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Kramer and Zondi Mystery #8
The Song Dog
In 1962 South Africa, an Afrikaner detective and a Bantu investigator team up, putting race behind them, to investigate a series of murders. Reprint.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
27 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
James McClure
42 books21 followersJames Howe McClure was a British author and journalist best known for his Kramer and Zondi mysteries set in South Africa.
James McClure was born and raised in South Africa and educated in Pietermaritzburg, Natal at Scottsville School (1947–51), Cowan House (1952–54), and Maritzburg College (1955–58). He worked first as a commercial photographer with Tom Sharpe, who later wrote a series of celebrated comic novels, and then as a teacher of English and art at Cowan House in 1959-63, before becoming a crime reporter and photographer for the Natal Witness in his hometown of Pietermaritzburg.
His journalistic career saw him headhunted first by the Natal Mercury and then by the Natal Daily News. After the birth of his first son, he moved to Britain with his family in 1965, where he joined the Scottish Daily Mail as a sub-editor. From there, he moved to the Oxford Mail and then to The Oxford Times.
His first crime novel, The Steam Pig, won the CWA Gold Dagger in 1971. He resigned as deputy editor in 1974 to write full time. He added to his series of police procedurals based on his experiences in South Africa, featuring the detective partnership of Afrikaner Lieutenant Tromp Kramer and Bantu Detective Sergeant Mickey Zondi.
McClure also wrote a spy novel set in Southern Africa - Rogue Eagle - which won the 1976 CWA Silver Dagger, a number of short stories, and two large non-fiction works that won wide acclaim: Spike Island: Portrait of a Police Division (Liverpool) and Copworld: Inside an American Police Force (San Diego).
After publishing 14 books, he returned to the bottom rung of "The Oxford Times" in 1986, as his police books had made him aware of how much he had missed working with others - his intention being to write in his spare time. What proved his most popular Kramer and Zondi novel then followed, The Song Dog, but journalism soon became all consuming. He became editor in 1994 and three years later The Oxford Times won the Weekly Newspaper of the Year award, beating all comers from across the United Kingdom.
He was promoted to editor of the Oxford Mail in 2000, and spent the next three years on a variety of objectives to enhance the quality and revenue of the county's daily paper. That done, he decided it was time to again step down, and retired to return to writing. He was working on a novel set in Oxford and had just started his own blog when he came down with a respiratory illness and died on 17 June 2006. He lived in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
James McClure was born and raised in South Africa and educated in Pietermaritzburg, Natal at Scottsville School (1947–51), Cowan House (1952–54), and Maritzburg College (1955–58). He worked first as a commercial photographer with Tom Sharpe, who later wrote a series of celebrated comic novels, and then as a teacher of English and art at Cowan House in 1959-63, before becoming a crime reporter and photographer for the Natal Witness in his hometown of Pietermaritzburg.
His journalistic career saw him headhunted first by the Natal Mercury and then by the Natal Daily News. After the birth of his first son, he moved to Britain with his family in 1965, where he joined the Scottish Daily Mail as a sub-editor. From there, he moved to the Oxford Mail and then to The Oxford Times.
His first crime novel, The Steam Pig, won the CWA Gold Dagger in 1971. He resigned as deputy editor in 1974 to write full time. He added to his series of police procedurals based on his experiences in South Africa, featuring the detective partnership of Afrikaner Lieutenant Tromp Kramer and Bantu Detective Sergeant Mickey Zondi.
McClure also wrote a spy novel set in Southern Africa - Rogue Eagle - which won the 1976 CWA Silver Dagger, a number of short stories, and two large non-fiction works that won wide acclaim: Spike Island: Portrait of a Police Division (Liverpool) and Copworld: Inside an American Police Force (San Diego).
After publishing 14 books, he returned to the bottom rung of "The Oxford Times" in 1986, as his police books had made him aware of how much he had missed working with others - his intention being to write in his spare time. What proved his most popular Kramer and Zondi novel then followed, The Song Dog, but journalism soon became all consuming. He became editor in 1994 and three years later The Oxford Times won the Weekly Newspaper of the Year award, beating all comers from across the United Kingdom.
