The wonderful Deon Meyer is back, as is the unbeatable duo of Benny Griessel and Vaughan Cupido. Deon tells a great story as ever - he has a rare talent for perfectly balancing plot and politics, which is not the easiest thing to do in South Africa!! The writing and translation are superb, and he really goes from strength to strength!

Is this Griessel and Cupido’s most puzzling case?

Benny Griessel and Vaughan Cupido are still warrant officers. Their past exploits not forgiven. Griessel is happy to welcome the calm because he and Alexa are due to be married in a few weeks’ time.

Recces, former members of the South African Army devise a daring plan to steal millions of dollars originally brought in for the Chanda’s, by Ishan Babbar – a ruthless man. They know that Babbar can’t report it to the police, however, will his first thought after the robberies be that the thieves are members of the original recces?

A girl is found murdered on a Stellenbosch mountain trail. Griessel and Cupido quickly work out who murdered her but before they can arrest him, he’s found dead – asphyxiated by filler foam. Who is this man? Why has been executed in such a barbaric way?

There are two storylines – one following the characters involved in the robberies and Griessel and Cupido trying to piece together the background of the murderer of the young girl on the mountain.
Deon Meyer has excelled in this latest book featuring all my favourite heroes. I listened to the audiobook. The characters come to life and the narrator; Peter Noble did an excellent job of ensuring that each character had their own special voice.

PS: I leave with a question for you dear readers; do you think Benny makes it to his wedding on time?

Rony
Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book from NetGalley to review.

I thought this was a really good story. The background was fascinating and informative, although I'm rather glad I don't live in South Africa!
Lots of action, which I love, and some great twists. It was interesting to see how the different threads were connected and came together.
I was also pleased to see strong female roles! Yet without detracting from a male-led story.
It wasn't a perfect read for me, as I wasn't sure about some of the translation, eg whether it was meant to read as very accented, or if the wrong words had been chosen (I scheme?). I was also rather distracted by footnotes referring to previous books, which never work well on kindle, although I don't know whether this was because I read an advance copy.
I also found the ending a little abrupt, and I guess I had hoped that it would be a bit different.

'Big trouble, on every front.' Big trouble indeed, but it had me completely hooked.

Quite a cast of characters, all with their own voices and individuality, a multitude of personalities, each their own train of thoughts or their own circumstances, very versatile if that makes sense, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It even got me rooting for some of the baddies (but definitely not all of them!) and since one was part of this series before, I'm hoping to meet them again.

I thought it might be difficult to read a book that is quite advanced in the series but, actually, this was great. Whilst it would help to know the characters and some of their backgrounds, I didn't find this detracted from the story - to be fair, that would have been incredibly hard as this is such a good story! Set South Africa, the descriptions are as colourful as the characters and, though the story does move around a bit, I found it easy to follow. The book really draws out the political issues, corruption and socio-economic issues of the country, all the while steering us through a gripping thriller - highly recommended!

Set in South Africa, this is as good a thriller as you could get! Benny is an interesting character for a detective, as he is struggling to stay sober and remain focused on his latest investigation. The book is very detailed and honest regarding politics and corruption, as well as social and economic issues and gives a good insight into the issues affecting life in South Africa. A very enjoyable and well written book which I would recommend. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I will keep banging the drum for Deon Meyer until he becomes as widely read here in the UK as he is in his native South Africa and in the Netherlands. His thrillers are always propulsive, edge-of-the-seat fare and Leo - which weaves together two seemingly disconnected narrative strands - is no exception. Demoted as a result of their actions two books ago and sent from Cape Town to work as Warrant Officers (the South African equivalent of police constables, the reader surmises) in the Stellenbosch, Leo finds our heroes Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido investigating the death of a mountain biking student. Meanwhile, the reader is immersed in the complex tale of a gold heist gone wrong. As Griessel and Cupido start to pull on the threads of their investigation to find that they lead, once more, to state corruption and links to the heist gang.

Deon Meyer’s latest book delivers a gripping, politically charged thriller set in contemporary South Africa. Former Hawks detectives Benny Griessel and Vince Cupido, now working in Stellenbosch, are pulled into a complex investigation when a female student is found dead. Their prime suspect, lawyer Basie Small, is soon murdered in a brutal, professional hit, and a series of killings follows, all linked to a team of ex-soldiers.

Meanwhile, Christina Jaegar, part of a heist crew, returns from Italy for a daring new operation, escalating the danger. Meyer vividly captures South Africa’s corruption, power blackouts, and public distrust of the police, weaving these themes into a fast-paced, tension-filled narrative. With Benny battling his demons while trying to solve the case, this book offers a compelling mix of crime, political intrigue, and personal struggle. Highly recommended for crime fiction fans.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

3.5/5.

A great thriller this one. You can always depend on Deon for a good read and this is tough, raw and exciting.
So many layers so not your ordinary thriller or Police procedural
There is a lot to like here.

The wonderful Deon Meyer's latest is once again gives us a hard hitting state of the nation addition, providing social and political commentary on contemporary South Africa, the major political characters are barely disguised and easily identifiable to anyone who has even a basic knowledge of contemporary events that have taken place there. This covers the astonishing level of corruption that infected the government, reaching the highest levels, the kleptocracy, and 'state capture' including the incompetence and involvement of some members the police, making it particularly difficult for those with a reputation for being unfailingly honest. Former Hawks, cops Benny Griessel, extremely stressed as his wedding to Alex approaches, and his partner, Vince Cupido, are still serving in the university town of Stellenbosch.

The body of a female student cyclist is discovered on a mountain trail, a strange death that is the beginning of a complex investigation that takes them to the home of their leading suspect, lawyer Basie Small, and his menacing rottweilers. They return when Small is found murdered, having been tasered and suffocated after having filler foam poured down his throat, what on earth is going on and how truthful is the information being provided by his sister, Emilia? It becomes clear this is a well organised professional hit by 6 ex-soldiers, and is followed by further deaths, what connects them? Christina Jaegar, is part of a crew carrying out a heist that goes wrong, she leaves for Italy, only to return for a more hugely audacious heist that includes a new, more volatile member, wild Tao, joining them.

Meyer paints a richly descriptive and detailed picture of the country, the 'load shedding' power blackouts, the police facing the disdain, cynicism, and bile coming their way from the public, the media and social media, given what has occurred in the circles of the powerful political establishment. The danger, pace, and tension pick up considerably as Benny finds himself caught up in events that may threaten his ability to get back home and marry Alexa. This is a superb series, informative about South Africa, and with a great flawed protagonist in Benny, an alcoholic, constantly having to fight his inner urge for a drink, the strains and horrors of what he sees and experiences in his challenging job fuelling this desire. Simply brilliant! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I’m not a big murder/spy thriller reader, but I have a few exceptions to the rule. Deon Meyer is one of them.

I am sure part of it is that reading a suspenseful novel set in my own country, with places and cultures and mannerisms familiar to me, is an attractive prospect. Also, the socio-political environment in South Africa really just lends itself to the craziness Meyer’s characters get up to.

Leo basically has a political backstory SO CLOSE to reality, that basically just the names of politician are changed. Brave, Deon, very brave. I love it. `

Meyer has the ability to get into his characters’ heads - even the “baddies”. Some of them get under your skin, but some, into your heart.

I will say that this is more than a murder/whodunnit novel - it is also (and largely) a heist novel, and it is convoluted. Maybe a little too convoluted. I missed the “footwork”, the detective work. The heist setup was complicated, which many readers might enjoy, but it was excessive to me.

Overall, though, a commendable book, in a fantastic setting, by an excellent author.