I stuck with the first few in the series even though they weren't great. I just saw the potential for something good and hoped that one day the author would get there. Luckily, she's slowly improving. This book was a lot more interesting for me. Maybe it's my fear of books/movies that have monkeys passing viruses on to humans, but I started out in a state of suspense and worry. It was hard to tell who was going to turn out to be a good guy and who was going to turn on Rikki and Amiri. The fact that they were in the Congo also helped create a sense of suspense with the plot. When militias, bribed officials, and other things rip apart a nation and make survival difficult for the average person, there's an added layer of uncertainty on whether your characters will survive their ordeal.