the plane and there has been no word of what happened to the child afterward. The one person that might hold the answers is the one who sends Werner and Ella on this secret mission.
Set in beautiful and vibrant Cape Town, South Africa, they slowly learn the truth of the measures that were taken by their fathers to protect this child and keep it from serious harm. Can they keep out of danger themselves while discovering the truth? Can they find out who the child is before time runs out for everyone involved?
Jane Kay brings the beat of the African continent to life in this story. Without any resistance from myself, I willingly took the author’s hand as she led me down a path to losing myself between the pages of this book. Perhaps it was the familiarity of the area that did it or the fact that I read some of the dialogue with an Afrikaans accent. From the first page, the scene was set. From there a road of mystery was laid out. Due to the language, this book is recommended for a mature audience. If your heart beats a rhythmic tattoo at the mention of the African continent, this book is for you, and Jane Kay is the author to look out for.
Reviewed by Jennifer Jackson for Indies Today
If you love a thriller bound by unyielding family ties, prepare to have your expectations expertly reshaped in Jane Kay’s addictive novel, Umbilical.
The unraveling mystery takes time to unfold, but is worth the wait. Each chapter judiciously builds on the complex history the characters share and takes readers deeper and deeper into a plot that gets darker and more desperate with each turn of the page. Ruth is a likable and genuine character put into an incredibly difficult position at a young age. Werner and Ella each bring a different spirit and personality to the story, but both are compelled by family legacy, bound by an emerging threat, and impelled to do the right thing for the missing child. The antagonist, an American businessman with interests in Botswana, has enough ego and greed to fill his own book. All the players have their own unique backgrounds and add critical plot points, making for a story that is impossible to put down. Get ready to follow the breadcrumbs of a tale woven in secrecy in Umbilical, an emotional journey that examines how far people will go to protect what they value most.
Reviewed by Andrea Marks-Joseph for Independent Book Review
This novel pulls you in from the first page, gripping you with difficult realities, and never lets you go.
This is the kind of story you’ll have to sit up and lean forward to read. While it’s easy to follow and is filled with fascinating, realistic, relatable characters, it’s simply too intriguing, exciting, and thrilling to sit back and relax. The broad plot is about identifying the baby and the truth behind the plane crash … But there’s so much additional depth in the political, emotional, and familial aspects that you’re never lacking in twists, turns, and motives to question.
Umbilical comes to an incredibly satisfying, air-punch inspiring ending that’s filled with righteous justice. I’ll definitely be purchasing this book for friends, colleagues, and family members. Umbilical is the rare novel that will capture and hold the attention of people across a wide range of age, race, and genders—and so it’s an excellent recommendation to give as a gift.
Reviewed by senior reviewer D.Donovan for Midwest Book Review
Seasoned mystery readers will quickly come to find that Umbilical is not your traditional whodunit. It’s a literary suspense story of actions, consequences, and inheritance that drives a powerful series of interactions and revelations between seemingly disparate characters that are somehow linked by a singular event that cannot be readily explained.
Kay’s attention to contrasting cultural and social differences as the story unfolds creates an especially thought-provoking milieu. “African sentiments are not Western sentiments…” it is cautioned as special interests and cultural influences clash.
Readers and libraries looking for suspenseful mysteries that supersede genre definitions will find Umbilical as powerful in its story of revelation as it is in its exploration of close-held secrets and answers to ongoing shame and questions.
Reviewed by Chris Reed for NZ Booklovers
It’s the sense of family secrecy that drives the story. It’s quick in the pacing and maintains this throughout the story, an impressive feat with such a lot of adventure, mystery books around presently. Add to that some brilliant characterisation of all the significant characters in the novel. The big pharma tycoon Arthur Coleman is brilliantly captured with the money hungry mentality that is so characteristic of the time, and of the industry.
In addition, the musical aspect of the growing status of the rock stars in the novel. The way the music was explored and explained was really quite something else. The subtle rhythmic movement of the novel itself is musically driven and captures that beauty and lyricism that Kay seems to so effortlessly construct.
Overall, this was a surprising book that you can absolutely immerse yourself in. Intriguing, yet believable, beautifully written and highly evocative.
Reviewed by Helen Lowry for LoveReading
This book was excellent. It had definite page turning quality. The more I read the more I wanted to know the outcome. Characters developed alongside an intriguing plot which kept me fully interested.
Family secrets, complex relationships, it has it all.
A highly recommended read.
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