He was promoted to editor of the Oxford Mail in 2000, and spent the next three years on a variety of objectives to enhance the quality and revenue of the county's daily paper. That done, he decided it was time to again step down, and retired to return to writing. He was working on a novel set in Oxford and had just started his own blog when he came down with a respiratory illness and died on 17 June 2006. He lived in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
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July 7, 2023
Review to follow
December 24, 2018
4,5*
Un libro de detectives muy entretenido, con el apartheid como telón de fondo. Zondi y Kramer están entre mis parejas de detectives favoritas.
Un libro de detectives muy entretenido, con el apartheid como telón de fondo. Zondi y Kramer están entre mis parejas de detectives favoritas.
December 10, 2018
He disfrutado muchísimo este libro a pesar de todo el ambiente social que se respira
Me ha parecido ágil, bien escrito y esta vez, a diferencia de su primera entrega, he logrado conectar con los protagonistas.
Si alguien quiere seguir la pista de estos investigadores recomiendo empezar con este.
Me ha parecido ágil, bien escrito y esta vez, a diferencia de su primera entrega, he logrado conectar con los protagonistas.
Si alguien quiere seguir la pista de estos investigadores recomiendo empezar con este.
March 18, 2014
Written 20 years after the publication of the first story in the series, The Song Dog is in fact a prequel to the Kramer-Zondi novels of James McClure. It fills in the back story of how and where the two detectives came to meet and begin to work together. Prequels of this kind are rare but not unknown. I'm not sure what moves an author to do so after twenty years and seven stories in the series; maybe a sense that the first book didn't address how two such characters got to work together in the first place, perhaps. The Song Dog is both a first rate crime story and an eye opening glimpse into a place and time that few of us, thankfully, have had to endure. The story is set in the early 60's in Apartheid era South Africa and the language used by the whites and their attitudes towards the coloured people in the story made me wince with embarrassment and shame. In the guise of a crime story it lays bare the horrifying way that Apartheid worked to enslave the black population of the country at that time. As a crime story it is a tour de force. It is the story of a woman and a male policeman blown up by a bomb paced beneath the house in which they have just made love. The story is full of great characters and enough twists and turns to keep everyone happy and reading right to the end. It may sound odd given the plot and the time and place in which it is set, but it is also very funny in places. I laughed out loud at some points only to feel somewhat embarrassed when I realised what had made me laugh. The growing respect between the black and white detectives working together is paced perfectly and the story creates a wonderful sense of time and place. Some of the passages make me think of Tony Hillerman's tales of the Navajo nation in the way that they portray native peoples customs and knowledge. Just maybe it can be a bit too knowing at times - at one point it's mentioned that a Bantu is being sought by the police whose name is Nelson Mandela. This, however, is a minor quibble.
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December 7, 2013A recent event has prompted me to re-read the Kramer & Zondi novels of James McClure. They are set in apartheid South Africa. Tough and uncompromising they illustrate they practical relationship between a white and a black policeman of the time. They are also excellent examples of crime fiction of the police procedural variety. Featuring every shade of human venality, frailty and weakness, for me they provide perfect vehicle to illustrate the wasteful insanity of apartheid: The way the much more intelligent Zondi manages the honourable but not too bright Kramer is a delight. It would be interesting to learn the opinion of someone with more direct experience of South Africa than my own.
April 8, 2023
Südafrika in den 1970ern: Lieutenant Kramer wird zu Ermittlungen in einem rätselhaften Sprengstoffattentat aufs Land beordert, bei dem ein Polizist und eine junge Frau in einem Haus am Strand ums Leben kamen. Kramer wird von den inkompetenten und eventuell auch zwielichtigen Kollegen vor Ort eher behindert als unterstützt. Da läuft ihm der schwarze Sergeant Zondi über den Weg und Kramer erkennt das Potenzial einer gemeinsamen Ermittlung.
Dies ist das Prequel (in den 1990ern veröffentlicht) zur bemerkenswerten Reihe um das ungleiche Ermittlerduo Kramer und Zondi, das uns tief in die Apartheid Südafrikas zurückkatapultiert. Rassentrennung, weiße Gutsbesitzer, schwarze Arbeiter, traditionelle Heilerinnen und mittendrin ein Duo, das eigentlich keines sein darf und das auch eher rau und machohaft daherkommt. Solide geplattet lebt der Roman vor allem auch vom ungewöhnlichen und interessanten Setting.
