Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Bayport Public Library | SCD FICTION MEY 9 DISCS | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
South Africa's preeminent crime fiction writer, Deon Meyer is internationally acclaimed for his razor's-edge thrillers, unforgettable characters, and nuanced portrayals of contemporary life in his native country. The fifth pulse-pounder starring Captain Benny Griessel, a lead detective in South Africa's priority crimes unit, delves into the country's burgeoning tech and wine industries. A week before Christmas, a young photographer discovers a plastic-wrapped corpse amidst the sand dunes north of Cape Town. The only thing found on the corpse is a dead iPhone, but it doesn't take long for the police to identify the body as that of Ernst Richter-the tech whiz behind MyAlibi, an internet service that provides unfaithful partners with sophisticated cover stories to hide an affair. Meanwhile, Benny Griessel is called to the scene of a multiple homicide involving a former colleague, and four years of sobriety are undone on the spot. He emerges from his drunken haze determined to quit the force, but the indomitable Major Mbali Kaleni, now his boss, wants Griessel on the Richter case. The high-profile murder has already been the subject of fierce media speculation, with questions swirling about the potential for motive: could the perpetrator be one of the countless jilted spouses? An aggrieved client? Before the week is out, an unexpected connection to a storied family winery comes to light, and Griessel's reputation is again on the line. Mounting towards a startling conclusion, Icarus is another exceptional novel from the "King of South African Crime."
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In South African author Meyer's excellent fifth novel featuring Benny Griessel of Cape Town's Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (after 2014's Cobra), Benny has been sober for more than 20 months, but he soon falls off the wagon after hearing tragic news about a colleague. Vollie Fish, who had caught two serial killers in four years, fatally shot his wife and two daughters and then himself, an apparent victim of his own demons. Meanwhile, someone has strangled Ernst Richter, called the Alibi Man for his website, which provides alibis, complete with phony documentation, for a price. Richter's death alone would be enough to unsettle those who use his services, but in addition someone has created a Twitter account that threatens to list all his clients in 18 hours. Meyer heightens the suspense with scenes of a defense attorney's conversations with an enigmatic client. The richness of the characters, especially the multifaceted Benny, elevates this above most contemporary police procedurals. Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Guardian Review
Icarus by Deon Meyer; Tennison by Linda La Plante; The Moth Catcher by Ann Cleeves; Blood and Bone by VM Giambanco; Vertigo by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac South African author Deon Meyer' s Benny Griessel series is one of the high points of contemporary crime fiction, and the fifth title, Icarus (translated from Afrikaans by KL Seegers, Hodder & Stoughton, [pound]17.99), is his best yet. Detective Captain Griessel of the Cape Town police is a recovering alcoholic whose sobriety is derailed by the news that a colleague killed his family and then himself. Potentially career-destroying benders and attempts to get back on the wagon punctuate his investigation into the strangling of Ernst Richter, owner of the adultery-facilitating website Alibi. It soon becomes clear that Richter, who wasn't averse to a spot of blackmail, has not honoured his promise of client confidentiality, and an anonymous Twitter user threatening to reveal the cheaters' names causes a media frenzy. There's a parallel narrative involving the troubled family history of winemaker Francois du Toit, but it's not until the end that the link between these two equally fascinating strands becomes clear in this expertly engineered tales of sex, lies and fraud. DCI Jane Tennison is familiar to most of us as the battle-hardened, uncompromising character played by Helen Mirren in the Prime Suspect television dramas, but in Tennison (Simon & Schuster, [pound]20), series creator Lynda La Plante turns back the clock to 1973, introducing the protagonist as a 22-year-old WPC fresh from Hendon Police College. Intelligent and ambitious, Tennison is keen to learn, but is relegated by old-school chauvinist Sergeant Harris to the role of dogsbody until she catches the eye of DCI Len Bradfield and becomes involved in investigating the murder of a young woman. This is a rite-of-passage novel with an absorbingly twisty plot (a second case involves a bank job). There's some grinding of gears -- chunks of exposition and clunky dialogue -- but overall, it's a