A Schalk Lourens mystery
By Natalie Conyer
What if justice isn’t enough?
Schalk Lourens got out his phone and started filming, something Pieterse taught him years ago. Keep a record. Do it yourself, boykie, every time. That way you can be sure. Cover your arse. Don’t trust any of them. Schalk began with Pieterse himself, what was left of him. Cape Town, South Africa.
Trying to forget the past
Retired police chief Piet Pieterse has been murdered, necklaced in fact. A tyre placed round his neck, doused with petrol, set alight. An execution from the apartheid era and one generally confined to collaborators. Who would target Pieterse this way, and why now
Veteran copy Schalk Lourens is trying to forget the past. But Pieterse was his old boss and when Schalk is put on the case, he finds the past has a way of infecting the present.
Meanwhile, it’s an election year. People are pinning their hopes on charismatic ANC candidate Gideon Radebe but there’s opposition and in this volatile country, unrest is never far from the surface.
Schalk must tread a difficult path between the new regime and the old, between the personal and the professional, between justice and revenge. This investigation will change his life, and could alter his county’s future.
A truly remarkable book. South Africa comes to vivid life in these pages.
– Kerry Gteenwood
About the author
Natalie Conyer was born and grew up in Cape Town, but has lived in Sydney for many years. She’s a crime fiction tragic, so much so she did a doctorate in it.
Natalie’s debut novel, Present Tense, won the 2020 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction. It was shortlisted for the Davitt Awards in both debut and general sections, and voted one of the books of the year by The Australian. Its sequel, Shadow City, will be out in September 2024.
Natalie’s short stories have won many prizes in the annual Sisters in Crime Scarlet Stiletto Competition. They have featured in anthologies, and a collection of her short stories will be published in 2024.
- PUBLISHER | Penguin Random House SA |
- ISBN | 9781485904892 |
- Recommended Retail Price | R320.00 |
- Classification | Thriller, History |
