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Lemmer #2
Trackers
Lemmer's First Don't get involved. But when Emma le Roux looks at him with pleading eyes, when the roof of his Karoo house needs big repairs, when the cause is good and just, laws can be broken. So he sighs, and says, yes, he'll ride shotgun for two rare black rhinos. Bad decision. Because on a dark and dusty road in Limpopo, they stick a Smith & Wesson Model 500 against his head. They kick him and beat him, they lie, they deceive him, and they steal his Glock, the one with his fingerprints all over it. They should have killed him. And now he goes after them--the start of a trail of violence that will run the length and breadth of a country, and touch many lives.It will leave a trail of blood through the first private-investigation dossier of former cop Mat Joubert. It's a "fifty-five," police slang for a missing persons case. It will stomp fear and horror through the life of Milla Strachan, who walked out on her rich, cheating husband and abusive teenage son to start a ne
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
330 people are currently reading
1,219 people want to read
About the author
Deon Meyer
51books1,174followersDeon Meyer was born in the South African town of Paarl in the winelands of the Western Cape in 1958, and grew up in Klerksdorp, in the gold mining region of Northwest Province.
After military duty and studying at the Potchefstroom University, he joined Die Volksblad, a daily newspaper in Bloemfontein as a reporter. Since then, he has worked as press liaison, advertising copywriter, creative director, web manager, Internet strategist, and brand consultant.
Deon wrote his first book when he was 14 years old, and bribed and blackmailed his two brothers into reading it. They were not impressed (hey, everybody is a critic ...)
Deon Meyer
Heeding their wisdom, he did not write fiction again until he was in his early thirties, when he started publishing short stories in South African magazines.
"I still believe that is the best way to learn the craft of writing. Short stories teach you a lot about story structure - and you have limited space to develop character and plot," says Deon.
In 1994 he published his first Afrikaans novel, which has not been translated, "simply because it was not good enough to compete on the international market. However, it was a wonderful learning experience".
All later novels have been translated into several languages, including English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, Czech, Romanian, Slovakian and Bulgarian.
Deon lives in Melkbosstrand on the South African West Coast with his wife, Anita, and they have four children to keep them busy: Lida, Liam, Johan and Konstanz.
Other than his family, his big passions are motorcycling, music (he is a Mozart fanatic, but loves rock 'n roll too), reading, cooking and rugby (he unconditionally supports the national Springbok team and the Free State Cheetahs provincial team).
After military duty and studying at the Potchefstroom University, he joined Die Volksblad, a daily newspaper in Bloemfontein as a reporter. Since then, he has worked as press liaison, advertising copywriter, creative director, web manager, Internet strategist, and brand consultant.
Deon wrote his first book when he was 14 years old, and bribed and blackmailed his two brothers into reading it. They were not impressed (hey, everybody is a critic ...)
Deon Meyer
Heeding their wisdom, he did not write fiction again until he was in his early thirties, when he started publishing short stories in South African magazines.
"I still believe that is the best way to learn the craft of writing. Short stories teach you a lot about story structure - and you have limited space to develop character and plot," says Deon.
In 1994 he published his first Afrikaans novel, which has not been translated, "simply because it was not good enough to compete on the international market. However, it was a wonderful learning experience".
All later novels have been translated into several languages, including English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, Czech, Romanian, Slovakian and Bulgarian.
Deon lives in Melkbosstrand on the South African West Coast with his wife, Anita, and they have four children to keep them busy: Lida, Liam, Johan and Konstanz.
Other than his family, his big passions are motorcycling, music (he is a Mozart fanatic, but loves rock 'n roll too), reading, cooking and rugby (he unconditionally supports the national Springbok team and the Free State Cheetahs provincial team).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 249 reviews
September 24, 2011
Many thrillers are about saving humanity, not necessarily inhabiting it. Maverick heroes are replicated from types previously established in classic iconic stories. Villains are cut from generic, barbaric cloth--the more psychopathic and gruesome, the better. Character and language are sacrificed for plot and standard themes, and the admirable hero/ine (or noble anti-hero/ine) saves the world. Gosh, with the hundreds of thrillers published each year (month?), the human race is lucky to be alive.
Enter the intelligence and nuance of South African novelist, Deon Meyer, whose arresting thrillers open and close with crackle and character. The plot doesn't proceed without the evanescence and development of his mosaic cast. Each primary protagonist of the three distinct stories in TRACKERS has an enigmatic personality, a moral imperative, and palpable inner conflicts--and Meyer winds the three plots into a robust and ropy overlap. Plot and story move in tandem with character, and discovery is united with exposure.
Characters are the key to open every dark path and locked password. The veld shimmers; you'll be Wiki-ing the Great Karoo and the black rhino. You won't want it to end. That's assured--you will be breathless for more--for the next page, the subsequent chapter, the following installment. Meyer created a hybrid of stand-alone and series--a few characters from former novels, and at least one that isn't done yet. One track in each.
TRACKERS is Meyer's most complex, tightly controlled, and literary novel to date, with an ending so exhilarating yet sublime that you will be pondering it for days. I have been an ardent fan for the past four books, but Meyer has not only eclipsed himself, he has outshone the towering abundance of other thrillers on the market.
His biting social commentary doesn't feel like a mouthpiece manipulation--it is woven in to the sharp observations of the various characters, such as Mat Joubert, the PI of the third story, a former member of SAPS gone corporate-private, and wrestling with middle-age ennui. Also, his passionate love for his wife is delightful.
Meyer's mastery of language and poetic expression is channeled through the character of Milla Strachan, the would-be writer and lover of words, a forty-year-old survivor of spousal abuse whose grown son takes her for granted. Meyer inhabits Milla with sinewy ease; his ability to express his primary female character is haunting, and Milla's choices feel organic (like the rest of the cast).
And then there is troubled Lemmer, who fans will remember from Blood Safari; Becker, an opaque swashbuckler; and Flea, his darkest of all female characters, a cipher. There's an offstage man, Danie, a cryptic, integral fellow who is revealed through other characters, such as his wife, his boss, and his employees--but who is he? Moreover, references to a primary protagonist from Thirteen Hours is intriguing to those of us who read it, because it engages us with a sense of continuity. And there are some secondary, beguiling characters who you're sure you'll see again.
There's no reason to tell you the plot here. Just a few nods to Meyer's intrepid storytelling--he creates three different stories that keep you riveted, and you gradually stop wondering how, why, where, or when this all combines. You trust him, and after the first fifty pages or so, you stop worrying about remembering the plethora of names (it does settle down).
Also, there's a wonderful glossary in the back, an education in itself. I wish I had known about it before I started reading. Laura Seegers translates from the original Afrikans with seamless authority. There are eleven official languages of South Africa, and her choice inclusions of slang, acronyms, and phraseology create an indelible atmosphere.
Words like asseblief--it means "please," or bergie, which is a homeless person living on the side of Table Mountain. And oom, a form of respectful address, like "uncle." Spoor means "track," the mark a wild animal leaves in the bush. (All this and more in the glossary.) Also, heading the chapters of Lemmer's story are short sentences from Louis Liebenberg's THE ART OF TRACKING. After all, this book is about tracking--animal tracking, surveillance, and detective tracking. Okay, now you have it.
Of all Meyer's books, this has the most global of contexts, ultimately. It is surely the most exciting. The fat lady doesn't sing, either--she whispers.
Enter the intelligence and nuance of South African novelist, Deon Meyer, whose arresting thrillers open and close with crackle and character. The plot doesn't proceed without the evanescence and development of his mosaic cast. Each primary protagonist of the three distinct stories in TRACKERS has an enigmatic personality, a moral imperative, and palpable inner conflicts--and Meyer winds the three plots into a robust and ropy overlap. Plot and story move in tandem with character, and discovery is united with exposure.
Characters are the key to open every dark path and locked password. The veld shimmers; you'll be Wiki-ing the Great Karoo and the black rhino. You won't want it to end. That's assured--you will be breathless for more--for the next page, the subsequent chapter, the following installment. Meyer created a hybrid of stand-alone and series--a few characters from former novels, and at least one that isn't done yet. One track in each.
TRACKERS is Meyer's most complex, tightly controlled, and literary novel to date, with an ending so exhilarating yet sublime that you will be pondering it for days. I have been an ardent fan for the past four books, but Meyer has not only eclipsed himself, he has outshone the towering abundance of other thrillers on the market.
His biting social commentary doesn't feel like a mouthpiece manipulation--it is woven in to the sharp observations of the various characters, such as Mat Joubert, the PI of the third story, a former member of SAPS gone corporate-private, and wrestling with middle-age ennui. Also, his passionate love for his wife is delightful.
Meyer's mastery of language and poetic expression is channeled through the character of Milla Strachan, the would-be writer and lover of words, a forty-year-old survivor of spousal abuse whose grown son takes her for granted. Meyer inhabits Milla with sinewy ease; his ability to express his primary female character is haunting, and Milla's choices feel organic (like the rest of the cast).
And then there is troubled Lemmer, who fans will remember from Blood Safari; Becker, an opaque swashbuckler; and Flea, his darkest of all female characters, a cipher. There's an offstage man, Danie, a cryptic, integral fellow who is revealed through other characters, such as his wife, his boss, and his employees--but who is he? Moreover, references to a primary protagonist from Thirteen Hours is intriguing to those of us who read it, because it engages us with a sense of continuity. And there are some secondary, beguiling characters who you're sure you'll see again.
There's no reason to tell you the plot here. Just a few nods to Meyer's intrepid storytelling--he creates three different stories that keep you riveted, and you gradually stop wondering how, why, where, or when this all combines. You trust him, and after the first fifty pages or so, you stop worrying about remembering the plethora of names (it does settle down).
Also, there's a wonderful glossary in the back, an education in itself. I wish I had known about it before I started reading. Laura Seegers translates from the original Afrikans with seamless authority. There are eleven official languages of South Africa, and her choice inclusions of slang, acronyms, and phraseology create an indelible atmosphere.
