"Deon Meyer is one of the unsung masters."--Michael Connelly
"Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best."--Tess Gerritsen
In a corrupt South Africa, the criminals are as likely to be in government--or even in the police--than on the streets.
From the #1 internationally bestselling author, Deon Meyer builds to an astonishing climax as he exposes the corruption behind three seemingly-unrelated homicides in South Africa
Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido are languishing in Stellenbosch. Run-of-the-mill police work in the leafy university town is a far cry from their previous life in the elite Hawks. But when a student is found dead on a mountain trail, the two detectives find themselves trying to unpick a stubbornly difficult crime that grows more complex, and more ominous, as their investigation appears to implicate ever higher levels of government and law enforcement.
In the north of the country, meanwhile, a beautiful wildlife guide is recruited by a group of special forces soldiers to act as a honeytrap, part a dangerous multi-million-dollar heist that goes tragically wrong. Then back in Stellenbosch, a local businessman is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit--suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat. A message to keep silent--but about what? And the gang of thieves reorganizes, this time in pursuit of a fortune in illicit gold bullion.
Unraveling who is connected to what is challenging, as the ex-soldiers' plot careens into Benny and Vaughn's now clandestine investigation, and South Africa's "state capture" is increasingly evident. Solving this puzzle is turning into a deadly race against time, while another date is coming toward Benny like an express train: Alexa has fixed the date for their wedding. Big trouble, on every front.