Blood Safari

A South African bodyguard assigned to a beautiful young Afrikaner woman looking for a brother long thought dead wonders why she even needs protection—until a shocking act of violence thrusts him into a world of almost unimaginable greed and intrigue. In this taut thriller, celebrated crime novelist Meyer (www.deonmeyer.com) takes his characters into South Africa's game reserves. Though the book does contain scenes of brutal violence, its lurid-sounding title is misleading; it might more accurately be described as a journey into the troubled psychology of postapartheid South Africa. Ably narrated by Simon Vance (see Behind the Mike, LJ 11/15/08), this first-person tale—a best seller in Germany and South Africa, where it won the inaugural ATKV Prize for suspense fiction—offers a penetrating and often surprising look into modern South Africa that makes for compelling listening. Highly recommended. [The Atlantic Monthly hc also received a starred review, LJ 8/09; the mass market pb is available through Grove Pr.—Ed.]—R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA