Selected by Marcel Berlins in The Times as one of the 50 best crime novels of the last 50 years: ‘Deon Meyer is acclaimed for his portrayals of crime and the police after the end of apartheid. Non-white detectives hold positions once monopolised by their white bosses, and the tensions are high’
After 602 days dry, Captain Benny Griessel of the South African police services can’t take any more tragedy.
So when Benny is called in to investigate a multiple homicide, it pushes him close to breaking point – a former friend and detective colleague has shot his wife and two daughters, then killed himself. Benny wants out – out of his job, his home and his relationship with his singer girlfriend, Alexa. He moves into a hotel and starts drinking. Again.
But Benny’s unique talent is urgently required to help investigate another crime – the high profile murder of Ernst Richter, MD of a new tech startup, Alibi, whose body is discovered buried in the sand dunes north of Cape Town. Alibi is a service that creates false appointments, documents and phone calls to enable people to cheat on their partners. It has made Richter one of the most notorious people in South Africa. Can Benny pull together the strands of his life in time to catch the killer?
After 602 days dry, Captain Benny Griessel of the South African police services can’t take any more tragedy.
So when Benny is called in to investigate a multiple homicide, it pushes him close to breaking point – a former friend and detective colleague has shot his wife and two daughters, then killed himself. Benny wants out – out of his job, his home and his relationship with his singer girlfriend, Alexa. He moves into a hotel and starts drinking. Again.
But Benny’s unique talent is urgently required to help investigate another crime – the high profile murder of Ernst Richter, MD of a new tech startup, Alibi, whose body is discovered buried in the sand dunes north of Cape Town. Alibi is a service that creates false appointments, documents and phone calls to enable people to cheat on their partners. It has made Richter one of the most notorious people in South Africa. Can Benny pull together the strands of his life in time to catch the killer?
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Reviews
Praise for Deon Meyer
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.
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.
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.
Crime fiction with real texture and intelligence.
Tells a cracking story and captures the criminal kaleidoscope of a nation.
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.
Sharp and full of energy, his evocation of place and character second to none. The pace of the novel is breathless, yet Meyer never sacrifices authenticity or the quality of his writing. Crime, wine and a thrilling finale: a rare and unexpected treat.
Deon Meyer's South Africa is laid bare in ICARUS . . . it is as glittering and hard as the diamonds his country is famous for . . . Meyer utilises the crime fiction genre as an apparatus to create a multifaceted, unsparing picture of his country
Meyer heightens the suspense . . . The richness of the characters, especially the multifaceted Benny, elevates this above most contemporary police procedurals.
Every once in a while there comes along a writer, an already accomplished storyteller, who grows into the stature of a great writer through one wonderful story. That author is Deon Meyer; the story he has masterfully crafted is ICARUS.
ICARUS places [Deon] firmly in the top international league. It's the fifth, and best, of the Benny Griessel series.
South African author Deon Meyer's Benny Griessel series is one of the high points of contemporary crime fiction, and the fifth title, ICARUS, is his best yet ... expertly engineered.
Deon Meyer is not just South Africa's greatest crime writer, he's up there with the best in the world.