Words like asseblief--it means "please," or bergie, which is a homeless person living on the side of Table Mountain. And oom, a form of respectful address, like "uncle." Spoor means "track," the mark a wild animal leaves in the bush. (All this and more in the glossary.) Also, heading the chapters of Lemmer's story are short sentences from Louis Liebenberg's THE ART OF TRACKING. After all, this book is about tracking--animal tracking, surveillance, and detective tracking. Okay, now you have it.
Of all Meyer's books, this has the most global of contexts, ultimately. It is surely the most exciting. The fat lady doesn't sing, either--she whispers.
July 18, 2011
Long before I started recording the books I’d read and writing reviews, I read my first Deon Meyer novel called Heart of the Hunter. It was a tremendous introduction to South African fiction—rich with characters strong and brave, written with such specific local color, one could be nowhere else on earth. I now grab Meyer’s new books whenever a bookstore is wise enough to stock them, and recommend them to anyone who likes international mystery fiction.
In this latest offering, Meyers takes on a plot thick with international terrorism, diamond and animal smuggling, and gang warfare. He reprises or invokes old faces: private investigator Mat Joubert; “retired� bad boy and private security bodyguard Lemmer; Lukas Becker, archeologist and bruiser with a heart of gold; Benny Griessel, policeman extraordinaire. We are introduced to a new character that we hope to see again: Cornelia Johanna van Jaarsveld, better known as the animal tracker, “Flea.� It is a lot to assimilate, but Meyer manages. The final third of the book is riveting, and exhibits Meyer’s great skill: writing a fast-paced story unique with characters that matter to us.
This big book is almost an embarrassment of riches: many threads, stories within stories, lots of characters. It could have been three separate novels, though they all tied together at the end. In my ebook version, the first one hundred pages “set the scene� for an international terrorism plot, but do not display Meyer’s great skills at characterization. The reaader must not lose hope, because the rest of the book is hallmark Meyer. I perhaps would have encouraged greater editing on the background terror plot, while I understand the reason for it. It was, perhaps, more detailed than necessary and certainly less interesting. It would have taken some effort to shorten the plot explication while highlighting Milla, the character who later plays a pivotal role. In any case, far be it from me to withhold praise from Deon Meyer, who can be masterful in sharing South Africa with us.
As an added bonus, Meyer’s has photographs posted by the author that show the locales he describes in the book, titled Spoor in the Afrikaans edition. In case you’ve never been to South Africa, this is a good opportunity to visualize the landscape Meyer describes in his novels.
In this latest offering, Meyers takes on a plot thick with international terrorism, diamond and animal smuggling, and gang warfare. He reprises or invokes old faces: private investigator Mat Joubert; “retired� bad boy and private security bodyguard Lemmer; Lukas Becker, archeologist and bruiser with a heart of gold; Benny Griessel, policeman extraordinaire. We are introduced to a new character that we hope to see again: Cornelia Johanna van Jaarsveld, better known as the animal tracker, “Flea.� It is a lot to assimilate, but Meyer manages. The final third of the book is riveting, and exhibits Meyer’s great skill: writing a fast-paced story unique with characters that matter to us.
This big book is almost an embarrassment of riches: many threads, stories within stories, lots of characters. It could have been three separate novels, though they all tied together at the end. In my ebook version, the first one hundred pages “set the scene� for an international terrorism plot, but do not display Meyer’s great skills at characterization. The reaader must not lose hope, because the rest of the book is hallmark Meyer. I perhaps would have encouraged greater editing on the background terror plot, while I understand the reason for it. It was, perhaps, more detailed than necessary and certainly less interesting. It would have taken some effort to shorten the plot explication while highlighting Milla, the character who later plays a pivotal role. In any case, far be it from me to withhold praise from Deon Meyer, who can be masterful in sharing South Africa with us.
As an added bonus, Meyer’s has photographs posted by the author that show the locales he describes in the book, titled Spoor in the Afrikaans edition. In case you’ve never been to South Africa, this is a good opportunity to visualize the landscape Meyer describes in his novels.
November 2, 2017
Trackers is four interrelated novellas by South African author Deon Meyer, translated from Afrikaans. In “Milla� (Conspiracy) a Cape Town housewife walks out on her abusive husband and selfish teenage son to start her life afresh. Trained in journalism she is picked up by a government agency which produces an in-house magazine and reports. This is a front for the Presidential Intelligence Agency (PIA), and she is soon involved in profiling a local Moslem cleric with links to the gang ‘Restless Ravens� operating out of the Cape Flats, the gangster Julius Shabangu, operating out of the Gauteng (Jo’burg area) who uses Zimbabwean youths in car-jacking operations, a money-launderer in the Middle East and a senior man in Robert Magabe’s government. It is 2009 and at stake here is a possible terrorist attack ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
In “Lemmer� (the Black Swan) Lemmer is a bodyguard working for Cape Town protection agency “Body Armour�. He is hired by Karoo farmer Diederik Brand, to escort a vet Flea Van Jaarsfeld as she transports a pair of rare black rhino across the border from Zimbabwe, on an 18-hour road trip through Limpopo to the Karoo, avoiding the main highways and weigh stations, when they are ambushed by armed men, led by Gauteng gangster, Julius Shabangu.
In “Milla� (A Theory of Chaos) the action returns to Cape Town. Shabangu’s body has been found and the prime Suspect is Lukas Becker, a man whose phone calls were intercepted, wanting his money back from the boot of the hire vehicle, which was carjacked out of Jo’burg. With possible CIA involvement, Milla is tasked with profiling Becker ... and unexpectedly comes face-to-face...
Finally, in “Matt Joubert� (Form 92), former superintendent Joubert of the SAPS has left the police, disillusioned after a career spanning 30 years, to join a private detective agency. It is now February 2010 and Joubert is assigned the case of Danie Flint, reported missing by his wife, Tanya, in October 2009. A loyal employee, considerate husband and son, Flint’s car was found unlocked at the gym he frequented but no body has been recovered. Was he abducted or did he “disappear?� As Joubert digs deeper he discovers a husband who has led a dual life while he fights the money-pinching organisation that has hired him.
In each of these stories there are clever linkages to the others, or to characters in other books by Meyer. I really enjoyed his style of giving each story an abrupt ending, leaving the reader to ponder what happened next. The book includes a skeletal map of South Africa in the front pages, with the locations described, and a glossary with words in Afrikaans, (with some Shona, Sesotho and IsiZulu) and Arabic, bringing colour and depth to the narrative.
I admit I found it an intriguing read as I was over there in 2011, and recognised several places I visited or passed through. Will definitely read other books by him. Recommended for armchair travellers and mystery buffs everywhere.
In “Lemmer� (the Black Swan) Lemmer is a bodyguard working for Cape Town protection agency “Body Armour�. He is hired by Karoo farmer Diederik Brand, to escort a vet Flea Van Jaarsfeld as she transports a pair of rare black rhino across the border from Zimbabwe, on an 18-hour road trip through Limpopo to the Karoo, avoiding the main highways and weigh stations, when they are ambushed by armed men, led by Gauteng gangster, Julius Shabangu.
In “Milla� (A Theory of Chaos) the action returns to Cape Town. Shabangu’s body has been found and the prime Suspect is Lukas Becker, a man whose phone calls were intercepted, wanting his money back from the boot of the hire vehicle, which was carjacked out of Jo’burg. With possible CIA involvement, Milla is tasked with profiling Becker ... and unexpectedly comes face-to-face...
Finally, in “Matt Joubert� (Form 92), former superintendent Joubert of the SAPS has left the police, disillusioned after a career spanning 30 years, to join a private detective agency. It is now February 2010 and Joubert is assigned the case of Danie Flint, reported missing by his wife, Tanya, in October 2009. A loyal employee, considerate husband and son, Flint’s car was found unlocked at the gym he frequented but no body has been recovered. Was he abducted or did he “disappear?� As Joubert digs deeper he discovers a husband who has led a dual life while he fights the money-pinching organisation that has hired him.
In each of these stories there are clever linkages to the others, or to characters in other books by Meyer. I really enjoyed his style of giving each story an abrupt ending, leaving the reader to ponder what happened next. The book includes a skeletal map of South Africa in the front pages, with the locations described, and a glossary with words in Afrikaans, (with some Shona, Sesotho and IsiZulu) and Arabic, bringing colour and depth to the narrative.
I admit I found it an intriguing read as I was over there in 2011, and recognised several places I visited or passed through. Will definitely read other books by him. Recommended for armchair travellers and mystery buffs everywhere.
October 20, 2024
I don’t have a great memory for all the books I’ve read. There are a few books that I still clearly remember 50-60 years after I read them. These are the ones that truly integrated themselves into my thinking schemas—ones that still reverberate today.
But usually I can remember a few bits and pieces from lesser books I’ve read, particularly after reading reviews that describe the main characters or basics of the plot. When the character Flea (Christina) was introduced in Deon Meyer’s new novel “Leo�, and it was mentioned that she had first appeared in “Trackers�, I looked up reviews of “Trackers�, but couldn’t remember reading it. Yet a paperback copy was sitting on my “favourite authors� shelf. I had ordered it from the UK in 2011 because Deon Meyer’s books weren’t being sold in Canada at that time.
I read it, but forgot the basics of the plot, and, as well, the characters who appeared in it. So, I read it a second time.
�
The main reason I forgot everything, I believe, was because it contained four disjointed novellas. These were:�
�
(1) Book 1: Milla (Conspiracy)
Milla Strachan, a housewife, is treated so badly by her husband and her 18-year-old son that she walks out on them and finds a job working as a report writer for the Presidential Intelligence Agency (PIA). This Agency is trying to nail down a possible terrorist plot involving a conspiracy between a Muslim group (The Supreme Committee) and a Zulu gangster group run by “Inkunzi�. The three members of the PIA—Janina Mentz, Tau Masilo, and Rajeev Rajkumar—appear often in the story but their actions and personalities are jumbled. There is also, near the ending, a strange conversation recorded between Inkunzi and a man named “Lukas Becker�. Book 1 ends on an unfinished note, and overall, with the exception of Milla’s part in the story, is not easy to understand.
