レビュー要約

• 緊迫したプロットと社会背景の厚みが評価されている。人物の脆さと土地の現実が結びつき、娯楽性だけでなく重い読後感を残す作品として読まれている。

レビュー

• as well as the sheer joy of watching the detectives' lives unfold as years pass

  I *love* Deon Meyer. I only discovered him this year, and devoured everything he's written. He has an incredible gift for weaving characters' stories through multiple books. Someone who was only a minute character in one book may befriend another character three books later, or become the victim or perpetrator another two books after that. For this reason, as well as the sheer joy of watching the detectives' lives unfold as years pass, I recommend reading the books in the order they were written, NOT as Benny Greissel series etc. Benny shows up in other books, as a sort of aside sometimes, and it allows you to follow his development and understand why he does what he does. His boss is also featured in multiple books. Also the insight into post-Apartheid life is illuminating. I enjoyed too the working of stories around events I followed from my home in Canada, such as the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Go get his books. You will not regret it.

• Are people inherently evil?

  The protagonist of this South African thriller, Zatopek van Heerden, is convinced he's incurably evil. Tormented by a mysterious past transgression, he gets drunk, picks senseless fights and is doing his best to throw away his life. The source of his despair is explored in one thread of the plot, which alternates with a murder mystery. For van Heerden is an ex-cop who has brilliantly solved impossible cases in the past. His friends hope to save him by getting him a challenging job -- an assignment investigating a gruesome murder and a missing will. Even the women in this novel represent warring forces of good and evil. The lawyer who hires van Heerten is an idealist, sexy but basically innocent. He also attracts the attentions of a beautiful but decadent rich woman who invites him to share her perversions. And then there's his mother - a gifted painter and a thoroughly good person. It's refreshing to read a book in which the mother character is admirable, and the mother-son relationship healthy and affectionate. There are so many crazy mothers in fiction! This book excels at involving the reader in the personal life of the detective. Add to that a complex murder mystery, and you have a superior thriller. South African Military Intelligence and the CIA figure in the background of the crime, which I found a bit confusing, but not enough to interfere with the pleasure of my reading experience. And I loved the characters from the gangster world, black and white, which in this book are allies of van Heerden. I consider Deon Meyer a find, an original voice in the thriller genre, and I'll be reading more of his books.

• Great read!

  Brilliant book ! It was so well written, full of suspense and some interesting twists in the tale. Highly recommended

• Gear book set in a beautiful city

  He is a really good writer and love reading about the Capetown scene.

• loving deon meyer

  another excellent offering . super happy these books have become available . i have been binge reading them. everyone of them an excellent read with vividly developed characters . i could live for a while on a steady diet of Deon Meyer. actually i have been :)

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