In the afternoon hush of the last day of the year, Mat Joubert thought about death. Mechanically his hands were busy cleaning his service pistol, the Z88. He sat in his sitting-room, leaning forward in the armchair, the parts of the pistol lying on the coffee-table in front of him among rags, brushes and an oil can. A cigarette in the ashtray sent up a long, thin plume of smoke. Above him, at the window, a bee flew against the glass with monotonous regularity, in an irritating attempt to reach the afternoon outside where a light southeaster was blowing.
Summer is in full swing and I started reading crime fiction. As I mentioned here, I have started Dead Before Dying by Deon Meyer. First novel, but if you read the first paragraph above you wouldn't tell. I have decided to read this book in particular because nothing is more summery than a crime story set during summertime in Africa. With Meyer you can so easily feel the heat and the danger looming. Oh yes and the book is the inspiration for a TV series which I hope I can find here.
Great excerpt!
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