Dies ist das Prequel (in den 1990ern veröffentlicht) zur bemerkenswerten Reihe um das ungleiche Ermittlerduo Kramer und Zondi, das uns tief in die Apartheid Südafrikas zurückkatapultiert. Rassentrennung, weiße Gutsbesitzer, schwarze Arbeiter, traditionelle Heilerinnen und mittendrin ein Duo, das eigentlich keines sein darf und das auch eher rau und machohaft daherkommt. Solide geplattet lebt der Roman vor allem auch vom ungewöhnlichen und interessanten Setting.
November 9, 2012
Publicado en http://lecturaylocura.com/policiacas-...
El otoño, con su tristeza inherente, es quizás una de esas épocas más propicias para leer cierto tipo de libros; en este caso se me antoja que las novelas negras pueden ser más que propicias para aprovecharlas en una de esas tardes lluviosas en las que tampoco apetece hacer mucho más que sentarse en un sillón, disfrutar de un buen café o infusión y, cómo no, de una buena novela policíaca.
Para ello hoy traigo tres recomendaciones de tres maestros de este género que tanto amamos, tres novelas cercanas en su aproximación al “hardboiled” pero que, por realizar esta aproximación de una manera tan distinta se complementan estupendamente.
“Mátalos suavemente” de George V. Higgins (1939-1999), el año pasado, gracias a Libros del Asteroide, tuvimos la suerte de disfrutar de la increíble “Los amigos de Eddie Coyle”, primera novela del escritor George V. Higgins, que fue una de las sorpresas policíacas del año; una novela rápida, brutal y que te dejaba muy mal cuerpo pero que tenía calidad y que se hacía adictiva de veras. Este año, aprovechando el estreno de la película homónima, hemos vuelto a gozar con la vuelta del escritor norteamericano; a pesar del hándicap que supuso una novela inicial tan aplastante, esta tercera mantiene unos niveles similares y se disfruta enormemente a pesar de la gravedad de lo que trata. Para los que no lo conozcan, este autor fue, sin lugar a dudas, fuente de inspiración para Tarantino, solo hay que ver alguno de sus diálogos: chispeantes, duros, cargados de humor y de mala leche, para darse cuenta que, el director no fue el primero en hacerlos: “Me importa un carajo. Como si lo haces con Tarzán y su puto taparrabos de leopardo, si lo convences. Me la suda. Lo único que quiero es que se haga bien. Sólo hay dos cosas que hay que tener: huevos, que según tú ese tío los tiene, y que no lo conozcan mis padroni”. Lo verdaderamente genial del escritor es que consigue mediante el diálogo caracterizar a los personajes y avanzar la trama, ahí está su maestría, no estorban, son el medio, y no abusa de ellos, de ahí lo ágil que resulta leer sus libros. Luego, eso sí, los libros son tremendamente dolorosos, es mejor leerlos en momentos de optimismo porque te pueden dejar bien hundidos. Otra maravilla más a tener en cuenta.
“Un tipo implacable” de Elmore Leonard (1925- ), el mayor problema de este coloso de las letras americanas ( y ya puestos, el de Lawrence Block) es que ha escrito tal cantidad de libros, es tan prolífico, que su gran calidad puede haberse visto diluida entre tanta producción; y esto en EE.UU. no es un problema, pero aquí, con lo difícil que es publicar a un autor de manera continua, se convierte en su mayor hándicap para vender lo que debería vender. Pero no hay que engañarse estamos ante un estilista nato que, eso sí, ofrece mucho; experimenta con todo tipo de géneros y le da juego al lector, no a la crítica. En la novela “Un tipo implacable” tenemos un clasicazo del género negro, heredera de los más grandes, con todas esas alternativas que tanto nos gustan, el hampa en su esplendor; un policía, Carl Webster, que es de un carisma apabullante, frío, implacable con los delincuentes; por el otro lado del ring, tenemos a Jack Belmont, rebelde hijo de un magnate petrolífero, aspirante a convertirse en el enemigo número uno; tenemos mujeres a lo femme fatale que son capaces de todo por sobrevivir; un periodista que documenta el enfrentamiento; subtramas que complementan la trama principal pero que no emborronan; ingredientes mezclados con sabiduría para crear otra de esas novelas que no hay que perderse, con un encuentro final, a lo O.K. Corral que demuestra el amor de Leonard por el western. ¿Hace falta decir más?
