Rediscovering Dead at Daybreak

I have been reading very slowly since the beginning of the year. I have also been reading very little crime fiction. I intend to change this soon. A few months ago, I bought Dead at Daybreak, by South African crime writer Deon Meyer. The very first novel I read of him, read this post for details about it. It will be almost 20 years since I first (and last) read it, so it will be a rediscovery. I remember the plot and characters pretty well, or at least I think I do. It will nevertheless be a pleasure to binge into some unapologetic violence. Until he publishes his new novel next year, I was thinking of finding other South African crime authors. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Dead at Daybreak (#Noirvember)

There are only a few days left to #Noirvember and I haven't exatly binge read crime fiction as I wanted. That said, I have been wanting to make a few suggestions before the end of the month. Recently, I bought Dead at Daybreak, the first crime novel I read of Deon Meyer. Details about it here. Anyway, I read it in French about fifteen years ago or so, I thought it would be time to revisit it. Not this month as I hoped, but some time after the new year. It struck me that it would make a perfect #Noirvember read (for this year or the next) and for those who never South African crime fiction, a great starting point.

Dead at Daybreak

As I am waiting to receive the next Deon Meyer novel, which will not be available yet in this country for a few weeks (argh!), I was wondering if I should not revisit his other novels. I haven't read enough crime fiction this year (heck, I haven't read enough, period) and it is always nice to rediscover a book you loved. The first Meyer novel I read was Dead at Daybreak. My mother had bought it(in its French translation)  as a birthday present and had chosen this novel because I had started dating my future wife, who is half South African. I was completely blown away. Dead a Daybreak had the exact kind of stuff I wanted to find in a crime novel, but haven't yet: a slowburn thriller with lots of character, characterisation, atmosphere and, well, brutality. Like many of Meyer's early novels, it is a lot about the ghosts of Apartheid and the evils that it spawned in the country afterwards. I'm surprised it took me that long to read his other books.