Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer

First line in the book:  05:36: a girl runs up the steep slope of Lion's Head.

I like Captain Benny Griessel.  He is a legend.  He has been on the SAPS for 25 years.  He has just been promoted to Captain.  He is still under the 6-month exile imposed by his wife, Anna, to stay sober from his drinking addiction.  He is trying his damndest best to stay sober.  On the other hand, he finds that he has grown to like living on his own and having his own space.  His latest job is to mentor a group of young policemen from different ethnic backgrounds.  He is grateful for this job and grateful for not been posted to a station like most of his colleagues after the dissolution of the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit.

Then, two events occur. 

1)  A woman walking her dog reported seeing a group of young black and white men running with intent after a girl one early morning.  Why?

2)  Adam Johannes, owner and music producer of AfriSound, a record company, was killed seemingly over a mysterious DVD containing randy sex.  Money was of course involved.  His wife and colleagues were implicated in his murder. 

Inspector Vusumuzi Ndabeni and Captain Benny Griessel fight against time to find the girl and among all the hubbubs in the latter's life including that of his son quitting school unexpectedly to play in gigs and his wife wanting to meet him for the first time since the exile, he achieves it in 13 hours, hence the title of the book.  The murder of Adam Johannes is led by Inspector Fransman Dekker, a serious and ambitious man in the Provincial Task Force aided by a KFC-loving, handbag-carrying Inspector Mbali Kaleni.

The above two events were narrated back and forth at approximately 2-page intervals which give the reader an edge-of-the-seat suspense as well as capturing the reader's attention full-time.  The characters, plot, dialogue, social context and pace are strong, fast, compelling, entertaining and at times funny.  Meyer also gives the reader an insight into the new South Africa 20 years after the release of Nelson Mandela with its escalating unease, frustrations, tensions, conflicts, corruptions and politics within the police force and "it's-not-my-problem" attitude underlying its safari parks, abundant wildlife and incredible landscapes. 

Meyer also writes empathically about alcohol addiction, the side effects of giving up alcohol and how addictions of any sort can be a vicious cycle for some people. 

Meyer's latest is a well-written, well-translated and thought-provoking book.  I highly recommend it and look forward to his next book.

Click here for amazing photos taken by Meyer during the writing of Thirteen Hours:  http://www.deonmeyer.com/xtra/xtra_13hours.html

Here is Meyer's explanation on why he writes in Afrikaans and the translation of his books into other languages: 



Thirteen Hours is shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger award.

Rating: 5/5 (Terrific read)

There Is A First Time For Everything And This Is It!

I went to my first book signing of my whole reading career on 6 August 2010 in heffers, Cambridge.  Time was noted as 1pm.  It was a significant day for me.  I met Peter Robinson who had his latest book called Bad Boy out.  I spoke to him briefly and he was very polite and nice.  As I had turned up early for the event, there was only a dribble of fans.  It was nice to meet an author face-to-face.  Above:  pictures taken during the event.

The Collaborator by Gerald Seymour

I am going to review the book in a different way this time by giving you brief information on four out of several key players and what their roles are in this book:

Eddie Deacon:  Innocent and ignorant.  Happy go lucky.  Jack the lad.  English language teacher.  Picks up a pretty and clever Italian girl in a park, sleeps with her and when she stands him up at an Afghan restaurant, jacks in his job and went in search of her in Naples, not knowing what he is letting himself in for.  When he is in Naples, he is kidnapped by the Italian mob - will he be killed or live to tell the tale?

Immacolata Borelli:  Daughter of a ruthless Naples gangster.  Becomes an infame, a collaborator, a pentito to bring down her Mafia family when her best friend died of contracting a disease from swimming in streams, playing in long grass in fields and under trees in orchards which are all contaminated with toxic waste materials dumped by the Camorras.  The contaminated areas - Marigliano, Acerra and Nola - is called the Triangle of Death.  Mortality rates are high.  The question is will she be pressured to retract her statements or will she plough on to land her family in gaol and avenge her friend's senseless death?  How many innocent people will she wrong or be killed because of her decision?

Lukas:  He has no surname.  He is a hostage negotiatior.  He knows about hostage rescue.  His whole life is his work.  However, what he can never and will never know is the science of when or why or whether a gunman would pull the trigger.  Will he be able to save Eddie from the mob who are known to enjoy death?

Delta465/Foxtrot:  Ostensibly an old man who sits in an apartment, slumped in a chair, watching television.  Who is this?  What role does he play in the rescue and the whole hostage drama?  If you want to know his fate, read the book.