(2) Book 2: Lemmer (The Black Swan)
Lemmer (who appeared in an earlier book by Deon Meyers) is hired by Diederik Brand to help bring three endangered rhinos across the border (illegally) from Zimbabwe. In Zim, he is joined by Flea Van Jaarsveld, a female veterinarian, who is taking care of the rhinos. Along the way they are hijacked by Inkunzi, but eventually get their cargo to its destination. Later, Lemmer finds that Flea has deceived everyone and Lemmer goes looking for her but ends up in a shootout with Inkunzi. Again an incomplete ending.
(3) Book 3: Mila (A Theory of Chaos)
In Book 1, Mila started taking ballroom dance classes because she had always wanted to learn how to dance. In Book 3, she meets Lucas Becker at a dance class, after having prepared a dossier on him for the PIA. (Becker is briefly mentioned at the end of Book 1 but not until Book 3 do we discover his background.) We also learn that one of the middle aged motorcyclists that Lemmer beat up in Book 2 was Mila’s ex-husband, so the stories are beginning to interweave. The discussions among the three PIA agents are as chaotic as ever. Eventually, Milla goes on the run with Becker because he is an international swindler who accidentally became entangled with the gangster Inkunzi—the same Inkunzi who was involved with a shoot-out with Lemmer in Book 2. The PIA thinks that Becker may be involved with the Muslim conspiracy that they have been following. There is an unexpected ending, and the PIA finally discovers the nature of the Muslim conspiracy.
(4) Book 4: Mat Joubert (Form 92)
Former police senior superintendent, Max Joubert (who appeared in two earlier Deon Meyer novels), is now working for a private detective firm. For his first case, he is hired by Tanya Flint to find her missing husband, Danie. Danie has been missing for three months, and almost from the start, Joubert believes that he will be searching for Danie’s body. Tracking down what happened to him involves several twists. This is by far the best story in the book and it is not related to the earlier three except for an epilogue at the ending which mentions Flea.
My Perspective
Three of the four novellas are tied together, but Books 1 and 3 are very difficult to follow because the work that the three members of the PIA are doing is too chaotic. Only Milla’s growth as a person is worth following in those two stories, and even this is challenging because several other themes are occurring simultaneously.
There are too many characters in each novella. A novella works best when a reader needs to follow the trajectory of only a few characters.
The Lemmer story is interesting but has no ending. And Flea turns out not only to be a liar and thief, but (as described in the epilogue) also responsible for her cousin’s death—it is left unsaid exactly what part she played in that death, but she is definitely not a nice person, not one with whom a reader can easily identify.
Only Book 4 is top-level reading. I wish that that section had been expanded to form the core of the book, rather than ending up as a short independent story.
Deon Meyer tried to do something interesting by putting four not-quite-independent novellas together in one book. Unfortunately, this was one of his lesser efforts, and that is why I completely forgot it’s content.
Still, not-so-great Deon Meyer is better than many thrillers being written today. 3.5 rating
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My reviews for some other books in this series:
The Last Hunt (Benny Griessel #6)
The Dark Flood (Benny Griessel #7)
Leo (Benny Griessel #8)
and also see:
Heart of the Hunter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But usually I can remember a few bits and pieces from lesser books I’ve read, particularly after reading reviews that describe the main characters or basics of the plot. When the character Flea (Christina) was introduced in Deon Meyer’s new novel “Leo�, and it was mentioned that she had first appeared in “Trackers�, I looked up reviews of “Trackers�, but couldn’t remember reading it. Yet a paperback copy was sitting on my “favourite authors� shelf. I had ordered it from the UK in 2011 because Deon Meyer’s books weren’t being sold in Canada at that time.
I read it, but forgot the basics of the plot, and, as well, the characters who appeared in it. So, I read it a second time.
�
The main reason I forgot everything, I believe, was because it contained four disjointed novellas. These were:�
�
(1) Book 1: Milla (Conspiracy)
Milla Strachan, a housewife, is treated so badly by her husband and her 18-year-old son that she walks out on them and finds a job working as a report writer for the Presidential Intelligence Agency (PIA). This Agency is trying to nail down a possible terrorist plot involving a conspiracy between a Muslim group (The Supreme Committee) and a Zulu gangster group run by “Inkunzi�. The three members of the PIA—Janina Mentz, Tau Masilo, and Rajeev Rajkumar—appear often in the story but their actions and personalities are jumbled. There is also, near the ending, a strange conversation recorded between Inkunzi and a man named “Lukas Becker�. Book 1 ends on an unfinished note, and overall, with the exception of Milla’s part in the story, is not easy to understand.
(2) Book 2: Lemmer (The Black Swan)
Lemmer (who appeared in an earlier book by Deon Meyers) is hired by Diederik Brand to help bring three endangered rhinos across the border (illegally) from Zimbabwe. In Zim, he is joined by Flea Van Jaarsveld, a female veterinarian, who is taking care of the rhinos. Along the way they are hijacked by Inkunzi, but eventually get their cargo to its destination. Later, Lemmer finds that Flea has deceived everyone and Lemmer goes looking for her but ends up in a shootout with Inkunzi. Again an incomplete ending.
(3) Book 3: Mila (A Theory of Chaos)
In Book 1, Mila started taking ballroom dance classes because she had always wanted to learn how to dance. In Book 3, she meets Lucas Becker at a dance class, after having prepared a dossier on him for the PIA. (Becker is briefly mentioned at the end of Book 1 but not until Book 3 do we discover his background.) We also learn that one of the middle aged motorcyclists that Lemmer beat up in Book 2 was Mila’s ex-husband, so the stories are beginning to interweave. The discussions among the three PIA agents are as chaotic as ever. Eventually, Milla goes on the run with Becker because he is an international swindler who accidentally became entangled with the gangster Inkunzi—the same Inkunzi who was involved with a shoot-out with Lemmer in Book 2. The PIA thinks that Becker may be involved with the Muslim conspiracy that they have been following. There is an unexpected ending, and the PIA finally discovers the nature of the Muslim conspiracy.
(4) Book 4: Mat Joubert (Form 92)
Former police senior superintendent, Max Joubert (who appeared in two earlier Deon Meyer novels), is now working for a private detective firm. For his first case, he is hired by Tanya Flint to find her missing husband, Danie. Danie has been missing for three months, and almost from the start, Joubert believes that he will be searching for Danie’s body. Tracking down what happened to him involves several twists. This is by far the best story in the book and it is not related to the earlier three except for an epilogue at the ending which mentions Flea.
My Perspective
Three of the four novellas are tied together, but Books 1 and 3 are very difficult to follow because the work that the three members of the PIA are doing is too chaotic. Only Milla’s growth as a person is worth following in those two stories, and even this is challenging because several other themes are occurring simultaneously.
There are too many characters in each novella. A novella works best when a reader needs to follow the trajectory of only a few characters.
The Lemmer story is interesting but has no ending. And Flea turns out not only to be a liar and thief, but (as described in the epilogue) also responsible for her cousin’s death—it is left unsaid exactly what part she played in that death, but she is definitely not a nice person, not one with whom a reader can easily identify.
Only Book 4 is top-level reading. I wish that that section had been expanded to form the core of the book, rather than ending up as a short independent story.
Deon Meyer tried to do something interesting by putting four not-quite-independent novellas together in one book. Unfortunately, this was one of his lesser efforts, and that is why I completely forgot it’s content.
Still, not-so-great Deon Meyer is better than many thrillers being written today. 3.5 rating
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My reviews for some other books in this series:
The Last Hunt (Benny Griessel #6)
The Dark Flood (Benny Griessel #7)
Leo (Benny Griessel #8)
and also see:
Heart of the Hunter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 14, 2012
Divided into four “books�, TRACKERS features a large cast of characters and is an incredibly complex work. It’s intimidating to even begin to think of summarizing what takes place in the book, so hopefully, a brief synopsis will suffice. Basically, the book focuses on security issues within South Africa. The country’s intelligence agency is on high alert with information indicating that militant Muslims are planning to a terrorist act. There are a few smuggling schemes, one involving diamonds and one black rhinos, an ill-fated romance and various dangerous situations.
Book 1 focuses on the work being done by the Presidential Intelligence Agency, with the lead character being a newly hired report writer named Milla Strachan. Various threats to national security are uncovered; in particular, the group is looking at an operation involving smuggling of diamonds from Zimbabwe which may be used to arm Muslim terrorists. There were an incredible number of characters and scenarios introduced. I found myself completely lost; when I reached page 80, I decided to start reading the book again to try to reduce my confusion.
Fortunately, Book 2 had more of a personal focus and was easier to follow. A bodyguard named Lemmer is hired by a wealthy farmer to help move a pair of black rhinos from Zimbabwe, where they may be murdered for their horns. There’s a lot of action, double crosses and a rather fascinating female character introduced in this section of the book. Book 3 returns to Milla, as well as a suspected CIA agent who seems connected to the terrorist plots. It was interesting to see the transformation of Milla from a timid housewife type into an adventuresome woman.
Finally, Book 4 features a private investigator named Mat Joubert who is searching for a man who has vanished. This book barely related to the ones that preceded it; in fact, it felt like it should have been a novel of its own. At the conclusion, some connections to the prior segments occur; but all in all, it did not feel like a cohesive creation.
I was very disappointed in TRACKERS. It had an ambitious agenda that didn’t quite work. The structure of the narrative was extremely confusing. It was impossible to keep track of the huge cast of characters. I kept searching for the unifying connections between all of the plots, but there were very few to be made. The other books that I’ve read by Meyer have been uniformly excellent, and I still eagerly await future works, despite my reaction to this book.
Book 1 focuses on the work being done by the Presidential Intelligence Agency, with the lead character being a newly hired report writer named Milla Strachan. Various threats to national security are uncovered; in particular, the group is looking at an operation involving smuggling of diamonds from Zimbabwe which may be used to arm Muslim terrorists. There were an incredible number of characters and scenarios introduced. I found myself completely lost; when I reached page 80, I decided to start reading the book again to try to reduce my confusion.
Fortunately, Book 2 had more of a personal focus and was easier to follow. A bodyguard named Lemmer is hired by a wealthy farmer to help move a pair of black rhinos from Zimbabwe, where they may be murdered for their horns. There’s a lot of action, double crosses and a rather fascinating female character introduced in this section of the book. Book 3 returns to Milla, as well as a suspected CIA agent who seems connected to the terrorist plots. It was interesting to see the transformation of Milla from a timid housewife type into an adventuresome woman.
