4.5 stars

Ek moes hierdie book skelmpies lees voor ek dit vir my swaer gee vir sy verjaarsdag.

En wat ‘n lekker lees was dit nie.

Noudat Bennie En Cupido se loopbane by die Valke in twyfel getrek word, is hulle gepos na Stellenbosch en dinge is net nie dieselfde nie. Nou moet hulle belaglike goed soos vermiste (tien teen een dronk) studente ondersoek wat regtig VER onder hulle polisie vaardigheid val.

Soos Cupido se “dis ‘n clusterfuck van magnificent proportions”

Daar is 3 storie lyne wat op die oog af niks met mekaar te doen het nie maar soos die storie aanstap trek al die lydrade saam.

Ek moet wel erken dat ek meer belang gestel het in Bennie en Cupido se persoonlike dramas as die speur sake maar soos altyd het ek niks om oor te kla met hierdie reeks nie.

Årets bästa spänning!!? Wohooo

Werklik een van Deon se beter Bennie-boeke.

Soos altyd lees dit vinnig en maklik met n snaarstyf gespande storielyn. Altyd histories relevant met karakter ontwikkeling buite die gewone speurlyn. 'n Baie globare verhaal, behalwe vir die polisieman wat 'n ander een skiet om "dié se lewe te red". Regtig?

The Dark Flood or as my copy is called Mörk Flod by Deon Meyer is the latest Benny Griessel mystery from southafrica and it's one of the best in this series in my mind. Full of mysteries and politics and a good measure of humor. It is a fast read and the complications our Hawks get involved with are plenty and at first hard to figure out. That is just as it should be. I must say I had a wonderful time reading this one and it was even better due to the fact that I recently listened to the interview Michael Connelly did with Meyer at the Poisoned Pen podcast.

No es el mejor de la serie, pero está muy bien y las novelas policiales ambientadas en otros países, aquí es Sudáfrica, siempre tienen el atractivo de permitirte atisbar la cotidianidad de otros lugares.

Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido, veteran investigators in the elite Hawks unit, find themselves demoted and sent to patrol the streets of leafy Stellenbosch after being found guilty of insubordination. Things could be worse, as they feared being exiled to way out in the Karoo, but they are unsure if they will ever be able to return to their beloved Hawks, and recovering alcoholic Griessel is concerned that the change in their fortunes may lead him back to finding solace at the bottom of a bottle.

Beautiful Stellenbosch, wine capital of South Africa and home to millionaires and academics, is hardly a hot-bed of crime, but it's not quite the affluent neighbourhood it once was. The economy has been ruined by the dodgy dealings of one man, Jasper Boonstra, a disgraced businessman who hides behind the walls of his swanky estate while the government tries to bring a case of massive fraud against him. Everyone who lives here has been affected by the resulting recession, and the once buoyant property market has crashed.

The first case assigned to Griessel and Cupido is. at first sight, a simple missing persons report: student Callie du Bruin has disappeared from his campus hostel over the weekend, but there is no reason to believe he has come to harm, despite the concerns of his doting mother. However, something about this case is decidedly off, and Griessel and Cupido soon suspect that Callie has got himself involved with some very dangerous people.

Meanwhile, estate agent Sandy Steenberg gets a call from the notorious Jasper Boonstra himself. On the edge of financial ruin, she has no choice but to answer the call of this rumoured sexual predator and fraudster in order to save herself and her family from disaster - she desperately needs the commission he is offering from the underhand sale of his expensive properties, even if it means doing a deal with the devil.

Griessel, Cupido and Steenberg are about to put themselves in peril by becoming embroiled in circumstances rife with subterfuge and corruption, each of them having to step very carefully indeed in order to survive.

The Dark Flood starts with a delicious bang, as Deon Meyer treats you to a gripping multi-way shoot-out on the highway, which has unexpected significance for the twists and turns that follow for detectives Griessel and Cupido as they are sent to Stellenbosch with their tails between their legs - and is beautifully reminiscent of a good old cowboy gunfight, albeit with a modern twist.

The story then proceeds by moving between the stories of Griessel and Cupido as they follow the police procedural side of the tale, with an increasingly complex missing person case, and a softly-softly investigation into corruption at the very heart of the police force; and that of Steenberg as she navigates a dodgy property deal with the unpleasant Boonstra, ruing each progressively illegal move she is forced to make in order to save her family. At first it's hard to see how the Griessel-Cupido storyline, rich in the nitty-gritty of South African style crime solving can possibly touch that of Steenberg with her very personal and professional troubles, but their parallel threads inexorably draw together in a very cleverly contrived way that serves to give you some intriguing heart-in-the-mouth moments, and a shocker of a parting shot that I really hope Meyer will explore further in the next Griessel novel!

I love how Meyer manages to touch on so many interesting themes in the telling of this story, weaving in juicy threads around gritty criminal shenanigans; corporate and political greed; and the games of power and corruption that provide all the fodder you need for a high-octane thriller, but he also incorporates more subtle subjects that explore the psychological effects of toxic masculinity, class, race and money - especially in the way seemingly decent and law-abiding citizens can be motivated to cross the lines into dark deeds. There are some really touching moments that examine family dynamics, reconciliation, and the legacy of less than ideal parenting too. All of this combines with a diverse and vivid cast of characters to offer a glimpse of contemporary South Africa in an engaging and enlightening way, delightfully wrapped up in a gripping first-class thriller with plenty of action, emotional depth, and humour.

This is my first Deon Meyer, and my first Benny Griessel novel, but it will not be my last of either. I very much enjoyed being immersed in the South African Cape and absorbing some Afrikaans (a helpful glossary of words and phrases is provided as an appendix to help with the ones which are not obvious), and am impressed with the obvious skill translator K.L. Seegers shows in keeping the tempo, excitement and emotion of this story going throughout. I am very much looking forward to delving into Meyer's back catalogue and await the next Griessel adventure with high anticipation!

Slow start and seems all over the place but as the stories progress, we see the connections.
Benny and Vaughn are great characters.

And that ending

4.5. Loved it.Will probably read it again in English to see what I missed.

A little slow to start, but Meyer's writing style keeps you intrigued the whole way through. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the shoe to drop for certain characters in the book. This is a reminder that good people sometimes do bad things, but that does not make them bad people.