Lemmer's First Law: Don't get involved. But when Emma le Roux looks at him with pleading eyes, when the roof of his Karoo house needs big repairs, when the cause is good and just, laws can be broken. So he sighs, and says, yes, he'll ride shotgun for two rare black rhinos. Bad decision. Because on a dark and dusty road in Limpopo, they stick a Smith & Wesson Model 500 against his head. They kick him and beat him, they lie, they deceive him, and they steal his Glock, the one with his fingerprints all over it. They should have killed him. And now he goes after them--the start of a trail of violence that will run the length and breadth of a country, and touch many lives.

It will leave a trail of blood through the first private-investigation dossier of former cop Mat Joubert. It's a "fifty-five," police slang for a missing persons case. It will stomp fear and horror through the life of Milla Strachan, who walked out on her rich, cheating husband and abusive teenage son to start a new life. A trail of death, stretching from the Chizarira to the Cape Waterfront. And at the end of it, nobody will be untouched.


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#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER (South Africa)

"With Deon Meyer you can't go wrong. He's a writer whose work I admire, wait for and then devour."
— Michael Connelly

“In his seventh novel, the king of South African crime fiction outdoes himself. . . . Aside from masterfully juggling intricate plot details and ripping off some bloodcurdling action scenes, Meyer lays bare more ruthlessly than ever before the chaos that lurks beneath South Africa’s new identity. . . . Meyer has few equals when it comes to combining biting social critique and riveting action scenes.”
—Booklist (starred review)
 
“Meyer’s ambition matches his execution in this brilliantly complex stand-alone thriller set in his native South Africa. . . . This powerhouse read, which captures the many facets of modern South Africa, should be the American breakthrough this talented author deserves.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“Award-winning crime fiction author Meyer demonstrates his superb gift for bringing together several disparate plots, striking characters, and vividly drawn scenes of contemporary South Africa, all roaring toward a climax with more than one surprise. . . . Page-turning suspense and riveting mystery. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

"Meyer is the latest addition to Random House Canada's World of Crime imprint, which is turning into a treasure trove of great writing."
—Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail

"If you want a glimpse of the soul of the new South Africa in all its glory, and with all the gory details of its problems  and corruption, Meyer is your man."
—The Guardian




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DEON MEYER lives near Cape Town in South Africa with his wife and four children. Other than his family, Deon's big passions are motorcycling, music, reading, cooking and rugby. In January 2008 he retired from his day job as a consultant on brand strategy for BMW Motorrad, and is now a full-time writer. Deon Meyer's books have attracted worldwide critical acclaim and a growing international fan base. Originally written in Afrikaans, they have now been translated into several languages including English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, Czech, Romanian, Slovakian, Bulgarian, Japanese and Polish.



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