Finally, Book 4 features a private investigator named Mat Joubert who is searching for a man who has vanished. This book barely related to the ones that preceded it; in fact, it felt like it should have been a novel of its own. At the conclusion, some connections to the prior segments occur; but all in all, it did not feel like a cohesive creation.
I was very disappointed in TRACKERS. It had an ambitious agenda that didn’t quite work. The structure of the narrative was extremely confusing. It was impossible to keep track of the huge cast of characters. I kept searching for the unifying connections between all of the plots, but there were very few to be made. The other books that I’ve read by Meyer have been uniformly excellent, and I still eagerly await future works, despite my reaction to this book.
September 23, 2011
Many thrillers are about saving humanity, not necessarily inhabiting it. Maverick heroes are replicated from types previously established in classic iconic stories. Villains are cut from generic, barbaric cloth--the more psychopathic and gruesome, the better. Character and language are sacrificed for plot and standard themes, and the admirable hero/ine (or noble anti-hero/ine) saves the world. Gosh, with the hundreds of thrillers published each year (month?), the human race is lucky to be alive.
Enter the intelligence and nuance of South African novelist, Deon Meyer, whose arresting thrillers open and close with crackle and character. The plot doesn't proceed without the evanescence and development of his mosaic cast. Each primary protagonist of the three distinct stories in TRACKERS has an enigmatic personality, a moral imperative, and palpable inner conflicts--and Meyer winds the three plots into a robust and ropy overlap. Plot and story move in tandem with character, and discovery is united with exposure.
Characters are the key to open every dark path and locked password. The veld shimmers; you'll be Wiki-ing the Great Karoo and the black rhino. You won't want it to end. That's assured--you will be breathless for more--for the next page, the subsequent chapter, the following installment. Meyer created a hybrid of stand-alone and series--a few characters from former novels, and at least one that isn't done yet. One track in each.
TRACKERS is Meyer's most complex, tightly controlled, and literary novel to date, with an ending so exhilarating yet sublime that you will be pondering it for days. I have been an ardent fan for the past four books, but Meyer has not only eclipsed himself, he has outshone the towering abundance of other thrillers on the market.
His biting social commentary doesn't feel like a mouthpiece manipulation--it is woven in to the sharp observations of the various characters, such as Mat Joubert, the PI of the third story, a former member of SAPS gone corporate-private, and wrestling with middle-age ennui. Also, his passionate love for his wife is delightful.
Meyer's mastery of language and poetic expression is channeled through the character of Milla Strachan, the would-be writer and lover of words, a forty-year-old survivor of spousal abuse whose grown son takes her for granted. Meyer inhabits Milla with sinewy ease; his ability to express his primary female character is haunting, and Milla's choices feel organic (like the rest of the cast).
And then there is troubled Lemmer, who fans will remember from Blood Safari; Becker, an opaque swashbuckler; and Flea, his darkest of all female characters, a cipher. There's an offstage man, Danie, a cryptic, integral fellow who is revealed through other characters, such as his wife, his boss, and his employees--but who is he? Moreover, references to a primary protagonist from Thirteen Hours is intriguing to those of us who read it, because it engages us with a sense of continuity. And there are some secondary, beguiling characters who you're sure you'll see again.
There's no reason to tell you the plot here. Just a few nods to Meyer's intrepid storytelling--he creates three different stories that keep you riveted, and you gradually stop wondering how, why, where, or when this all combines. You trust him, and after the first fifty pages or so, you stop worrying about remembering the plethora of names (it does settle down).
Also, there's a wonderful glossary in the back, an education in itself. I wish I had known about it before I started reading. Laura Seegers translates from the original Afrikans with seamless authority. There are eleven official languages of South Africa, and her choice inclusions of slang, acronyms, and phraseology create an indelible atmosphere.
Words like asseblief--it means "please," or bergie, which is a homeless person living on the side of Table Mountain. And oom, a form of respectful address, like "uncle." Spoor means "track," the mark a wild animal leaves in the bush. (All this and more in the glossary.) Also, heading the chapters of Lemmer's story are short sentences from Louis Liebenberg's THE ART OF TRACKING. After all, this book is about tracking--animal tracking, surveillance, and detective tracking. Okay, now you have it.
Of all Meyer's books, this has the most global of contexts, ultimately. It is surely the most exciting. The fat lady doesn't sing, either--she whispers.
Enter the intelligence and nuance of South African novelist, Deon Meyer, whose arresting thrillers open and close with crackle and character. The plot doesn't proceed without the evanescence and development of his mosaic cast. Each primary protagonist of the three distinct stories in TRACKERS has an enigmatic personality, a moral imperative, and palpable inner conflicts--and Meyer winds the three plots into a robust and ropy overlap. Plot and story move in tandem with character, and discovery is united with exposure.
Characters are the key to open every dark path and locked password. The veld shimmers; you'll be Wiki-ing the Great Karoo and the black rhino. You won't want it to end. That's assured--you will be breathless for more--for the next page, the subsequent chapter, the following installment. Meyer created a hybrid of stand-alone and series--a few characters from former novels, and at least one that isn't done yet. One track in each.
TRACKERS is Meyer's most complex, tightly controlled, and literary novel to date, with an ending so exhilarating yet sublime that you will be pondering it for days. I have been an ardent fan for the past four books, but Meyer has not only eclipsed himself, he has outshone the towering abundance of other thrillers on the market.
His biting social commentary doesn't feel like a mouthpiece manipulation--it is woven in to the sharp observations of the various characters, such as Mat Joubert, the PI of the third story, a former member of SAPS gone corporate-private, and wrestling with middle-age ennui. Also, his passionate love for his wife is delightful.
Meyer's mastery of language and poetic expression is channeled through the character of Milla Strachan, the would-be writer and lover of words, a forty-year-old survivor of spousal abuse whose grown son takes her for granted. Meyer inhabits Milla with sinewy ease; his ability to express his primary female character is haunting, and Milla's choices feel organic (like the rest of the cast).
And then there is troubled Lemmer, who fans will remember from Blood Safari; Becker, an opaque swashbuckler; and Flea, his darkest of all female characters, a cipher. There's an offstage man, Danie, a cryptic, integral fellow who is revealed through other characters, such as his wife, his boss, and his employees--but who is he? Moreover, references to a primary protagonist from Thirteen Hours is intriguing to those of us who read it, because it engages us with a sense of continuity. And there are some secondary, beguiling characters who you're sure you'll see again.
There's no reason to tell you the plot here. Just a few nods to Meyer's intrepid storytelling--he creates three different stories that keep you riveted, and you gradually stop wondering how, why, where, or when this all combines. You trust him, and after the first fifty pages or so, you stop worrying about remembering the plethora of names (it does settle down).
Also, there's a wonderful glossary in the back, an education in itself. I wish I had known about it before I started reading. Laura Seegers translates from the original Afrikans with seamless authority. There are eleven official languages of South Africa, and her choice inclusions of slang, acronyms, and phraseology create an indelible atmosphere.
Words like asseblief--it means "please," or bergie, which is a homeless person living on the side of Table Mountain. And oom, a form of respectful address, like "uncle." Spoor means "track," the mark a wild animal leaves in the bush. (All this and more in the glossary.) Also, heading the chapters of Lemmer's story are short sentences from Louis Liebenberg's THE ART OF TRACKING. After all, this book is about tracking--animal tracking, surveillance, and detective tracking. Okay, now you have it.
Of all Meyer's books, this has the most global of contexts, ultimately. It is surely the most exciting. The fat lady doesn't sing, either--she whispers.
July 16, 2015
Meyer captures the flavour of post-apartheid South Africa so well in his novels - the changing social engagements between a wide variety of people. Trackers mixes up white farmers (Zimbabwean & South African), mercenaries, Muslim extremists and a whole lot more, in a complex plot which is recent and feels like it touches many of the issues we read about in the daily newspapers. The ending is rather unsatisfying - I won't give away why - but the mix of people who meet in such a variety of situations throughout the book kept me engaged. Because it takes place in current South Africa, it is familiar and revealing of so much of what is not directly said in the daily papers. Three stars only because of the ending, otherwise would be 3.5 or 4.
June 15, 2015
I hadn't planned to read this book but came across it in my local library and, having read some of the author's other work, took it out on a whim. This is an ambitious novel, comprising 3 separate but interlocking stories, each based around a main character and each based on the theme of "tracking". The three main characters are Milla Strachan, a housewife who escapes an abusive relationship and gets a low level job with a Government Intelligence Agency; Lemmer, a professional bodyguard, on a job that involves transporting endangered rhinos from Zimbabwe to South Africa, and hired because of the danger from poachers; and Mat Joubert, a former Police Superintendent turned PI, investigating a missing person case. Within the 3 main strands there are a host of subplots with a varied cast of colourful characters. On the whole I found the "Milla" strand to be the weakest of the three, with a fairly implausible plot; but the author successfully creates a air of tension during the "Lemmer" storyline; and the "Joubert" strand, which forms the last quarter of the book, kept me intrigued as to how the storylines would come together.
I only discovered Deon Meyer's work quite recently, and have been reading his books in the wrong order. Both Lemmer and Joubert have I believe appeared in earlier novels, and I could probably have done with reading those first, to have built up more knowledge of the characters. In particular "Lemmer" seems an interesting character and at some point I will probably read the novel that first introduced him.
Meyer's books are written in Afrikaans but the English translations do a fine job in creating a sense of the locations involved, and in conveying the linguistic richness of the country, with South African English borrowing words liberally from Afrikaans as well as the country's other languages.
I only discovered Deon Meyer's work quite recently, and have been reading his books in the wrong order. Both Lemmer and Joubert have I believe appeared in earlier novels, and I could probably have done with reading those first, to have built up more knowledge of the characters. In particular "Lemmer" seems an interesting character and at some point I will probably read the novel that first introduced him.
Meyer's books are written in Afrikaans but the English translations do a fine job in creating a sense of the locations involved, and in conveying the linguistic richness of the country, with South African English borrowing words liberally from Afrikaans as well as the country's other languages.