“La canción del perro” de James McClure (1951-2011), no ha tenido mucha suerte en España este escritor sudafricano. Las primeras novelas suyas que se publicaron estuvieron incluidas en la espléndida colección de novela negra que Júcar saco ya hace varios años; sin embargo, a pesar de la calidad de las obras, solo hay que recordar la excepcional “El huevo ingenioso”, no gozó de continuidad y las historias del teniente Tromp Kramer y el sargento zulú Mickey Zondi, aún en estos días, no están publicadas en su totalidad; la publicación no pasa de ser errática y cada cierto tiempo alguna editorial, preferiblemente pequeña, se atreve a intentarlo. Este es el caso de la novela que nos ocupa, editada con esmero por El reino de Cordelia, y en la que podemos vivir la que supuso la última entrega de la serie de estos peculiares detectives; ambientada como en las anteriores entregas en Sudáfrica, volvemos a disponer de una de esas tramas absorbentes, muy bien hiladas (y terminadas) donde, a pesar de la dureza de los temas que aborda, siempre está dispuesto a brindarnos momentos de humor, todo ello aderezado con pequeños apuntes que reflejan el ambiente de apartheid, el racismo que en esa época estaba más que presente en todos los estamentos sociales y que hicieron que el escritor tuviera que emigrar irremediablemente al reflejar esta situación. Este “canto del cisne” es, por otra parte, la primera novela, el encuentro entre los dos detectives, el comienzo de una amistad, una mirada audaz al final de sus historias desde el principio de sus investigaciones; es una amistad que supera cualquier racismo presente (“Zondi se rió y ambos compartieron la oscilante llama de la vela, encendieron los pitillos y aspiraron con ganas”), es imposible decidir qué historia de James McClure me gusta más.
El otoño, con su tristeza inherente, es quizás una de esas épocas más propicias para leer cierto tipo de libros; en este caso se me antoja que las novelas negras pueden ser más que propicias para aprovecharlas en una de esas tardes lluviosas en las que tampoco apetece hacer mucho más que sentarse en un sillón, disfrutar de un buen café o infusión y, cómo no, de una buena novela policíaca.
Para ello hoy traigo tres recomendaciones de tres maestros de este género que tanto amamos, tres novelas cercanas en su aproximación al “hardboiled” pero que, por realizar esta aproximación de una manera tan distinta se complementan estupendamente.
“Mátalos suavemente” de George V. Higgins (1939-1999), el año pasado, gracias a Libros del Asteroide, tuvimos la suerte de disfrutar de la increíble “Los amigos de Eddie Coyle”, primera novela del escritor George V. Higgins, que fue una de las sorpresas policíacas del año; una novela rápida, brutal y que te dejaba muy mal cuerpo pero que tenía calidad y que se hacía adictiva de veras. Este año, aprovechando el estreno de la película homónima, hemos vuelto a gozar con la vuelta del escritor norteamericano; a pesar del hándicap que supuso una novela inicial tan aplastante, esta tercera mantiene unos niveles similares y se disfruta enormemente a pesar de la gravedad de lo que trata. Para los que no lo conozcan, este autor fue, sin lugar a dudas, fuente de inspiración para Tarantino, solo hay que ver alguno de sus diálogos: chispeantes, duros, cargados de humor y de mala leche, para darse cuenta que, el director no fue el primero en hacerlos: “Me importa un carajo. Como si lo haces con Tarzán y su puto taparrabos de leopardo, si lo convences. Me la suda. Lo único que quiero es que se haga bien. Sólo hay dos cosas que hay que tener: huevos, que según tú ese tío los tiene, y que no lo conozcan mis padroni”. Lo verdaderamente genial del escritor es que consigue mediante el diálogo caracterizar a los personajes y avanzar la trama, ahí está su maestría, no estorban, son el medio, y no abusa de ellos, de ahí lo ágil que resulta leer sus libros. Luego, eso sí, los libros son tremendamente dolorosos, es mejor leerlos en momentos de optimismo porque te pueden dejar bien hundidos. Otra maravilla más a tener en cuenta.