The plot is complex and intriguing.  Other characters are equally fascinating and adds plenty of drama and pace to the plot.  However, the book is long winded and is a slog to read.  You will surely and slowly get to the end but it will be a bloody long road.  It took me four days to finish it.  I did not expect it to end as it did but if you are a fan of corruption, betrayal, revenge and the Italian mafia, you will not be too disappointed with this book.

Gerald Seymour spent fifteen years as an international television news reporter with ITN covering Vietnam and the Middle East and specialising in the subject of terrorism across the world.  He was on the streets of Londonderry on the afternoon of Bloody Sunday and was a witness to the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.  Writing comes fourth in his list of priorities, after dog walking, float fishing and watching the local rugby team.  He has no official website. 

Rating: 2/5 (Read it or Leave it)

Devil's Peak by Deon Meyer

I have finally packed Deon Meyer's book into my luggage for my trip to Copenhagen on 29 July 2010.  It has been patiently waiting for me to pick it up for awhile and I must say it did not disappoint me this time. 

As usual, Meyer's story is multi-plotted and switches back and forth from one plot to another but which in essence, is a whole story.  In this book, it is a 3-in-1.

The story begins with a shooting at a petrol station resulting in the death of Thobela Mpayipheli's son, Pakamile Nzululwazi aged 8.  Because the justice system has failed in apprehending the killers, the protagonist has taken matters into his own hands by turning vigilante.  His reasoning is that "if children can't depend on the justice system to protect them, to whom can they turn?"  And here, the story begins. 

I highly recommend this book and any book by Deon Meyer from here onwards.  He gradually develops his characters, mood and tone and they serve their purpose well.  He is indeed a fine writer.

If you would like to see where Benny Griessel lives, the road leading to Thobela's farm, The Cata River and other hotspots in the story, click here:  http://www.deonmeyer.com/xtra/xtra_devils.html

Rating: 4/5 (Thoroughly satisfying)

True Blue by David Baldacci

First line in the book: Jamie Meldon rubbed his eyes vigorously, but when he stared back at the computer screen it was still no good.

Sadly, Jamie Meldon did not live long in the book.  There are two parts to this story which intertwined to create an intricate and fast-paced plot which involves good and bad guys and a law enforcement sister act. 

The first part involves the protagonist, Mason 'Mace' Perry who wasted two years of her life in jail for a crime she was framed for.  When she got out, she vowed to take a shot to be a 'true blue' again and when her chief of police sister is called out to a murder of a lawyer in downtown DC, she thought this might be her shot.  The second part involves a classic piggyback scheme using legitimate business transactions to cover other movements of money as a way of paying off people for intelligence.  There were secrets and secrets within secrets and the scheme was so shrouded in mystery that enemies and allies were often interchangeable, so much so that Jamie Meldon was found shot and his body dumped in a Dumpster in an alley.  This murder started the whole ball rolling for Mace and lawyer Roy Kingman.  Do read this book to find out how and why the two parts are linked and I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

I always think that an author says it better than anyone else and here is Baldacci talking about True Blue, his philanthropic activities and his next book which was already out (7:47):



Don't forget to stop by the author's official website to read other reviews, what the author is reading, what he has read or even to read his biography on http://www.davidbaldacci.com/

Rating: 5/5 (Not bad)

Dark Country by Bronwyn Parry

Dark Country is the second book of a trilogy set in the New South Wales tablelands. 

As I have mentioned in my review of the first book (As Darkness Falls, review: 26 July 2010), the characters are each given a turn to take centre stage and this time, the main roles fall to two characters namely Sergeant Kris Matthews who runs the Dungirri police station and Gil Gillespie whose past, one could say, is not exactly stellar.

Here is the blurb taken from the author's website:

Most people in the small town of Dungirri have considered Morgan ‘Gil’ Gillespie a murderer for eighteen years, so he expects no welcome on his return. What he doesn’t expect is the discovery of a woman’s tortured body in the boot of his car, and new accusations of murder.

Wearied by too many deaths and doubting her own skills, local police sergeant Kris Matthews isn’t sure whether Gil is a decent man wronged by life, or a brutal criminal she should be locking up. But she does know that he is not guilty of this murder – because she is his alibi . . .

Between organised crime, police corruption, and the hatred of a town, Gil has nowhere to hide. He needs to work out who’s behind the murder before his enemies realise that the one thing more punishing than putting him back in prison would be to harm the few people he cares about.

Kris is determined to help him, but will their search for the truth make her the next target?

