Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This was a hard book to read. It takes place in South Africa in 1952, after the apartheid laws were passed. For some reason, I had always thought the apartheid laws were vestiges of the old colonial system. I did not realize they came and went in my lifetime. The whole plot of the story revolves around the murder of an Afrikaneer, who is the police chief in the town of Jacob's Rest in South Africa, a town rigidly divided along Dutch lines, English lines, colored lines and black lines. Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper is sent from Johannesburg to look into the murder but he is soon supplanted by the Security Branch, the secret police of the Boers who run South Africa. Cooper is shunted off into a menial investigation of another crime as the Security Branch take over the murder investigation. But it is Cooper who solves the case because of his ties to the natives and the trust he builds with them. However, the Security Branch will not acknowledge Cooper's accomplishments and they beat a confession out of another native. It was hard to read this book because of all the racism. The location was a vital part of this book; the author does a stellar job describing the veldt and Africa.
Africa remains a relatively unexplored setting for crime novels, so I was pleased to come across this book set in 1950s South Africa. It opens with Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper arriving in the tiny eastern border town of Jacob's Rest to investigate a report of a drowned police officer. It turns out the man found floating in a pool of water was the town's police captain/unofficial mayor, and was shot through the head. Thus begins Cooper's trip down the dark mean dirt paths that criss-cross the velt behind the town's Afrikaner, Zulu, and Colored houses, shops, and farms. As in any good small-town crime story, nearly everyone has secrets to hide from Cooper -- even the stoic Zulu police constable and mysterious Jewish shopkeeper who become his sidekicks. However, what might have been a standard procedural whodunit in an exotic setting is vastly complicated by the arrival on the scene of two national Security Force goons who take over the investigation. They are hunting for a communist angle to the murder, even if they have to beat it out of an innocent scapegoat, or knock a non-Afrikaner policeman like Cooper around.
These Security Force guys are more dangerous than any criminal Cooper has faced in Johannesburg, and he has to tread lightly around them in order to find the real killer. The story takes place just after the passing of the Immorality Act, banning sexual relations between the races, so you know that's going to play a big role in the story. And indeed it does, as Cooper strips away layer after layer of propriety and deception to reveal the not-so-innocent heart of this supposed "Godly" town, he gets closer and closer to being a victim himself. There's a kind of silly semi-supernatural element to it, as Cooper sometimes hears the voice of his old Scottish drill sergeant in his subconscious yelling at him to keep digging deeper and not to give in. While the bulk of the book is pretty engaging and fun, the climax is a bit of a letdown. The villain, when unmasked is somewhat disappointing, having been motivated by largely invisible extreme pathologies. I never like it when an otherwise perfectly decent crime story features a loony villain, I guess I prefer things to be more mundane. On the whole, however, it's a decent debut with some great atmosphere and a protagonist I wouldn't mind spending another book with. (And indeed, Cooper returns in the Durban-set Let the Dead Die).
These Security Force guys are more dangerous than any criminal Cooper has faced in Johannesburg, and he has to tread lightly around them in order to find the real killer. The story takes place just after the passing of the Immorality Act, banning sexual relations between the races, so you know that's going to play a big role in the story. And indeed it does, as Cooper strips away layer after layer of propriety and deception to reveal the not-so-innocent heart of this supposed "Godly" town, he gets closer and closer to being a victim himself. There's a kind of silly semi-supernatural element to it, as Cooper sometimes hears the voice of his old Scottish drill sergeant in his subconscious yelling at him to keep digging deeper and not to give in. While the bulk of the book is pretty engaging and fun, the climax is a bit of a letdown. The villain, when unmasked is somewhat disappointing, having been motivated by largely invisible extreme pathologies. I never like it when an otherwise perfectly decent crime story features a loony villain, I guess I prefer things to be more mundane. On the whole, however, it's a decent debut with some great atmosphere and a protagonist I wouldn't mind spending another book with. (And indeed, Cooper returns in the Durban-set Let the Dead Die).
Three stars isn't very generous but more or less accurate from my perspective - I liked the book fine but can't say that I "really liked it." It is obvious that the author put a lot of work into it.
Having been to South Africa, I thought this would be both entertaining (as a detective novel) and provide some history of apartheid (since it is set in the 1950s). As it worked out, I didn't find the story that engaging but the (I presume accurate) depiction of South Africa's past was.
I had the same problem with the characters and with the plot - too much compexity, too many twists and turns. For example, the central character, detective sargent Cooper, has these flashbacks to World War II at key moments that simply interrupt the flow of the story. The plot unwinds with turn after twist. If this is complexity to the third degree, to the second degree would have been fine.
Having been to South Africa, I thought this would be both entertaining (as a detective novel) and provide some history of apartheid (since it is set in the 1950s). As it worked out, I didn't find the story that engaging but the (I presume accurate) depiction of South Africa's past was.
I had the same problem with the characters and with the plot - too much compexity, too many twists and turns. For example, the central character, detective sargent Cooper, has these flashbacks to World War II at key moments that simply interrupt the flow of the story. The plot unwinds with turn after twist. If this is complexity to the third degree, to the second degree would have been fine.
mysterious
fast-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's been a while since I have been so gripped by a novel. Not only is the mystery and suspense great, but the setting was perfect. So many cultural nuances we captured just right- the injustice, suffering, pain, humanity of Apartheid South Africa. Nothing was overt or obvious, but it was grounded in reality. Looking forward to the series and will be recommending it, for sure.
It's still a detective story. But in apartheid South Africa.
http://recenseernogeenkeer.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/a-beautiful-place-to-die/
http://recenseernogeenkeer.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/a-beautiful-place-to-die/