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A review by marco5599
Devil's Peak by Deon Meyer
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Crime soap from South Africa with three angles. One. Bennie Griessel; a detective fighting the bottle with his job and family on the line. Two. Christine; tragic confession of a daughter, mother and prostitute. And three. Tobela; vigilante after losing his son and faith in the justice system. Obviously, somewhere down the line these stories meet each other.
Before that; a tough start with loads of heavy-handed drama to get things going. Didn't work for me. Too much, too forced. Wasn't too fond of the thing with Christine's box either. Or better said, the mysterious content of it. Bit of a cheap way to get and keep the reader's attention, if you ask me.
What kept me in it was Bennie doing some actual policing. For example; there's a scene with a strangler @ Woolies and it's a total winner. Best part of the opening, however, is Tobela's new life mission. What he does is not right, but it doesn't feel that wrong either. Mr. Spearman. Cool weapon. Of course it doesn't take long before Bennie gets put on the case.
Result? A slightly better, but still not very satisfactory balance between drama and crime. I read too many of what, I believe, were unsuccessful attempts of turning a walking talking detective cliché into a so - called well-developed character. Perhaps I'm totally wrong here, perhaps he is. If so, he developed into somebody who gave me the feeling he is unable to function properly. No way he could slash should lead such a high-profile case.
Everything is just so overdone. The only times I felt like the author showed some tact, is when it comes to Bennie's kids. How they respond, how Bennie deals with them. It's where he is at his most relatable. Too bad that tact doesn't last very long. A Colombian knot is about to tie the three stories together.
In a rather far-fetched way. A trap backfires and from that point on the plot starts to derail with all kinds of improbable developments. Fabricated is putting it mildly. I could not find a reason to care anymore, so I didn't. A very disappointing first encounter with Bennie Griessel. It's going to take a while before I pick up the next part. If ever. Bummer!
Before that; a tough start with loads of heavy-handed drama to get things going. Didn't work for me. Too much, too forced. Wasn't too fond of the thing with Christine's box either. Or better said, the mysterious content of it. Bit of a cheap way to get and keep the reader's attention, if you ask me.
What kept me in it was Bennie doing some actual policing. For example; there's a scene with a strangler @ Woolies and it's a total winner. Best part of the opening, however, is Tobela's new life mission. What he does is not right, but it doesn't feel that wrong either. Mr. Spearman. Cool weapon. Of course it doesn't take long before Bennie gets put on the case.
Result? A slightly better, but still not very satisfactory balance between drama and crime. I read too many of what, I believe, were unsuccessful attempts of turning a walking talking detective cliché into a so - called well-developed character. Perhaps I'm totally wrong here, perhaps he is. If so, he developed into somebody who gave me the feeling he is unable to function properly. No way he could slash should lead such a high-profile case.
Everything is just so overdone. The only times I felt like the author showed some tact, is when it comes to Bennie's kids. How they respond, how Bennie deals with them. It's where he is at his most relatable. Too bad that tact doesn't last very long. A Colombian knot is about to tie the three stories together.
In a rather far-fetched way. A trap backfires and from that point on the plot starts to derail with all kinds of improbable developments. Fabricated is putting it mildly. I could not find a reason to care anymore, so I didn't. A very disappointing first encounter with Bennie Griessel. It's going to take a while before I pick up the next part. If ever. Bummer!