This book does not disappoint at all.  In fact, the storyline is better, the plot is so much thicker, there is enough twists and turns to tie your knickers in a twisty knot, the romance is sizzling hot (between a policewoman and a suspected villain) and even the shady characters are, of all places, connected to the mob in Sydney!  When is the third book coming out?! 

Rating: 4/5 (Superb)

Confidential Communications by J R Reardon

J R Reardon is a Boston native, Suffolk University Law School alum and former partner of Saltzman & McNaught LLP who lives in Maryland with her husband and young daughter.  It is always a pleasure to find another lawyer-turned-writer to add to my reading library and catalogue.

First line in the book:  What in the world ever possessed me to become a lawyer?

Here is what this book is about:



Reardon is a fresh voice among the legal thriller veterans like John Grisham, Michael Connelly, Linda Fairstein and David Baldacci.  The book reads like a personal diary at times and other times, Reardon writes adeptly  in the matter of law, trial courts, financial investments, fraud, stock markets and financial scams.  I am impressed by how her main character is not some hot-shot fast-talking experienced lawyer but a young, naive, vulnerable and brand new lawyer who gradually learns to deal with the personal and professional issues in her career.  The plot is ingenious, the characters unpretentious, the writing clear and precise and overall, it makes for an entertaining read.  I have not come across a writer who writes in such a unique way in a long time.

This is the book of a first-time writer and I shall look forward to reading Reardon's next book, Dishonored, soon.  I am curious to see how she would develop as a writer because I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

To find out more about this new voice, J R Reardon's website is at http://www.jrreardon.com/

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

As Darkness Falls by Bronwyn Parry

First line in the book: No, not this.

As Darkness Falls is the first book of a three-part series set in the north-west corner of New South Wales in a small town of Dungirri.  I was very excited to read this book as this book marked the first book that I have EVER read by an Australian author.  Bronwyn Parry lives on 100 acres of bushland in New South Wales with her husband and two border collies.  She loves to explore Australia's wild places.  Again, a special mention to the Global Reading Challenge would not go amiss here. 

Here is the blurb taken from the author's website:

Haunted by her failures, Detective Isabelle O’Connell is recalled to duty by DCI Alec Goddard to investigate the abduction of yet another child from her home town. They have only days to find the girl alive, with few clues, a town full of suspects, and a vast wilderness to search. It soon becomes a game of cat and mouse, with Bella firmly in the killer’s sights.

For Bella, this case is already personal; for Alec, his best intentions to keep it purely professional soon dissolve, and his anguish over Bella’s safety moves beyond the concern for a colleague.

Their mutual attraction leaves them both vulnerable to their private nightmares – nightmares the killer ruthlessly exploits.

This is a beautifully written romantic suspense novel which I devoured in two days.  I love this book.  It is written with much love, warmth, accurate insights into human relationships, their strengths and weaknesses and more appropriately, it is written in typical Australian flavour and dialogue.  The myriad characters are believable and realistic, the setting typically bushland and the story is well written and plotted.  The love story and mystery combination serve as a winner.  I have not come across a book series whereby the characters, primary or secondary, are each given a turn to shine so to speak.  In other words, this series does not focus on one main character only but all other characters are given a chance to develop and play a main role.  In this book, the spotlight is on Detective Isabelle O'Connell and DCI Alec Goddard.

I look forward to reading the second book of Parry's called Dark Country.  Rightly so, As Darkness Falls was awarded the 2007 Golden Heart Award by the Romance Writers of America. 

To find out more about the author and her books, do check out her website on http://www.bronwynparry.com/  She can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Rating: 4/5 (Excellent debut)

The Defector (a Gabriel Allon series) by Daniel Silva

First line in the book:  Pyotr Luzhkov was about to be killed and for that he was grateful.

I thought I would give this complete and unabridged audio book from itunes a try as a change from reading hardbacks/paperbacks.  Gareth Armstrong's soothing voice read to me on my iPad.  He expressed the appropriate level of drama and adjusted his tone to suit each situation and never went overboard for the given situation.  He is an excellent narrator.

Ivan Kharkov is back.  In Moscow Rules, Allon made the mistake of leaving the most dangerous man in the world alive and so, in the follow-up The Defector, Ivan Kharvov is back for vengeance.  Kharkov has set up a special unit within his personal security service and the unit has been given a special assignment - find his wife and children and kill everyone who get in the way, especially Allon.  The trail of vengeance begins with the disappearance of a former Russian intelligence officer, Colonel Grigori Bulganov, in mysterious circumstances.  Allon has been called back from his honeymoon in Umbria to find the colonel who had saved his life twice.  As the book rightly puts it, The Defector is a "searing tale of love, vengeance and courage."