“Un tipo implacable” de Elmore Leonard (1925- ), el mayor problema de este coloso de las letras americanas ( y ya puestos, el de Lawrence Block) es que ha escrito tal cantidad de libros, es tan prolífico, que su gran calidad puede haberse visto diluida entre tanta producción; y esto en EE.UU. no es un problema, pero aquí, con lo difícil que es publicar a un autor de manera continua, se convierte en su mayor hándicap para vender lo que debería vender. Pero no hay que engañarse estamos ante un estilista nato que, eso sí, ofrece mucho; experimenta con todo tipo de géneros y le da juego al lector, no a la crítica. En la novela “Un tipo implacable” tenemos un clasicazo del género negro, heredera de los más grandes, con todas esas alternativas que tanto nos gustan, el hampa en su esplendor; un policía, Carl Webster, que es de un carisma apabullante, frío, implacable con los delincuentes; por el otro lado del ring, tenemos a Jack Belmont, rebelde hijo de un magnate petrolífero, aspirante a convertirse en el enemigo número uno; tenemos mujeres a lo femme fatale que son capaces de todo por sobrevivir; un periodista que documenta el enfrentamiento; subtramas que complementan la trama principal pero que no emborronan; ingredientes mezclados con sabiduría para crear otra de esas novelas que no hay que perderse, con un encuentro final, a lo O.K. Corral que demuestra el amor de Leonard por el western. ¿Hace falta decir más?
“La canción del perro” de James McClure (1951-2011), no ha tenido mucha suerte en España este escritor sudafricano. Las primeras novelas suyas que se publicaron estuvieron incluidas en la espléndida colección de novela negra que Júcar saco ya hace varios años; sin embargo, a pesar de la calidad de las obras, solo hay que recordar la excepcional “El huevo ingenioso”, no gozó de continuidad y las historias del teniente Tromp Kramer y el sargento zulú Mickey Zondi, aún en estos días, no están publicadas en su totalidad; la publicación no pasa de ser errática y cada cierto tiempo alguna editorial, preferiblemente pequeña, se atreve a intentarlo. Este es el caso de la novela que nos ocupa, editada con esmero por El reino de Cordelia, y en la que podemos vivir la que supuso la última entrega de la serie de estos peculiares detectives; ambientada como en las anteriores entregas en Sudáfrica, volvemos a disponer de una de esas tramas absorbentes, muy bien hiladas (y terminadas) donde, a pesar de la dureza de los temas que aborda, siempre está dispuesto a brindarnos momentos de humor, todo ello aderezado con pequeños apuntes que reflejan el ambiente de apartheid, el racismo que en esa época estaba más que presente en todos los estamentos sociales y que hicieron que el escritor tuviera que emigrar irremediablemente al reflejar esta situación. Este “canto del cisne” es, por otra parte, la primera novela, el encuentro entre los dos detectives, el comienzo de una amistad, una mirada audaz al final de sus historias desde el principio de sus investigaciones; es una amistad que supera cualquier racismo presente (“Zondi se rió y ambos compartieron la oscilante llama de la vela, encendieron los pitillos y aspiraron con ganas”), es imposible decidir qué historia de James McClure me gusta más.
November 14, 2007
Thanks to James McClure's novels, I learned about apartheid in South Africa. Like Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, who wrote mysteries that illuminated life in Sweden, the McClure series was eye-opening. It also was very entertaining. I've long since lost the paperbacks I had (or, I hope, gave them to someone else who'd appreciate them) and wish I had them now because they were instrumental in making me want to read more about other cultures and other continents.
May 18, 2012
James McClure's detective books are set in Pietermaritzburg in Apartheid South Africa, featuring two policemen, Kramer and Zondi. The plots are OK, and the writing not bad, what is excellent, though, is how they capture the zeitgeist.
The relationship between the white Afrikaans Kramer, and the black Zulu Zondi is brilliantly explored. The town, too, appears almost as a character.
The relationship between the white Afrikaans Kramer, and the black Zulu Zondi is brilliantly explored. The town, too, appears almost as a character.
March 28, 2018
The Kramer and Zondi series are brilliant. I feel myself there, back in time in South Africa, so descriptive are these novels. Highly recommended as crime thrillers and for the insights into apartheid era South Africa.
