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Publisher's Weekly
McClure adds to his admirable South African series of police procedurals featuring Afrikaner CID lieutenant Tromp Kramer and Bantu sergeant Mickey Zondi (last seen in The Artful Egg ) with an altogether satisfying prequel, jumping back to 1962 and the case that brings the two together. Kramer is called to a backwater town in Zululand after a young white housewife of questionable repute and a respected police officer are blown to bits when dynamite explodes her isolated home. Is the killer her reportedly violent and jealous husband, or was the husband in fact the intended target? It's Kramer's job to learn the truth, hampered though he is by incompetent police and medical staff and by his constant stumbling over Zondi, on the scene to track down a killer of his own. As is characteristic of McClure's series, the novel thrives on the relationship between the acerbic Kramer and the carefully clever Zondi, as well as on its intelligently underplayed depiction of South African customs and attitudes. Mysterious Book Club selection.
Library Journal
McClure's prequel to his Kramer/Zondi series details the South African pair's initial meeting. Already hard at work on the double murder of a beautiful but notorious young lady and an efficient, middle-aged detective, the devil-may-care Kramer appropriates the intelligent black Zondi--looking for a multiple killer and cousin--as assistant. Vivid imagery, crackling prose, and the exotic surroundings of Zululand (complete with racial attitudes) create an exciting package. Series fans will surely want to read this; others may get turned on to a good thing.
Genre: Mystery
McClure adds to his admirable South African series of police procedurals featuring Afrikaner CID lieutenant Tromp Kramer and Bantu sergeant Mickey Zondi (last seen in The Artful Egg ) with an altogether satisfying prequel, jumping back to 1962 and the case that brings the two together. Kramer is called to a backwater town in Zululand after a young white housewife of questionable repute and a respected police officer are blown to bits when dynamite explodes her isolated home. Is the killer her reportedly violent and jealous husband, or was the husband in fact the intended target? It's Kramer's job to learn the truth, hampered though he is by incompetent police and medical staff and by his constant stumbling over Zondi, on the scene to track down a killer of his own. As is characteristic of McClure's series, the novel thrives on the relationship between the acerbic Kramer and the carefully clever Zondi, as well as on its intelligently underplayed depiction of South African customs and attitudes. Mysterious Book Club selection.
Library Journal
McClure's prequel to his Kramer/Zondi series details the South African pair's initial meeting. Already hard at work on the double murder of a beautiful but notorious young lady and an efficient, middle-aged detective, the devil-may-care Kramer appropriates the intelligent black Zondi--looking for a multiple killer and cousin--as assistant. Vivid imagery, crackling prose, and the exotic surroundings of Zululand (complete with racial attitudes) create an exciting package. Series fans will surely want to read this; others may get turned on to a good thing.
Genre: Mystery
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