These youtube videos show Silva talking about The Defector, Gabriel Allon, Henry Winkler's advice and Russia's past.









This book is written in a flowing and artistic style which makes for a highly entertaining and compulsive read.  Even though it is a work of fiction but everytime I read the Gabriel Allon series, it feels like realism, like catching up with a newspaper front-page headlines on the  world of intelligence and terror.  I know that Allon is getting on a bit in his years but I hope that there are a few more books to come in this series because I have yet to find one book of Silva's that does not live up to its reputation.  As long as Silva writes, I will read.  I will be reading The Rembrandt Affair next.

Rating: 4/5 (Prefer books to audiobooks)

The Perfect Murder (Quick Reads) by Peter James

What constitutes the perfect murder?  Easy.  A no-win or lose-lose situation.

In this case, Victor Smiley met Joan Smiley at a jive dancing class, got smitten and married each other.  Fast forward twenty years.  Both Victor and Joan were not happy at all, rowed often and irritated the hell out of each other.  One day, unbeknownst to each other, they had an idea to top the other partner off and so, they started to plan the perfect murder.

Written in a perfectly simple, clear, uncomplicated and easy to read style plus an excellent plot, twists and turns, cracking characters, wit and attention to detail more usual to a novel than a small book, The Perfect Murder will keep you totally hooked in one seating.  The simple moral of the story is never ever underestimate your enemy! 

Peter James' website is at http://www.peterjames.com/

Rating: 5/5 (Perfect read on my iPad)

Run by Jeff Abbott

Here is Jeff Abbott with his take on Run:



And here is the cover of the paperback that I read:

I have read Abbott's Panic and Fear in the past so he is not new to me.  It is good to come back to his books, whether old or new.  As I have already posted a youtube video of the author giving a gist of what the book is about, I am going to give my view of it here.

All the books I have read so far have a male and female leads who team up to solve a crime but what makes this book different and unique is the fact that the protagonists are two males from different backgrounds who unwittingly team up to make a dynamic duo.  I love that.  Basically, the title says it all.  It is full of non-stop action and tension which makes me wince and crinch in sympathy for the characters everytime they get in a tight spot.  In this respect, I think that Abbott is a credible writer.  He pulls you into the story with his dramatically dynamic prose.  Every word credits the story.  Every word justifies the story.  Every word is perfectly paced.  It is skilfully and cleverly written.  What with the various intelligence agencies involved, home security, front and subsidiary companies, terrorists and twists and turns of the story, this book is so well researched and detailed that I was not disappointed I picked it up even though it was two years old!

Abbott, if you have another book out, I will be on it!  Jeff Abbott's website is at http://jeffabbott.com/

Rating: 4/5 (Thrilling read)

Dirty Bonde by Lisa Scottoline

All of us have something we hide from the outside world, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.  And so it is with 39 year old Cate Fante, a newly appointed federal judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  She is assigned a civil case which quickly gets out of hand resulting in an exposure of her private and professional life.  She wonders how she has gotten herself into such a big mess - her sex life is on tape, a detective believes she is a crooked judge and wants to kill her, her life has been recorded chronologically and to the minutest detail for about half a year without her knowledge, her conversations are taped, her partners are betraying her and to top it all off, her secret seedy life is going to be turned into a television series!  

The only people who can help her are far and few between and as is the case with Scottoline's protagonists, Cate sets out to clear her name by undertaking her own investigation.  Fortunately, her secretary, Val Denton, gives her the encouragement she needs by giving her a gem of an advice and I quote "Nothing matters but what's in your heart.  Don't think on what they say because you don't have to get yourself right with them.  You have to get yourself right with you." unquote.  

Scottoline also focuses on a parent raising a child with autism and introduces an incredible place called Centralia, a coal-mining ghost town in north-eastern Pennsylvania which has a fire raging underground for decades thus producing toxic fumes from the ground and into the air.  Further reading of this phenomenon can be found on the author's acknowledgements at the end of the book.

This is an entertaining story which is full of suspense, intrigue and life's touches.  As usual, I was totally gobsmacked when I found out who the real killer is because I had guessed the wrong one!  Don't take this book too seriously.  I have read better books by Scottoline but I wouldn't miss this either.  

