Read Time:1 Minute, 48 Second
Zatopek “Zet” van Heerden is a former Cape Town cop who’s fighting the demons of his past—and losing—when an old associate bails him out of jail and connects him with an attorney who needs his help. The attorney, Hope Beneke, has just one week to locate the will of an antiques dealer named Johannes Jacobus Smit who was tortured and killed months earlier. The murderer emptied the contents of Smit’s large walk-in safe—and if van Heerden and Beneke don’t find the will, Smit’s common-law wife, Wilna van As, will be left with nothing.
Van Heerden digs deeper into Smit’s case and comes up with plenty of information that the police had missed. First, the only thing left in the safe was a currency wrapper—one that had been used decades earlier to wrap US dollars. Second, Johannes Jacobus Smit didn’t exist before 1983—and the identification that he carried was counterfeit. The information that he gathers sends him back to a past life—to old colleagues and old connections. It even puts him in the way of military intelligence. And it becomes more and more obvious that someone will stop at nothing to make sure that Smit’s real identity stays hidden.
Dead at Daybreak tells two stories. The first is the story of van Heerden’s search for Smit’s will. The second is the story of van Heerden himself. Meyer fluctuates between the two, interspersing the story of van Heerden’s present with that of his past—the events and people who led him to his line of work, as well as the events and people who led to his fall from glory. Mixed into these captivating stories, you’ll find details that bring the troubled past and the recovering present of South Africa to life.
South African writer Deon Meyer carefully weaves together two gripping stories. Though it takes a while to get into them—and to get used to Meyer’s storytelling methods—it’s well worth the read. It’s suspenseful and thought-provoking and even artistic—a great addition to any crime buff’s bookshelf.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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