September 28, 2015
Once I discovered Deon Meyer I purchased five of his books in succession. This review is for all five of them. Meyer's work is of outstanding quality. He has an intimate knowledge of Cape Town and South Africa in general. His grasp of the undercurrents in the widely diverse society of this troubled country is exceptional. Interesting characters are expertly woven into the fabric of his spellbinding plots. I highly recommend anything penned by this gifted author.
February 10, 2018
Trackers is an epic novel reaching across the South African landscape - city, suburb, coast line and Karoo - involving three stories of people from different walks of life. First we meet Milla Strachan, the 40 year old disillusioned wife of a straying husband and mother of a manipulative teenaged son. Milla summons the courage to leave them and her stultifying suburban neighbourhood. She seeks out a job that might use her college background in journalism and satisfy her desire to get back into writing. Milla answers a fairly innocuous ad in a local paper for a journalist, “previous experience preferred�. Milla musters the courage to apply despite having no experience and is recruited quite quickly by the National Intelligence Agency. She begins to find purpose putting together reports for the higher ups amidst the camaraderie of her new colleagues and against the backdrop of increasing intel of a possible terror plot.
Next, we are propelled into Lemmer’s life whose mantra is, “I don’t go looking for trouble, it comes looking for me.� Lemmer is enjoying a quiet Saturday morning breakfast at the Red Pomegranate with his girlfriend, Emma, when a pack of executive type Harley Davison riders pulls in, parks and proceeds to insult both the restaurant owner and Emma. Lemmer is distracted from reacting physically by the entrance of Diederick Brand, local legend and farmer, who has a one off job for him. Lemmer is reluctant as he already has a job as a body guard for another outfit and thinks his boss wouldn’t be pleased. After checking in with his boss, Lemmer gives into the pressure from Diederick and Emma to act as a body guard for the pick up of two rare black rhinos who Diederick wants to rescue.
Lastly, we’re introduced to Mat Joubert who has recently retired from 30 plus years with the South African Police Service, and is starting day one as a private detective. His first client is desperate to find her husband, Danie Flint, who disappeared leaving his Audi outside the gym after a regular workday. To date, the police have had no luck finding him alive or dead. Mat’s forte as a cop was his ability to dig up information, slog through details and build a hypothesis and he brings this work ethos with him. While Mat uncovers the reasons why Danie might have gone missing, links between the three plot lines intersect and are drawn to a close.
I read Trackers as a e-book and regret not having a paper copy to flip back through more easily to keep track of characters, places and details. I would have given this a 5 star rating, but I’m left feeling that I would have rather read separate novels focusing on each character. I definitely want to read more books by Deon Meyer!
Next, we are propelled into Lemmer’s life whose mantra is, “I don’t go looking for trouble, it comes looking for me.� Lemmer is enjoying a quiet Saturday morning breakfast at the Red Pomegranate with his girlfriend, Emma, when a pack of executive type Harley Davison riders pulls in, parks and proceeds to insult both the restaurant owner and Emma. Lemmer is distracted from reacting physically by the entrance of Diederick Brand, local legend and farmer, who has a one off job for him. Lemmer is reluctant as he already has a job as a body guard for another outfit and thinks his boss wouldn’t be pleased. After checking in with his boss, Lemmer gives into the pressure from Diederick and Emma to act as a body guard for the pick up of two rare black rhinos who Diederick wants to rescue.
Lastly, we’re introduced to Mat Joubert who has recently retired from 30 plus years with the South African Police Service, and is starting day one as a private detective. His first client is desperate to find her husband, Danie Flint, who disappeared leaving his Audi outside the gym after a regular workday. To date, the police have had no luck finding him alive or dead. Mat’s forte as a cop was his ability to dig up information, slog through details and build a hypothesis and he brings this work ethos with him. While Mat uncovers the reasons why Danie might have gone missing, links between the three plot lines intersect and are drawn to a close.
I read Trackers as a e-book and regret not having a paper copy to flip back through more easily to keep track of characters, places and details. I would have given this a 5 star rating, but I’m left feeling that I would have rather read separate novels focusing on each character. I definitely want to read more books by Deon Meyer!
June 2, 2018
Deon Meyer is one of my favourite thriller writers combining fast-paced suspense with authentic South African flavour.
In contrast with his other novels (I read most of them), this one is unfortunately weaker. The different threads are too far apart from each other and when they finally connect it is quite loosely and somewhat rushed. No matter, I’ll read whatever he’ll write next�
In contrast with his other novels (I read most of them), this one is unfortunately weaker. The different threads are too far apart from each other and when they finally connect it is quite loosely and somewhat rushed. No matter, I’ll read whatever he’ll write next�
December 5, 2012
i am not sure this book does or says something meaningful about the human condition*, but it sure is a hell of a read. it's divided in 4 related parts, and while the set up in the first part is a bit slow (but the book is almost 500 pages!), the rest is really engaging and fascinating. post-apartheid south africa is a place where organized crime seems to have blossomed with great generosity, to the point that the international organized crime world sees it (south africa) as a nice safe haven. at least that's the sense i got. deon meyer, a white afrikaner, doesn't delve too much into social/racial issues, but he does show south africa from an afrikaner's point of view, which is something i had never gotten. it's amazing and crazy how insular race-based points of view can be. you think, south africa, totally mixed country, the cast is guaranteed to be mixed. and it is. but the point of view, and the main actors, are solidly afrikaner.
but then you think of america, of how racially diverse it is, and still white authors manage to write books without a single non-white character in them.
it's a crazy world, getting crazier every day.
anyway, let me re-iterate: really engaging, interesting, well-plotted, complex, and fascinating spy thriller. you won't guess anything. and that's part of the beauty. treat yourself.
*other than: people will rob you blind and, if they have to, will kill you, and all because of some very stupid thing like money or power or wanting to get ahead. and sometimes they'll be nice to you, but don't count on it because it hardly ever happens and when it does it's probably fake. which, all of the above, is the basic premise of any spy-thriller ever written.
but then you think of america, of how racially diverse it is, and still white authors manage to write books without a single non-white character in them.
it's a crazy world, getting crazier every day.
anyway, let me re-iterate: really engaging, interesting, well-plotted, complex, and fascinating spy thriller. you won't guess anything. and that's part of the beauty. treat yourself.
*other than: people will rob you blind and, if they have to, will kill you, and all because of some very stupid thing like money or power or wanting to get ahead. and sometimes they'll be nice to you, but don't count on it because it hardly ever happens and when it does it's probably fake. which, all of the above, is the basic premise of any spy-thriller ever written.
November 16, 2019
Soos altyd is 'n Deon Meyer vol spanning.
Spoor word vertel oor 3 storielyne. Lemmer word gevra om een van die boere in Loxton te help om 'n misterieuse vrag oor die grens te bring en vir die eerste keer ignoreer Lemmer sy eie reel en laat sy lewe as 'n lywag in by sy lewe in die klein dorpie. Hy ontmoet vir Vlooi, die spoorsnyer wat saam met die renosters op die vrag gaan, hulle word oorval deur 'n bende opsoek na iets op die vragmotor, maar wat?
Milla is 'n huisvrou in Durbanville. Haar man verneuk haar met al wat 'n vrou is en haar seun is 'n emosionele boelie. Om haarself weer te vind verlaat sy die huis en kry 'n pos by 'n spion agentskap waar haar pad kruis met Lukas - is hy 'n held of die booswig wat die agenstskap dink hy is?
Mat Joubert het pas die SAPS verlaat en begin sy eerste ondersoek by 'n Privaat Maatskapy, 'n man het spoorloos verdwyn en sy vrou is desperaat vir nuus. Mat voel skaam om haar geld te spandeer maar kom vinnig agter dat die storie van 'n wonderlike man sonder 'n vyand in die wereld nie heeltemal die waarheid is nie.
Die drie stories kom op die mees onverwagtste roetes bymekaar. Die boek het lekker gelees as was daar soveel verskillende oogpunt vertellings.
Spoor word vertel oor 3 storielyne. Lemmer word gevra om een van die boere in Loxton te help om 'n misterieuse vrag oor die grens te bring en vir die eerste keer ignoreer Lemmer sy eie reel en laat sy lewe as 'n lywag in by sy lewe in die klein dorpie. Hy ontmoet vir Vlooi, die spoorsnyer wat saam met die renosters op die vrag gaan, hulle word oorval deur 'n bende opsoek na iets op die vragmotor, maar wat?
Milla is 'n huisvrou in Durbanville. Haar man verneuk haar met al wat 'n vrou is en haar seun is 'n emosionele boelie. Om haarself weer te vind verlaat sy die huis en kry 'n pos by 'n spion agentskap waar haar pad kruis met Lukas - is hy 'n held of die booswig wat die agenstskap dink hy is?
Mat Joubert het pas die SAPS verlaat en begin sy eerste ondersoek by 'n Privaat Maatskapy, 'n man het spoorloos verdwyn en sy vrou is desperaat vir nuus. Mat voel skaam om haar geld te spandeer maar kom vinnig agter dat die storie van 'n wonderlike man sonder 'n vyand in die wereld nie heeltemal die waarheid is nie.
Die drie stories kom op die mees onverwagtste roetes bymekaar. Die boek het lekker gelees as was daar soveel verskillende oogpunt vertellings.
November 21, 2017
Exceptionally excellent plot. Very strong characters.
June 16, 2018
Always enjoy reading this author's work. While this book was a bit long and the plot quite complicated, everything came together in the end and the characters and South African setting were as well done as in previous books.
July 23, 2023
Deon Meyer does not disappoint. Master at tying all the threads into a cohesive always unexpected ending
February 14, 2019
3.5 stars.
This was my first experience with Meyer, and people weren't lying--he can write. His characters are rich and distinct, the setting is obviously familiar and very clearly South African (which kind of makes me wonder how foreign readers experience it, but I suppose in the same way that I have no idea what London's layout is but I can enjoy a detailed setting in that city) and definitely knows how to run a plot. And I'm always impressed when a man writes women well.