Rating: 3/5 (Easy read)

Heart Of The Hunter by Deon Meyer

Picking this book up from the library coincides with two major events in my life: one that I am very much involved in and one that is happening in my peripheral vision so to speak.  The latter event being the 2010 FIFA World Cup which is hosted for the very first time by South Africa at the moment of this writing.  The other event is the 2010 Global Reading Challenge which prompted me to look for a book by another African writer apart from the one I know and I mean the only one I know(!) ie Alexander McCall Smith, so I have a lot to thank the challenge for plucking me out of my safe cocoon and making me venture out into the big bad world and embrace more writers, both veteran and budding.

Set in post-Aparthied Africa, the whole story tells of Thobela "Tiny" Mpayipheli aka Umzingeli (the Hunter), a former KGB assassin, who turns fugitive motorcyclist when his old comrade's daughter asks him for his help in delivering a computer disk to a place thousands of miles away in Lusaka in order to free her father from captive.  Apparently, the disk he is carrying contains extremely sensitive classified information on the government and intelligence service and the word out is that the authorities have the right to use any necessary force to stop him.  The nationwide manhunt is sought by intelligence agencies, the military and the police led by a strange woman, Janina Mentz.   Unfortunately, two innocent people became pawns in the chase, two people who are very close to Thobela's heart. 

I cannot decide what to make of this book.  The protagonist, Thobela "Tiny" Mpayipheli is the sort of hero who draws you to him because he is seemingly simple yet deeply mysterious.  Caught between his past life and the present, he is thoughtful, kind, strong, loyal, humble, a good family man and yet, lurking beneath the unassuming facade is a dangerous and violent man.  I like him.

It is quite hard to write of humour when one writes of dangerous missions and situations but if you read between the lines, you will find humour underlying the Reaction Unit headed by Captain Tiger Mazibuko and his "alpha team of morons!"  Meyer paints an accurate account of Janina Mentz, a woman caught between family and the pressures of work in a man's world, of how a single moment in one's life fueled by a lifetime of struggles and frustrations can lead one to become a traitor and unintentionally cause a destructive path for others and loss of lives.  When you write a story set in Africa, you cannot escape writing about its beautiful landscape, its people, its history and its culture and here, Meyer has given you a captivating locale's take on the changes affecting the people of today's South Africa.  Meyer also writes thought-provokingly and empathetically on life and its many intricacies through his characters.

I shall have to re-read this book to get a better idea of what it is about because I did not get it the first time.  Yes, some parts are very clear but some parts do not seem to connect and there are too many loose ends for me to re-connect with what happened previously .  However, it is a terrific thriller.  The fact that this is my first Deon Meyer book is probably the reason for my indecisiveness and I hope that I will have a different opinion after reading it a second time.

Heart Of The Hunter was longlisted for the IMPAC Prize and was selected as one of Chicago Tribune's '10 Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2004.'

Check out amazing photos of Mpayipheli's BMW R 1150 GS and his terrifying adventure from Cape Town to the "Mighty Modder" at http://www.deonmeyer.com/xtra/xtra_hunter.html

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

The Secret Servant (a Gabriel Allon series) by Daniel Silva

Wall Street Journal puts it succintly when it says this book is 'frightening: reads like a prediction of continuing terrorism in Europe.'

Brilliant art restorer, assassin, Israeli spy Gabriel Allon believes that his career as an undercover operative is over: after all, in a prior adventure, his photo and bio were splashed all over the European newspapers. But, he reluctantly agrees to take an easy assignment in Amsterdam going through the papers of a murdered Dutch terrorism analyst who was shot by a Muslim extremist. The analyst was an Israeli asset and his inside informant tells Gabriel of an impending terrorist plot in London. Gabriel is unable to stop the kidnapping of the daughter of the American ambassador to Britain by the radical Islamic group, the Sword of Allah.  It quickly becomes clear that Elizabeth Halton's kidnapping is but one aspect of a terror plot that will have devastating consequences for both Europe and the Middle East - courtesy of Claire E White.

Yes, Islamic extremism and terrorism are the latest virus to invade Allon's intelligence world and Europe including Copenhagen.  Wherever there is a threat or an inkling of a threat, there is no shortage of world leaders, top espionage organizations and politics getting their hands dirty to prevent a major bloodbath involving innocent lives.  I have run out of adjectives to summarize Silva's books so I will say that this book is second to none.  This book has been reviewed on and off on the internet till the cow comes mooing home but I suggest that you read it and find out for yourself and come up with your own conclusion.  Hats off to Silva! 

Rating: 6/5 (Impressively and intricately written)