Robert Dell is one part pacifist, one part reporter, married to the half breed Rosie and father of twins. Living a nice life in Cape Town, except that Rosie is carrying on with a fat, rich white man. After one tryst, 2 guys surprise them and execute the old guy, putting Rosie's life in danger to say the least. While driving their truck a day or two later with Dell riding shotgun and the 2 kids in back, a truck forces them off the road and down a cliff, but But Dell is tossed free and he watches his family plunge down to a fiery death.
The man behind both hits, a South African cabinet minister making a play for president, arranges for Dell to be held on charges of murder. As he is about to be transferred to South Africa's most notorious prison, Dell is hijacked by father, Earl Robert Goodbread. Dell's dad is a former US special ops soldier and recently a merc in the war against apartheid, but now dying of lung cancer.
Years ago, 2 Zulu running mates, Disaster Zondi and Inja Mazibuko, murdered a woman whom Diasater had enjoyed a brief fling. With time, Disaster and Inja took different paths. Disaster became an investigator and Inja is also a cop, but he works most closely as the sociopathic enforcer for the Minister.
And Inja has full blown AIDS. And according to legend, the only cure is to marry a virgin, which Inja has chosen . . . the daughter of the woman he murdered 16 years ago who may or may not be Disaster's daughter.
Goodbread knows that Inja is the muscle behind the murder of that fat crumb and Dell's family. He also knows that the way to smoke Inja out is through his betrothed. So does Disaster, making this girl the target of a three-pronged chase - Sunday away from Inja with Disaster, Dell, and Goodbread all after the girl.
We've reviewed Smith's two previous efforts. This follows right close behind Wake up Dead and Mixed Blood. All three are some of the most brutal noir I've ever read. Murder in nearly every chapter, sometimes by most gruesome means, the remains roting in the African desert or left to the hyenas. The specter of AIDS, the soon to be 16 yo bride as remedy, Goodbread's looming death, the abject poverty and desolation of the outlying landscape. Don't give Inja the answers he wants? He'll kill your goats, burn your house, execute your wife, decapitate your kids. Down here in the south, we'd say "He needs killing."
Make no mistake. This noir tale is dark, brutal, uncompromising, and an absolute winner in every way. The ruthless behaviors presented grabs you by the throat and won't let you go until you turn the last page and that doesn't take long because this book is really hard to put down. No smart aleck Elvis Cole or jaded cop Harry Bosch will be found here. Heros and villains in Smith's world are awfully hard to tell apart.
East Coast Don
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