Weeping Waters
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
First in the series starring a South African police detective: “[A] picturesque backdrop, cast of authentic characters, and knotty story line” (Publishers Weekly).
Shortlisted for the International Dagger Award and Winner of the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize
Insp. Albertus Markus Beeslaar is a traumatized cop who has abandoned tough city policing and a broken relationship in Johannesburg for a backwater post on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. But his dream of rural peace is soon shattered by the repeated attacks of a brutally efficient crime syndicate, as he struggles to train and connect with rookie local cops Ghaap and Pyl, who resent his brusqueness and his old-school ways.
A beautiful and eccentric artist and her four-year-old adopted daughter are murdered on a local farm, and angry white farmers point to her enigmatic Bushman farm manager as a key suspect. Along with Ghaap and Pyl, Beeslaar is plunged into the intrigue and racial tensions of the community, and finds that violence knows no geographical or ethnic boundaries.
Weeping Waters marks the beginning of a great new series with a striking setting, a strong ensemble of characters, and suspenseful storylines.
“Brooding. Riveting. Brilliant.” —Deon Meyer, author of Blood Safari
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Personal and professional issues have forced Insp. Albertus Beeslaar, the beleaguered hero of South African author Brynard's impressive debut novel and series launch, to leave his position in Johannesburg for the unforgiving platteland of the Northern Cape. There Beeslaar and his two inexperienced sergeants look into the murders of artist Frederika Swarts tagged "the Madonna of the Kalahari" by the media and her four-year-old adopted daughter at their remote farmhouse. The artist's estranged sister, Sara Swarts, is convinced that the double homicide is not connected to other brutal farm murders in the area and returns to her childhood home to investigate. Together Beeslaar and Swarts begin to uncover a grand conspiracy that's entangled in tradition and mythology, historic injustices regarding land ownership, and unadulterated greed. Though the momentum suffers mightily in places, crime fiction fans will find the picturesque backdrop, cast of authentic characters, and knotty story line to be more than satisfying.
