BookBrowse Reviews Dead at Daybreak by Deon Meyer

BookBrowse:

'A remarkable achievement from a singular new talent'. Thriller

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From the book jacket: An antiques dealer in Cape Town is found dead, killed execution-style with a single shot to the back of the head. The contents of his safe are missing, suggesting robbery, but the weapon used in the killing is an M16-a gun that's generally the choice of mercenaries, not burglars.

Zed van Heerden is a former police office with connections to the world of soldiers and mercenary fighters from South Africa's battles for independence. When he's called in to find out more about the victim, he quickly learns that this man in his fifties has no traces of a life earlier than 1983. Who was Johannes Jacobus Smit, and how did he invent a new life for himself out of nothing? What are the secrets that might have gotten him killed?

Comment: 'A breathtaking pace, heart-pounding action set against a psychological backdrop, and a fascinating protagonist make this book a winner.' - Library Journal.
'The author once again mines South Africa's fertile history of racial conflict and cold war gamesmanship for a narrative gem.' - Booklist.

This review first ran in the September 1, 2005 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.