Kindle Edition Amazon Amazon Category:  Action/Thriller Publisher: Story Matter ISBN-10:  0997728418 Type: Fiction Pages: 198 Copyright: July 7, 2016 ISBN-13: 9780997728415 Price: $2.99 (eBook) WINNER LYRA AWARD THRILLER/MYSTERY/SUSPENSE A young American woman goes missing in Africa. The people who took her don't think she is human. Her father races to save her before it is too late. Young American Aliya Scott travels to Tanzania to help children with her condition. There, people without pigment in their skin are called “zeru-zeru,” it means “ghost,” and they are believed to possess magical powers. When Aliya goes missing, her father sets out on a mission to find her. He soon discovers that she was up to more than teaching the alphabet and handing out sunblock. With each step he learns more about his daughter and a country rooted in ancestry, rich with resources, full of mystery and conflict, and a world of witchdoctors and foreign plundering, with little transparency and less justice. From the shadow of the Mukuyu tree he follows her “ghost” to the head of the dragon in Europe. But will he reach Aliya before it is too late?         Excerpt Aliya looks out the window, her forehead presses hard against the pane. The earth below looks like a rumbling, rolling surface with dust spraying out its sides like the foam of ocean waves. It's the wildebeest herd, tens of thousands of them, rising from their slumber with the sun's rays of light pushing through the dark night. They nudge each other, urging their mass movement, resuming their migration. They move smart like a swarm of bees. Reggie's right, they are ugly. Up close, they look like a cross between a bull and a deer. She's drawn to things that are different, and foreign. Common as they are in Africa, she didn't see wildebeest in L.A. So, to her, they're different. She likes that they take care of their babies and old and sick. Would the herd take care of an albino wildebeest? She likes to think they would.

can't stop thinking about it
Byconcerned buyeron September 29, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
PIGMENT is the type of book that you finish quickly because if you have to put it down you can't stop thinking about it until you pick it up again. Renee Topper does an amazing job of bringing an intense issue to light wrapped in a tale of love and suspense. This is an important book that speaks of the horrors for some while showing us the many views surrounding this complex issue. I'm sure we will be seeing this story on the big screen soon.

Compelling narrative informs about tragic events.
ByPaul Rogerson September 23, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Pigment was a great page-turning read tackling a disturbing issue heretofore unknown to me. Without pontificating or politicizing the tragic circumstances of albinos is Tanzania, the tale tells the story of an American albino woman traveling in Africa trying to intervene in this tragedy. With the propelling narrative reminiscent of a Liam Neeson “Taken” movie, the story depicts the harassment and killings of those without pigment based on superstitious beliefs. But the narrative suggests that it is not just local beliefs that engender such tragedy. But like many “trophy hunters” the disregard for life, both human and animal, driven by selfish greed, egoism and privilege support many disturbing activities in the African continent. One can only hope that Ms. Topper’s work in shedding light on this subject will help to educate the world and help extinguish this tragedy.

A good read, a tragic story
Byconcerned buyeron September 29, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
PIGMENT is the type of book that you finish quickly because if you have to put it down you can't stop thinking about it until you pick it up again. Renee Topper does an amazing job of bringing an intense issue to light wrapped in a tale of love and suspense. This is an important book that speaks of the horrors for some while showing us the many views surrounding this complex issue. I'm sure we will be seeing this story on the big screen soon.