Cobra (Benny Griessel) - Tapa dura

Meyer, the leading thriller writer in his native country, traffics in crime-novel situations familiar the world over: drunken cops, charming robbers, dangerous murderers, sudden violence-and sometimes, issues of race. Meyer's South Africa, however, is unique. His books, translated from Afrikaans, are usually set in the Cape Town region, where mountains spectacularly meet the sea. Amid these vistas his detective confronts his own-and his country's-tortured past and the legacy of Apartheid. * Wall Street Journal * A genuinely thrilling thriller. * Literary Review * Deon Meyer's masterful new thriller . . . This is terrific stuff: fine plotting, superb characterisation, a constant thread of suspense, a multi-ethnic cast and an intriguing setting. * Shots * This year's great discovery: classy, edgy writing, subtly plotted and beautifully balanced between fast-paced action, pungent social comment and the process of investigation. * Weekend Australian * A novel that is never less than readable. The South African setting is a major part of the appeal. Best of all, however, is Bennie himself, a humane recovering alcoholic riddled with self-doubt, and his interaction with his family, friends and colleagues. Long may he survive * Andrew Taylor, Spectator * The plot clicks along like a machine... The set pieces, such as a complex train-hopping action sequence, are slickly executed. This is an author in full charge of his technique, but he burnishes the mechanics of the story with delicious Kaapse characters and richly idiomatic dialogue. The feral pickpocket Tyrone Kleinbooi is one of Meyer's best characters ever, sly and quick with a strong sense of thieves' honour. * Sunday Times South Africa * Relentlessly suspenseful, topical, hard-hitting and richly rewarding, COBRA is a superb novel from an author who is acclaimed around the world as a brilliant voice in crime fiction. * Tangled Web * Deon Meyer's gritty crime novels [are] part police procedural, part political thriller . . . What makes Meyer such a national treasure - and as good as anyone in the world - is that even if you have no knowledge or interest in South Africa's history or present, his books are compelling page-turners. Politics and race are just part of the intricately crafted superstructure bolted onto the rock-solid chassis of a top-quality crime thriller, driven by a writer with deceptive skill. * Books Live (South Africa) * Tells a cracking story and captures the criminal kaleidoscope of a nation. * Times Literary Supplement * Deon Meyer is a top notch plotter and has created one of the best ensemble (and multi-racial) casts of any modern police procedural series. * Shots magazine * Benny is the central character in South African writer Deon Meyer's series of novels, set in Capetown, that grow richer and more sophisticated with each new book. This progression makes COBRA the most dazzling of the bunch. * Toronto Star * The narrative is well-plotted, and the novel brings to life the rich and volatile diversity of contemporary South Africa. There's nothing flashy here, just a good story, very well told. Would there were more like it. * Spectator * Crime fiction with real texture and intelligence. * Independent * Praise for Deon Meyer * . . . *

Why would a mathematics professor from Cambridge University, renting a holiday home outside Cape Town, require a false identity and three bodyguards? And where is he, now that they are dead? The only clue to the bodyguards' murder is the snake engraved on the shell casings of the bullets that killed them. Investigating the massacre, Benny Griessel and his team find themselves being drawn into an international conspiracy with shocking implications. It seems it is not just the terrorists and criminals of Britain and South Africa who may fear the Professor's work, but the politicians too. As the body count begins to spiral viciously, Benny must put his new-found love life aside and focus on finding the one person who could give him a break in the case: a teenage pickpocket on the run in the city. But Benny is not the only person hunting for Tyrone Kleinbooi . . . Relentlessly suspenseful, topical, hard-hitting and richly rewarding, COBRA is a superb novel from an author who is acclaimed around the world as a brilliant voice in crime fiction.