Unfortunately, I think this book tried to do too much. There are three plotlines wrapped around one story, some more tangential than others. The first, most direct line follows the threat of a terrorism attack in Cape Town and the intelligence agents working to stop it. Then we switch over to the famed Lemmer, who was apparently in a previous book but since I didn't read that he was all new to me, and a little bit of a disappointment. I mean, he seems cool, but we don't see that much of him considering his name is on the cover. I also found the switch to the first person POV a little jarring. So he goes off chasing black rhinos, which ends up being connected to the terror story of course.
Then, on page 400 (of 540), Meyer introduces a new set of characters and a new plotline. And I was like, WHY. I don't want to empathise with a whole new bunch of people 80% into the book! This is where I want revelations, denouements, explanations! But the man does his job well, because this was my favourite section of the book. A good, old-fashioned PI investigation, which of course finally draws together some of the loose ends of the whole terrorism, smuggling, crime-infested situation.
Pretty well done, all in all, but a little convoluted. I'll definitely try some of Meyer's other books, though, and as a thriller/mystery I can award it my highest compliment: it wasn't predictable.
This was my first experience with Meyer, and people weren't lying--he can write. His characters are rich and distinct, the setting is obviously familiar and very clearly South African (which kind of makes me wonder how foreign readers experience it, but I suppose in the same way that I have no idea what London's layout is but I can enjoy a detailed setting in that city) and definitely knows how to run a plot. And I'm always impressed when a man writes women well.
Unfortunately, I think this book tried to do too much. There are three plotlines wrapped around one story, some more tangential than others. The first, most direct line follows the threat of a terrorism attack in Cape Town and the intelligence agents working to stop it. Then we switch over to the famed Lemmer, who was apparently in a previous book but since I didn't read that he was all new to me, and a little bit of a disappointment. I mean, he seems cool, but we don't see that much of him considering his name is on the cover. I also found the switch to the first person POV a little jarring. So he goes off chasing black rhinos, which ends up being connected to the terror story of course.
Then, on page 400 (of 540), Meyer introduces a new set of characters and a new plotline. And I was like, WHY. I don't want to empathise with a whole new bunch of people 80% into the book! This is where I want revelations, denouements, explanations! But the man does his job well, because this was my favourite section of the book. A good, old-fashioned PI investigation, which of course finally draws together some of the loose ends of the whole terrorism, smuggling, crime-infested situation.
Pretty well done, all in all, but a little convoluted. I'll definitely try some of Meyer's other books, though, and as a thriller/mystery I can award it my highest compliment: it wasn't predictable.
January 26, 2012
Bringing back two characters from previous novels, the South African author has written a complicated story with three separate plots which are related both in circumstances and the people involved. One theme involves what appears to be a Muslim plot, which a government intelligence service suspects at first to be a tradeoff between the smuggling of diamonds in exchange for weapons. A second, an offshoot of the smuggling operation by a man seeking to recover a large sum of money he claims was stolen from him by gangsters (who incidentally are involved in the smuggling operation).
Then there is free-lance bodyguard Lemmer, who makes his second appearance in a Deon Meyer novel [the first being “The Blood Safari”], who becomes involved indirectly in the smuggling operation when he accompanies a truck bearing two black rhinos into South Africa from a neighboring country which the gangsters believe is the method for bringing in the diamonds. And finally Mat Joubert, the enigmatic South African detective, now retired, on his first day working for a private detective agency, who manages to bring all the threads together.
This stand-alone thriller aims high, and largely achieves its ambitions. Adding to the spice is not only the author’s ability to portray the social, economic and political background of South Africa in depth, but a chilling look at how it is also a place where terrorists can run rampant. And, icing on the cake, a first-rate mystery to keep the reader enthralled. Highly recommended.
Then there is free-lance bodyguard Lemmer, who makes his second appearance in a Deon Meyer novel [the first being “The Blood Safari”], who becomes involved indirectly in the smuggling operation when he accompanies a truck bearing two black rhinos into South Africa from a neighboring country which the gangsters believe is the method for bringing in the diamonds. And finally Mat Joubert, the enigmatic South African detective, now retired, on his first day working for a private detective agency, who manages to bring all the threads together.
This stand-alone thriller aims high, and largely achieves its ambitions. Adding to the spice is not only the author’s ability to portray the social, economic and political background of South Africa in depth, but a chilling look at how it is also a place where terrorists can run rampant. And, icing on the cake, a first-rate mystery to keep the reader enthralled. Highly recommended.
February 9, 2013
I read this book on the reccomendation of my friend and fellow-librarian Susan, as an example of South African mystery. The settings were fascinating, and as the book was written by an Afrikaner, it provided an interesting window into post-apartheid life in RSA. The story was a series of linked mysteries, with people suddenly finding themselves caught up in events set in motion somewhere else. No one ever had the whole picture except for the reader- a different way to write a mystery.
While various bad guys got what was coming to them throughout the book, there was real tension created for me at one point in the story. I read so much mystery, espionage and thriller that this has become an unfamiliar feeling for me. However, when two endangered rhinoceroses are being smuggled across borders and then their truck is stopped by some really bad guys, I couldn't believe how worried I felt for these poor creatures who were already under way two much stress. Of course, this is why there is a rhino on the cover! I can safely reccomend the book to rhino lovers like me, they come through fine.
While various bad guys got what was coming to them throughout the book, there was real tension created for me at one point in the story. I read so much mystery, espionage and thriller that this has become an unfamiliar feeling for me. However, when two endangered rhinoceroses are being smuggled across borders and then their truck is stopped by some really bad guys, I couldn't believe how worried I felt for these poor creatures who were already under way two much stress. Of course, this is why there is a rhino on the cover! I can safely reccomend the book to rhino lovers like me, they come through fine.
January 18, 2014
The first section (Book 1: Milla) was slow to start but by the second part (Book 2: Lemmer) really started too move and was hard to put down until the concluson. 's telling of the story through three distinct characters was brilliant and very entertaining. Another excellent story by Deon Meyer.
December 5, 2011
I loved this book with it's strong local (South Africa, Johannesburg, Cape Town) flavour.
Besides familiar locales and colloquialisms I enjoyed the pace of the book, the tension and the strong larger-than-life characters.
Trackers is a brilliant holiday novel that will have you observing your fellow South Africans with far more interest.
Besides familiar locales and colloquialisms I enjoyed the pace of the book, the tension and the strong larger-than-life characters.
Trackers is a brilliant holiday novel that will have you observing your fellow South Africans with far more interest.
February 6, 2012
This has been mentioned several times as thriller of the year. I really enjoyed Blood Safari so am reading this back-to-back, although this is harder to get into than B/S. Good setting and characters - translated from Afrikaans. Makes one want to visit South Africa - which I do if I could guarantee not getting shot!
January 9, 2016
Het eerste boek van 2016 is uit. Wat heb ik weer enorm van de schrijfstijl van Deon Meyer genoten. De spanningsopbouw, de korte hoofdstukken. de verschillende verhaallijnen die in elkaar gevlochten worden. Geen moment te vroeg wordt de clue weggegeven. Een mooi begin van 2016.
July 7, 2011
I am a BELIEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Deon Meyer RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Deon Meyer RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 6, 2019
Deon Meyer has been something of a surprise to me. His 13 Hours was undisputedly the most exciting book I've read in years. The added flavour of South African culture, though unknown to me, made it and his other books I've read since then really something new. Most important of course is that Meyer is an excellent writer, who knows how to build up suspense.
So that brings us to Trackers, which is set up differently than the Benny Griessel stories (he is only casually mentioned in this one).
Trackers consists of three separate stories, that all have to do with tracking down people, hence the title.
The stories are so different, that it will be down to your personal taste which one(s) you enjoy most. The first one deals with a terrorist threat and the way the SA secret service deals with that. The second one concerns smuggling, in more ways than one. And finally we get a glimpse of the new life of Mat Joubert (Benny Griessels former boss), in which he has become a private detective and goes out to look for a missing person.
Ultimately the stories come together, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Meyer does this cleverly, leaving a few loose ends to the very end.
Though this gives you a satisfying and exciting read, I couldn't help feeling that he wanted to put too much into one story. The amount of characters is staggering. The stories are written well enough to be able to follow them quite easily, but I did have to page back quite a few times to keep track of who did or said what. And though the whole story ties up nicely, one or two less plot points wouldn't have harmed it, in my opinion.
This probably is a luxury problem, because Trackers is still very much better than some of the fare I've read over the last few months. But when you expect such a high standard, it's easier to find fault.
There's one other thing about the writing, that I'm adding more out of curiosity than anything else. In a certain part of the story, two male characters are engaged in a lot a dialogue. The younger one refers to the other man as "oom", a respectful way to address someone, as is explained in the glossary. What surprised and after a while irritated me slightly, was that this expression is used in every single sentence. Compared to, say, American English, the equivalent would be that someone is addressed with "sir" every time he is spoken to. Probably this is normal in Afrikaans, but doesn't really work in English. Perhaps a point of attention for the translator?
So that brings us to Trackers, which is set up differently than the Benny Griessel stories (he is only casually mentioned in this one).
Trackers consists of three separate stories, that all have to do with tracking down people, hence the title.
The stories are so different, that it will be down to your personal taste which one(s) you enjoy most. The first one deals with a terrorist threat and the way the SA secret service deals with that. The second one concerns smuggling, in more ways than one. And finally we get a glimpse of the new life of Mat Joubert (Benny Griessels former boss), in which he has become a private detective and goes out to look for a missing person.
Ultimately the stories come together, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise. Meyer does this cleverly, leaving a few loose ends to the very end.
Though this gives you a satisfying and exciting read, I couldn't help feeling that he wanted to put too much into one story. The amount of characters is staggering. The stories are written well enough to be able to follow them quite easily, but I did have to page back quite a few times to keep track of who did or said what. And though the whole story ties up nicely, one or two less plot points wouldn't have harmed it, in my opinion.
This probably is a luxury problem, because Trackers is still very much better than some of the fare I've read over the last few months. But when you expect such a high standard, it's easier to find fault.
There's one other thing about the writing, that I'm adding more out of curiosity than anything else. In a certain part of the story, two male characters are engaged in a lot a dialogue. The younger one refers to the other man as "oom", a respectful way to address someone, as is explained in the glossary. What surprised and after a while irritated me slightly, was that this expression is used in every single sentence. Compared to, say, American English, the equivalent would be that someone is addressed with "sir" every time he is spoken to. Probably this is normal in Afrikaans, but doesn't really work in English. Perhaps a point of attention for the translator?
