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sandin954's review against another edition
5.0
Using chapters that alternate between the plot and the main characters life story,
[a:Deon Meyer|283304|Deon Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1225442760p2/283304.jpg] provides both an entertaining thriller and a look at South African society.
[a:Deon Meyer|283304|Deon Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1225442760p2/283304.jpg] provides both an entertaining thriller and a look at South African society.
cymbopogon's review against another edition
3.0
Started as a stereotypical "alcoholic ex cop wallowing in self pity and reminiscing about previous sexual encounters". Got much better after a few chapters. Too much senseless violence to my taste. Made me revise a bit of South African history to better understand the background but I don't know enough to tell whether relationships between people from different racial backgrounds are properly rendered.
matosapa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
sdc46250's review against another edition
4.0
This title is my first experience with this author and I understand it is a translation. I was quite fascinated by it, in no small part because it is set in South Africa. The political and the cultural references are different and yet so similar. He pulls the humanity to the front of the geography. History is played out in flashbacks. He switches between first and third person so smoothly that it is non-intrusive and actually adds to the flow. Definitely, it is dark but not particularly oppressive. Lots of police procedural elements. Good character development and intricate plot and subplots. I will look for another by this author!
cmbohn's review against another edition
2.0
About a former police officer turned rowdy drunk who is hired to investigate the murder of a reclusive businessman. Lots of violence, lots of swearing, and a very unlikeable protagonist. It just wasn't one I wanted to stick with.
malinowy's review
3.0
A solid crime novel with a story within a story. I liked how the story truly starts to unravel only towards the end and the reader isn't made to feel like they missed something earlier on when the bad guys are revealed. Zatopek van Heerden is a former cop, now a freelance private detective of sorts who is hired to find a missing will. He has a week to figure out why a man who didn't even exist a few years earlier was murdered and his will stolen. The premise is what got me, and it carried throughout the whole book. The story within the main story is van Heerden telling his own life story and I like it that he wasn't typical novel police but actually had different paths to choose from and we really weighed his decisions and their consequences. There are a lot of great supporting characters, but I do need to say that Hope Beneke unfortunately ended up being rather two dimensional even if the author had tried to make her more than your typical female lawyer. The South African setting was also definitely positive and I might check out more of Meyer's works because I enjoyed reading this.
cheri_maci's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the structure of this book, the story of the finding the will and Van Heerden's told in separate chapters thought the book.
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