A Pangolin Slept on Buddha's Lap

"Writing Wild. Riveting fiction with a focus on conservation." Emmy Trivete, Milepost

When the deadliest threats to wildlife aren’t found in the wild…

From the endless plains of the Serengeti to the shadowy underbelly of Kathmandu, readers plunge into a world where science collides with the evils of human nature when a mission to save endangered pangolins lands a wildlife conservationist in a hornet’s nest of corruption.

Wolf Vandengetz had a dream job: studying majestic lion prides in Africa. Then, a promotion catapults him into a treacherous realm where he discovers that nature’s greatest predators aren’t found in the wild – they lurk in boardrooms, bedrooms, and back alleys.

Armed with a scientist’s knowledge but unprepared for the cutthroat politics of NGOs, or the ruthless methods of animal traffickers, Wolf is fighting for more than just the pangolins’ survival. On an adventure beset with unpredictable twists, he solves complex ecosystem mysteries and unravels a web of corruption that stretches from local poachers to global policy-makers. When the stakes skyrocket, it’s no longer just about saving a species – it’s about exposing the human greed that jeopardizes the delicate balance of nature.

The pangolin’s plight unfolds as a heart-pounding journey. Will Wolf clear his name and chart a new path for wildlife conservation, or will he, like the pangolin, become another casualty in the war against nature?

375th Personnel Recovery Detachment, Balkans

In 1944, American second lieutenant John Gorham Westfall receives a daring mission: under the cover identity ‘375th Personnel Recovery Detachment, Balkans,’ he is to parachute into Yugoslavia and extract shot-down American pilots. His orders are stark: ‘This is a war of no morality… Do what it takes. Get our boys out. Methods are immaterial. Morals schmorals.’

Soon, Westfall faces a harrowing conflict between his mission and his ethics. High winds force him to land amidst the communist-led Partisans instead of his intended allies. Now, navigating through a landscape ravaged by constant German attacks, he must tread carefully, avoiding entanglement in the brutal Yugoslav civil war.

Amid the chaos, Westfall is instructed to avoid romantic entanglements. But in a rain-soaked forest, while fleeing from German forces, he encounters the tall, captivating ‘Comrade Jadranka,’ a fellow 23-year-old and translator for the Partisan high command. As danger looms and loyalties are tested, Westfall’s resolve is pushed to its limits in a mission where survival and morality are constantly at odds.