March 24, 2022
Al het ek die boek geweldig geniet, was daar oomblikke wanneer ek gedink het ek het die spoor byster geraak ... ek bedoel: Die boek het drie dele. Die eerste beweeg nogal stadig en mens moet konsentreer om by te hou, die tweede is so vol beweging, jy kom nie eens agter hoe die woorde verbyvlieg nie! Dan kom jy by deel drie en jy dink, "En nou?"
Waar is Lemmer? Waar is die hoogs geheime "Intelligensiedienste" heen?
Dan is dit Mat Joubert ... en nee, Bennie Greissel maak nog nie sy verskyning nie. Ons hoor net van hom. Gelukkig is daar 'n "naskrif" sodat mens so half en half die stukkies weer bymekaar kan sit. Dalk is dit juis Meyer se inslag: Hy wil hê jy moet jou kop gebruik. Hy vra jou om self 'n bietjie speurwerk te doen ten einde die kloutjie by die oor te bring.
Hier en daar bevat hierdie boek insigte wat vir my klokkies laat lui het. Op bladsy 133 meen Lemmer: "Ons weef met groot behendigheid 'n valse front, dikwels uitgebreid en ingewikkeld, feit en fiksie in fyn versnit om die goeie en aanvaarbare te beklemtoon, en die bose te versteek." Buiten die f-alliterasie is dit 'n insig in die mens se psige wat die spyker op die kop slaan.
Op bladsy 255 skryf Milla Strachan: "Hoeveel van die geniddeld twee-en-twintigduisend dae van ons lewens onthou ons, dag en datum?"
Presies! Eggo dit in my kop ... maar hier is die res van die aanhaling: "Dalk 'n tien of 'n twaalf, verjaardae, trou- (en wegloop- en skei-!) en sterftedatums, enkele van die Groot Eerstes. Die ander se spore verweer almal mettertyd, sodat 'n lewe eindelik net bestaan uit 'n maand se onthoudae en 'n klomp datumlose herinneringe."
En dan wonder mens hoekom mens dagboek hou. Maar een ding is seker: Hoe jy ook al geleef het, jy het 'n spoor nagelaat en dit is dalk die spil waarom Meyer se boek draai en dan is al die "skop-skiet-en-boomklim" bloot skimme uit die verlede.
Waar is Lemmer? Waar is die hoogs geheime "Intelligensiedienste" heen?
Dan is dit Mat Joubert ... en nee, Bennie Greissel maak nog nie sy verskyning nie. Ons hoor net van hom. Gelukkig is daar 'n "naskrif" sodat mens so half en half die stukkies weer bymekaar kan sit. Dalk is dit juis Meyer se inslag: Hy wil hê jy moet jou kop gebruik. Hy vra jou om self 'n bietjie speurwerk te doen ten einde die kloutjie by die oor te bring.
Hier en daar bevat hierdie boek insigte wat vir my klokkies laat lui het. Op bladsy 133 meen Lemmer: "Ons weef met groot behendigheid 'n valse front, dikwels uitgebreid en ingewikkeld, feit en fiksie in fyn versnit om die goeie en aanvaarbare te beklemtoon, en die bose te versteek." Buiten die f-alliterasie is dit 'n insig in die mens se psige wat die spyker op die kop slaan.
Op bladsy 255 skryf Milla Strachan: "Hoeveel van die geniddeld twee-en-twintigduisend dae van ons lewens onthou ons, dag en datum?"
Presies! Eggo dit in my kop ... maar hier is die res van die aanhaling: "Dalk 'n tien of 'n twaalf, verjaardae, trou- (en wegloop- en skei-!) en sterftedatums, enkele van die Groot Eerstes. Die ander se spore verweer almal mettertyd, sodat 'n lewe eindelik net bestaan uit 'n maand se onthoudae en 'n klomp datumlose herinneringe."
En dan wonder mens hoekom mens dagboek hou. Maar een ding is seker: Hoe jy ook al geleef het, jy het 'n spoor nagelaat en dit is dalk die spil waarom Meyer se boek draai en dan is al die "skop-skiet-en-boomklim" bloot skimme uit die verlede.
December 12, 2011
Milla Strachan, a middle-aged Cape Town housewife has finally gathered up the courage to walk out on her emotionally abusive, cheating husband and her rude, demanding and ungrateful college-aged son. She has found herself a new apartment and sets about finding a job. She knows that it won’t be easy, having been a housewife for half her life to her well-off husband, living in a nice house in a nice area. However with relative quickness, Milla finds a job writing reports for the Presidential Intelligence Agency, mostly on gangs and criminal activity. Milla must pretend that her job is writing news summaries to anyone that asks, as what she does is classified. As Milla learns to live on her own again, enjoying her new-found independence she finds that her work life and her personal life are about to collide in a way that will change her life forever.
Lemmer is a bodyguard currently not on any jobs, minding his own business in his small village when a wealthy local farmer asks him to ride along on a smuggling expedition. The farmer has purchased two discovered black rhino and is trucking them across the border from Zimbabwe. It can be mighty dangerous and having asked around and heard a little about Lemmer, he asks him to go along on the trip and provide a bit more muscle just in case there is any trouble or there are any attempts at a high-jacking. Lemmer isn’t entirely thrilled about the idea but when his tiny girlfriend Emma seems to get in on the romanticism of saving the rhino and turns her eyes on him pleadingly, Lemmer cannot say no. As Lemmer finds out, the trip is a little more than it first appears. Lemmer doesn’t go looking for trouble, but it finds him nonetheless. Often.
Mat Joubert is a former Superintendent with the police now having resigned from the force after 30-odd years and working as a private eye. His first case is to investigate the disappearance of Danie Flint, who managed local bus routes for a transport company. Working for Danie’s wife, Mat has adjust to no longer having a badge to smooth the way and having to add up every expense based on what his client can afford and what might provide them with the best results.
These three situations all seem at first, unconnected. But eventually Milla, Lemmer and Mat’s stories will come together to give a clear picture on smuggling and criminal activities of gangs in South Africa and their dealings with Islamic groups. All the questions will be answered and all the ends tied up in a way that proves that Deon Meyer is a new crime writing genius.
Trackers is my second Deon Meyer book in a week. I actually borrowed it out from the library first before realising that Lemmer appears first in Blood Safari. I should’ve read a bit further into the blurb of Trackers because Mat Joubert, whose narrative comprises the last part of this book, appears in at least one previous Meyer novel as well.
Trackers is set in South Africa just prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We are first introduced to Milla, who has made the brave decision to leave her abusive husband and start a new life for herself. She gets a classified job writing intelligence reports for Presidential Intelligence Agency who are currently holding an investigation named Operation Shawwal which they believe will culminate in an Islamic attack on the American soccer team during the World Cup. The PIA works in conjunction with the American CIA to attempt to decipher the intelligence they are receiving, including the identity of Lukas Bekker, who drifts into Milla’s life and also just what will be happening on the specified date.
Abruptly we switch to Lemmer, having breakfast with his girlfriend in a cafe in his small village when a local farmer asks him to ride shotgun on a smuggling expedition. Despite the fact that this violates Lemmer’s Number One Rule (Don’t Get Involved) he can’t say no to his girlfriend, who wants him to ride along for the greater good of the black rhino. Lemmer knows little about the farmer other than the wry smile and shake of the head people give when mentioning his name. That gives him all the warning he needs to be on his guard.
At first these two stories seem entirely unrelated and I must admit I did spend a little part of the book wondering where on Earth the stories were going and how they were going to come together. This wondering amped up a notch when our third narrator, Mat Joubert entered the scene towards the end of the book. It wasn’t until the very end that everything suddenly began to tie together and things began to fall neatly into place and events crossed over and the characters wracked up connections to the different parts of the stories and to each other, including some small ones that I think were more for just amusement than any real contribution to the story (such as the bikies that interrupt Lemmer’s breakfast that he later sees while he is on the smuggling trip).
Trackers is an extremely good read � you know from reading the blurb (or you would if you actually did that, unlike me it appears) that everything will tie together in the end and the ride is all in the journey to get there through a cast of very colourful characters, some very likable and some not so! The plot is tighter than a drum, the action never-ending and the pace is perfect. I fell in love with Lemmer, which I mentioned earlier in my review of Blood Safari so if I had one complaint about this book it would be Not Enough Lemmer! One section in the book and a cameo at the end is definitely not enough! I did very much enjoy Mat Joubert as a character and will be requesting in the book/s (I’m unsure if there’s more than 1, I haven’t had time to search yet) from my local library that feature him before his foray into being a private eye.
I’m so glad that the Global Reading Challenge 2011 has led me to discover this author! It’s exactly why I undertook the challenge last year, because I have tended to stick to American and Australian authors and settings with a sprinkle of British � they would have made up 99% of my books read so entering into a challenge like the this one has pushed me to seek out new settings and authors and I’ve been rewarded by finding an author such as Deon Meyer. South Africa is a fascinating setting with so much going on and it’s still a country that is changing and developing in its ways so there’s plenty to write about, especially crime wise!
Even if you’re not really a lover of crime fiction (and I’m not, to be honest, it makes up a fairly small percentage of my reads) then give Meyer a go. I can definitely recommend Blood Safari and this one and will be reviewing more of his novels in the near future.
Lemmer is a bodyguard currently not on any jobs, minding his own business in his small village when a wealthy local farmer asks him to ride along on a smuggling expedition. The farmer has purchased two discovered black rhino and is trucking them across the border from Zimbabwe. It can be mighty dangerous and having asked around and heard a little about Lemmer, he asks him to go along on the trip and provide a bit more muscle just in case there is any trouble or there are any attempts at a high-jacking. Lemmer isn’t entirely thrilled about the idea but when his tiny girlfriend Emma seems to get in on the romanticism of saving the rhino and turns her eyes on him pleadingly, Lemmer cannot say no. As Lemmer finds out, the trip is a little more than it first appears. Lemmer doesn’t go looking for trouble, but it finds him nonetheless. Often.