pacey and enjoyable read. Northumberland-based DCI Vera Stanhope, derived from the novels of Ann Cleeves and played by Brenda Blethyn, has, in recent years, become another stalwart of small-screen policing. The Moth Catcher (Macmillan, [pound]16.99), Cleeves's seventh Vera novel, has the dogged, dishevelled and often tactless detective investigating the apparently unconnected murders of two lepidopterists at a big country house in idyllic Valley Farm. In a nearby group of barn conversions live the "retired hedonists", three couples in late middle-age who have retired early to take it easy in the country, and whose lives appear to revolve around drinks parties -- although, as Vera discovers, they are not as carefree as their self-description suggests. The Moth Catcher is a splendid, solidly plotted modern take on a golden-age "closed circle" mystery, and Vera, as always, is a delight. Blood and Bone (Quercus, [pound]18.99) is the third outing for VM Giambanco's Detective Alice Madison of the Seattle police. The murder of a householder apparently killed during a burglary turns out to be the work of a serial killer whose victims number the living as well as the dead -- those who have been wrongly convicted for the crimes he committed and are now serving life sentences. Madison and her colleagues are strongly written, compelling characters and the primary plot is high-octane stuff. The subplot, carried over from previous books, will have less resonance for readers new to the series. Originally published in English in 1956 under the title The Living and the Dead, Vertigo, by the French crime-writing duo Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, has now been reissued (translation by Geoffrey Sainsbury, Pushkin Vertigo, [pound]7.99). Set in France during and after the second world war, this dark and powerful account of a man's descent into obsession is well worth the read, whether or not you are familiar with Alfred Hitchcock's film adaptation of the same name. * Laura Wilson's latest novel is The Wrong Girl (Quercus). - Laura Wilson.
Kirkus Review
Sex, lies, and a lot of alcohol are the key elements in Meyer's (Cobra, 2014, etc.) latest thriller featuring Detective Captain Benny Griessel of the leading South African investigative team known as the Hawks. Griessel himself is incapacitated for most of the story: after two years as a recovering alcoholic, he's been shaken by a murder/suicide involving a colleague and has fallen off the wagon. While Griessel struggles to keep his life from falling apart, Ernst Richter, owner of the notorious website Alibi, turns up strangled. True to its name, Alibi promises airtight excuses for clients cheating on their spouses, but it seems that Richter hasn't honored his promise to keep his clients' identities secret. In a parallel storyline, Cape Town winemaker Francois de Toit outlines his troubled family history during a government investigation, a story that includes growing up with a psychopathic brother. De Toit has his own secret: he's become involved in a fraud scheme, in which his bottles of South African wine are sold internationally as high-priced Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The connection between these two stories won't become clear until Griessel can get his head out of the Jack Daniels. Complicating matters further, investigators in each of the cases find themselves falling in love with the possible suspects they're interviewing. Unlike previous Griessel volumes, this one makes only passing references to the political and racial climate of post-apartheid South Africa. But the surprising plot twists and the wealth of juicy subplots make this a standout entry in a superior series. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
South African crime novelist Meyer delivers another expertly crafted thriller that feels exceptionally timely, given its focus on the high-tech and wine industries. Ernst Richter, the head of the Internet service MyAlibi, which provides forged documentation to cover up the whereabouts of cheating spouses, has been killed. Meanwhile, Captain Benny Griessel is badly shaken when he's called to the scene of a multiple homicide; a former colleague has killed his entire family. Suddenly, Benny, who has been sober for four years, succumbs to his need for a drink. His colleague, Vaughn Cupido, who has been put in charge of the high-profile Richter case, needs Benny on his game, but Benny is of the mind that he can control his demons, born of the chaos of his profession, much better when he's had a few. As he drifts ever further from sobriety, his beautiful partner, a former alcoholic herself, feels that Benny's presence is a danger to her own sobriety. As Benny's elite investigative unit struggles to close the case, Benny must decide whether he's willing to lose his job and his partner for the love of drink.--Wilkinson, Joanne Copyright 2015 Booklist
