#BookReview ‘The Dark Flood’ by Deon Meyer trans. by K.L Seegers

About the book…

From internationally acclaimed crime writer Deon Meyer, a new thriller featuring superstar detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido in the wake of their impulsive pursuit of state corruption that has left their reputations hanging in the balance

Having jeopardized their careers in an unauthorized investigation that threatened to reveal the corruption in South Africa’s halls of power, Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido have been demoted from the elite Hawks police unit. While waiting to be transferred from Cape Town to seemingly mundane duty in Stellenbosch, Griessel receives a disturbing, anonymous letter: “I can only trust you and Captain Cupido. There is an adder in our bosom. Be careful of phone calls.”

Assigned to investigate the disappearance of Callie de Bruin, a young university student and brilliant computer programmer, they hit dead ends until the trail, including the death of a fellow officer, leads to a series of gun heists and the alarming absence of certain weapons from the police registry, the ramifications of which could be devastating.As Griessel and Cupido intensify their search for de Bruin, real estate agent Sandra Steenberg confronts her own crisis: state corruption has caused the real estate market to crash, exacerbating the dire financial straits facing her family.

When billionaire Jasper Boonstra contacts her to represent a major property he wants to sell, she pushes aside her concerns about his notorious reputation as playboy and swindler. And then Boonstra himself disappears, and Griessel is forced to juggle between Boonstra’s bitter wife, protective lawyer, and Steenberg, the last person to see him alive.

With propulsive and intricate plotting, sharp prose, and an ending that takes one’s breath away just when the dust seems to have settled, The Dark Flood spotlights the state capture and corruption that has overtaken the country, lending political weight to a powerful story.

My thanks to the wonderful team at Hodder and Stoughton for my gifted review copy of ‘The Dark Flood’ which is out from all good bookshops , from May 3rd 2022.

I wish I had known about these books sooner, only because I am kicking myself for not reading the series from the beginning.

Sophie at Ransom PR has not only given me the opportunity to read an author I was previously unaware of, she has also provided a rare glimpse into a world I had not encountered before.

Demon writes an effortless narrative which plunges you into the heart of an unmistakably South African situation which rapidly escalates out of control.

It is the linchpin of the issues around which ‘The Dark Flood’ is constructed of-the way that greed either drowns you or you float on that wave, and become part of the system which supports and sustains it.

From the use of vernacular language (calling adults ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’ which is what we do here in the South Wales valleys as well) to the casual dropping of the surroundings , it paints a picture of a system which subverts the landscape in which it is situated.

The vastness implies freedom but conversely, it is is incredibly difficult to create and sustain a sense of justice, propriety and accountability.

So when you read about the armed police deploying heavy weaponry to finally catch a co-ordinated gang of robbers, part of you is already on high alert regarding the potential outcomes for passersby, as well as the police themselves.

It is a novel of contrasts, as well, as you have morally strong and yet imperfect leads in Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido. Their partnership and banter marks them as long time companions and implies a level of trust,as well as being able to literally dodge bullets to remain partners for as long as they have at this point.

The vivid descriptions of South Africa, where July to us means summer, to those who live there means midwinter, shows the reader that we are not just on the other side of the world, physically, but also thematically.

From a gunfight described as an epic catastrophe, Griessel and Cupido are sent away in disgrace to a town named Stellanbosch on a missing person case.

Ostensibly straight forward, the missing student, Callie, is sort of below their pay grade. But when an Epstein-esque millionaire offers desperate, local estate agent Sandra Steenberg a proposal she cannot refuse, Benny’s case and Sandra’s plight collide in a catastrophic way.

And at the heart of it all is greed, the things that people do with the money they accumulate and the systems which allow them to hide the evidence.

Deon writes in a incredibly vivid and pacy style that uses the police procedural shot through a hard boiled, Chandler-esque lense.

What this creates is a uniquely realised, tense and somewhat stressful read, as you rapidly try to put the pieces together as quickly as the detectives do. And pray that they aren’t too late….

It kept me up way after bedtime and repeating to myself ‘It’s only a book…you can put it down any time you like’.

Yeah like that has ever worked before!

I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to work my way through Books 1-6 as they can apparently be read as stand alone, even though they feature recurring characters.

About the author…

Deon 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.

It 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)

Links-http://www.deonmeyer.com/

Twitter @MeyerDeon @HodderBooks