Devil's Peak: A Novel (Benny Griessel)

by Deon Meyer

Bennie Griessel may be losing his battle with alcohol but he still knows enough to head up the police team tracking 'Artemis', a vigilante killer who targets child murderers.The killer is in fact Thobela Mpayipheli, a former freedom fighter robbed of everything by the murder of his son. And when Griessel's daughter is kidnapped, his world and Thobela's converge towards a devastating climax. A brilliantly suspenseful novel, and a searing portrait of modern South Africa, in which sometimes only hope and humanity can fight the cruellest crimes.

• ISBN10: 031601785X
• ISBN13: 9780316017855
• Publish Date: 26 March 2008 (first published 5 April 2007)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Little Brown and Company
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

I wasn't sure about this book at first. Meyer is a South African writer, and this novel is mostly set in Cape Town and the surrounding area. I wasn't sure if there would be cultural aspects I just didn't get, but Meyer does a good job of giving you context around what's going on.

The story revolves around 3 characters: Benny Griessel, a long-time police detective whose alcoholism has caught up with him and whose wife has thrown him out of the house; Christine, a sex-worker who is telling a priest the story of her life; and Thobela, a Xhosa man on a mission of retribution. The first half or so of the novel switches between the point of view of each character. I thought this part was a little slow, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Once you get to the second half of the novel and the pieces start to fit together, you find the wait was well worth it.

I thought this was a strong crime novel, once all was said and done. And I felt like I learned a little about South Africa and its social politics along the way.