Mat Joubert is a former Superintendent with the police now having resigned from the force after 30-odd years and working as a private eye. His first case is to investigate the disappearance of Danie Flint, who managed local bus routes for a transport company. Working for Danie’s wife, Mat has adjust to no longer having a badge to smooth the way and having to add up every expense based on what his client can afford and what might provide them with the best results.
These three situations all seem at first, unconnected. But eventually Milla, Lemmer and Mat’s stories will come together to give a clear picture on smuggling and criminal activities of gangs in South Africa and their dealings with Islamic groups. All the questions will be answered and all the ends tied up in a way that proves that Deon Meyer is a new crime writing genius.
Trackers is my second Deon Meyer book in a week. I actually borrowed it out from the library first before realising that Lemmer appears first in Blood Safari. I should’ve read a bit further into the blurb of Trackers because Mat Joubert, whose narrative comprises the last part of this book, appears in at least one previous Meyer novel as well.
Trackers is set in South Africa just prior to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We are first introduced to Milla, who has made the brave decision to leave her abusive husband and start a new life for herself. She gets a classified job writing intelligence reports for Presidential Intelligence Agency who are currently holding an investigation named Operation Shawwal which they believe will culminate in an Islamic attack on the American soccer team during the World Cup. The PIA works in conjunction with the American CIA to attempt to decipher the intelligence they are receiving, including the identity of Lukas Bekker, who drifts into Milla’s life and also just what will be happening on the specified date.
Abruptly we switch to Lemmer, having breakfast with his girlfriend in a cafe in his small village when a local farmer asks him to ride shotgun on a smuggling expedition. Despite the fact that this violates Lemmer’s Number One Rule (Don’t Get Involved) he can’t say no to his girlfriend, who wants him to ride along for the greater good of the black rhino. Lemmer knows little about the farmer other than the wry smile and shake of the head people give when mentioning his name. That gives him all the warning he needs to be on his guard.
At first these two stories seem entirely unrelated and I must admit I did spend a little part of the book wondering where on Earth the stories were going and how they were going to come together. This wondering amped up a notch when our third narrator, Mat Joubert entered the scene towards the end of the book. It wasn’t until the very end that everything suddenly began to tie together and things began to fall neatly into place and events crossed over and the characters wracked up connections to the different parts of the stories and to each other, including some small ones that I think were more for just amusement than any real contribution to the story (such as the bikies that interrupt Lemmer’s breakfast that he later sees while he is on the smuggling trip).
Trackers is an extremely good read � you know from reading the blurb (or you would if you actually did that, unlike me it appears) that everything will tie together in the end and the ride is all in the journey to get there through a cast of very colourful characters, some very likable and some not so! The plot is tighter than a drum, the action never-ending and the pace is perfect. I fell in love with Lemmer, which I mentioned earlier in my review of Blood Safari so if I had one complaint about this book it would be Not Enough Lemmer! One section in the book and a cameo at the end is definitely not enough! I did very much enjoy Mat Joubert as a character and will be requesting in the book/s (I’m unsure if there’s more than 1, I haven’t had time to search yet) from my local library that feature him before his foray into being a private eye.
I’m so glad that the Global Reading Challenge 2011 has led me to discover this author! It’s exactly why I undertook the challenge last year, because I have tended to stick to American and Australian authors and settings with a sprinkle of British � they would have made up 99% of my books read so entering into a challenge like the this one has pushed me to seek out new settings and authors and I’ve been rewarded by finding an author such as Deon Meyer. South Africa is a fascinating setting with so much going on and it’s still a country that is changing and developing in its ways so there’s plenty to write about, especially crime wise!
Even if you’re not really a lover of crime fiction (and I’m not, to be honest, it makes up a fairly small percentage of my reads) then give Meyer a go. I can definitely recommend Blood Safari and this one and will be reviewing more of his novels in the near future.
October 30, 2018
In dit boek komen verschillende personages van de verschillende reeksen bij elkaar of ze worden benoemd. Dat vond ik wel leuk om te lezen.
In Kaapstap is de geheime dienst met een onderzoek bezig want er bestaat een vermoeden dat er een terroristische aanslag aan zit te komen. Enkele islamieten worden afgeluisterd, maar omdat alles in code gebeurt, is het lastig om te weten te komen wat wanneer en hoe gaat gebeuren. Er zit niet veel anders op dan de hulp van de Amerikanen te vragen. Die laatsten willen niet zomaar informatie delen.
Een tweede verhaallijn gaat over neushoorns die opgehaald moeten worden aan de grens met Mozambique. Lemmert gaat mee in de vrachtwagen. Wanneer ze in Limpopo zijn en in de buurt van het Kruger park, loopt een en ander niet meer zo vlot als het in eerste instantie leek. Lemmert voelt zich gepakt en zint op wraak. Deze verhaallijn was heel plezant om te lezen omdat ik net op dat moment zelf in het Krugerpark op safari was. Dat gaf het verhaal net dat beetje extra cachet.
Een derde verhaallijn gaat over Mat Joubert. Hij is weg bij de politie en start zijn eerste zaak bij een privé-detective. Daar gaat het er heel anders aan toe dan bij de politie. Al was het maar dat niets voor niets is, alles moet gedeclareerd worden, onkosten, uren en ieder onderzoek kost geld. Deze zaak gaat over een vermissing en de vrouw heeft een lening aangegaan om het onderzoek te kunnen bekostigen. Mat heeft medelijden met haaren heeft het lastig om alles te declareren, het voelt voor hem als het uitmelken van de klant.
Het spreekt voor zich dat alle verhaallijnen ergens moeten samenkomen en raakvlakken hebben.
Het einde vond ik iets minder, wat afgehaspeld en abrupt, maar verder een topboek, spannend, goede plot, draadjes allemaal afgewerkt.
In Kaapstap is de geheime dienst met een onderzoek bezig want er bestaat een vermoeden dat er een terroristische aanslag aan zit te komen. Enkele islamieten worden afgeluisterd, maar omdat alles in code gebeurt, is het lastig om te weten te komen wat wanneer en hoe gaat gebeuren. Er zit niet veel anders op dan de hulp van de Amerikanen te vragen. Die laatsten willen niet zomaar informatie delen.
Een tweede verhaallijn gaat over neushoorns die opgehaald moeten worden aan de grens met Mozambique. Lemmert gaat mee in de vrachtwagen. Wanneer ze in Limpopo zijn en in de buurt van het Kruger park, loopt een en ander niet meer zo vlot als het in eerste instantie leek. Lemmert voelt zich gepakt en zint op wraak. Deze verhaallijn was heel plezant om te lezen omdat ik net op dat moment zelf in het Krugerpark op safari was. Dat gaf het verhaal net dat beetje extra cachet.
Een derde verhaallijn gaat over Mat Joubert. Hij is weg bij de politie en start zijn eerste zaak bij een privé-detective. Daar gaat het er heel anders aan toe dan bij de politie. Al was het maar dat niets voor niets is, alles moet gedeclareerd worden, onkosten, uren en ieder onderzoek kost geld. Deze zaak gaat over een vermissing en de vrouw heeft een lening aangegaan om het onderzoek te kunnen bekostigen. Mat heeft medelijden met haaren heeft het lastig om alles te declareren, het voelt voor hem als het uitmelken van de klant.
Het spreekt voor zich dat alle verhaallijnen ergens moeten samenkomen en raakvlakken hebben.
Het einde vond ik iets minder, wat afgehaspeld en abrupt, maar verder een topboek, spannend, goede plot, draadjes allemaal afgewerkt.
December 8, 2020
Something’s brewing in a Cape Town al-Quaeda cell, and the Presidential Intelligence Agency needs a win ahead of a federal reshuffle. A middle-aged suburban housewife finally works up the courage to leave her cheating husband and find the ambitious woman she used to be. An ex-con trying to lead a quiet life agrees to ride shotgun on a simple shipment of endangered rhinos out of neighboring Zimbabwe. A newly-retired police superintendent takes his first private-sector assignment, tracking down a missing husband under increasingly unsettling circumstances. All of these threads slowly weave together to create a tapestry of tragedy unfolding against the backdrop of a South Africa struggling to find its identity in a brave new post-apartheid world.
The flap reads like a high-octane roller-coaster ride, and if that’s what you want, then this book isn’t for you. There are absolutely moments of action and mystery and violence and tension, but much of the plot is measured out at the deliberate pace of a unionized bureaucrat. And I suspect this is a conscious choice on the author’s part: each protagonist in the book’s four loosely connected novellas struggles less to defeat an external enemy and more to defend their own humanity against a soulless bureaucracy, predatory capitalism, and the street-level anarchy of a society cut loose from its moorings. Wins don’t come easily, progress is hard, the rules never work in your favor, and security is an illusion in this thoughtful thriller from one of South Africa’s best-selling authors.
The flap reads like a high-octane roller-coaster ride, and if that’s what you want, then this book isn’t for you. There are absolutely moments of action and mystery and violence and tension, but much of the plot is measured out at the deliberate pace of a unionized bureaucrat. And I suspect this is a conscious choice on the author’s part: each protagonist in the book’s four loosely connected novellas struggles less to defeat an external enemy and more to defend their own humanity against a soulless bureaucracy, predatory capitalism, and the street-level anarchy of a society cut loose from its moorings. Wins don’t come easily, progress is hard, the rules never work in your favor, and security is an illusion in this thoughtful thriller from one of South Africa’s best-selling authors.
July 18, 2018
So this book starts off painfully slow. So much so I gave it a rest for a month or two. And then yesterday I had to travel for an hour and half to reach somewhere and I am like okay let's see if this one works this time. And boy did it pick up pace and narration! An interconnected set of four novellas, I love the complexity and the breadth of the plot and yet the super tight and crisp narrative. Some people could do with some more details and background to not be one dimensional characters. It is however the end which is anti climatic. Some characters from the second novella don't turn up through the third and fourth novella except the last 2-3 pages. A lot of loose ends which I wish the author had tidied up but didn't. The end could have been another five pages longer and no one would have complained, in fact they'd have all thanked the author. But despite it all, it is still a great, great book. I didn't read it in one sitting but the last 400 odd pages were read on the same day so you can imagine how gripping it must be!!
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