April 27, 2025
Poslední kniha před natáčením dílu Rudé žně. A je to i poslední kniha ze série s Kramerem a Zondim, série, která u nás byly vydávána ještě za komunismu, protože ukazovala temnou tvář apartheidu… a dnes by asi byla označená za rasistickou. A patrně právem, protože je vidět, že autor v JARu vyrůstal a svět kolem popisuje celkem realisticky.
A právě tohle koloniální prostředí, kde jsou všichni zpocení a agresivní, je asi hlavním kladem série. Jako detektivka to zase taková perla není, byť tam na zajímavý nápad narazíte. Podobně jako ostatní příběhy, i tenhle začíná vraždou. Tentokrát bude oběť rozmetána výbuchem… a s ní to schytá i policista, který měl s tou obětí (vdanou ženou) poměr. A na starost to dostane poručík Kramer, kterému ovšem všichni hned od začátku házejí klacky pod nohy.
„Ničeho se člen jihoafrické policie nebojí víc než nálepky zbabělce. Možná ještě cedulky liberála milujícího Kafry, ale to bylo vlastně jedno a totéž, když se nad tím člověk zamyslel.“
Je to poslední kniha v sérii… a zároveň první. Tady se totiž poprvé Kramer a Zondi setkávají. A i když má Kramer k svému zuluskému asistentovi respekt, rozhodně to není rovnocenné partnerství. Zase, na druhou stranu, Kramer se chová hnusně skoro ke všem – tohle je svět, kde je agresivita spíše normou a každý, kdo čeká, že se slušností někam dojde, chcípne hned na startu. Buď agresivita, nebo servilní podlézavost autoritám.
A samozřejmě se do toho občas vkrade i politika, i když spíš tak okrajově. Tady se jen tak stranou zmiňuje, že konečně dostali toho hajzla Nelsona Mandelu. Jak je autor novinář, tak popisuje události spíš s odstupem, suše, takže i kdy věci ve finále naberou na obrátkách, čtenáře to díky odtažitému líčení zase tak nestrhne.
Rozhodně jsou to knížky, které jsou zajímavé spíš svým prostředím než literární kvalitou.
A právě tohle koloniální prostředí, kde jsou všichni zpocení a agresivní, je asi hlavním kladem série. Jako detektivka to zase taková perla není, byť tam na zajímavý nápad narazíte. Podobně jako ostatní příběhy, i tenhle začíná vraždou. Tentokrát bude oběť rozmetána výbuchem… a s ní to schytá i policista, který měl s tou obětí (vdanou ženou) poměr. A na starost to dostane poručík Kramer, kterému ovšem všichni hned od začátku házejí klacky pod nohy.
„Ničeho se člen jihoafrické policie nebojí víc než nálepky zbabělce. Možná ještě cedulky liberála milujícího Kafry, ale to bylo vlastně jedno a totéž, když se nad tím člověk zamyslel.“
Je to poslední kniha v sérii… a zároveň první. Tady se totiž poprvé Kramer a Zondi setkávají. A i když má Kramer k svému zuluskému asistentovi respekt, rozhodně to není rovnocenné partnerství. Zase, na druhou stranu, Kramer se chová hnusně skoro ke všem – tohle je svět, kde je agresivita spíše normou a každý, kdo čeká, že se slušností někam dojde, chcípne hned na startu. Buď agresivita, nebo servilní podlézavost autoritám.
A samozřejmě se do toho občas vkrade i politika, i když spíš tak okrajově. Tady se jen tak stranou zmiňuje, že konečně dostali toho hajzla Nelsona Mandelu. Jak je autor novinář, tak popisuje události spíš s odstupem, suše, takže i kdy věci ve finále naberou na obrátkách, čtenáře to díky odtažitému líčení zase tak nestrhne.
Rozhodně jsou to knížky, které jsou zajímavé spíš svým prostředím než literární kvalitou.
February 17, 2025
Lucky pick. Serendipity in Serendipity (Sri Lanka). A lot of similarities. A lot of bullshit colonialism and racism, a lot of oldfashioned thinking. The white man in the wrong country. Nevertheless, the white perspective, mixed with cynicism. Swearing, mosquitos and once sex, woven in perfectly in the beginning. We are the only one knowing from that intimacy. After that we only see South Africa trough Kramers eyes who is lonesome, desperate and done with the country. It feels finally complete when he meets his partner for further crime stories: Zondi. They share so many similarities if you look closer but their color of their skin set them far apart. They look both in a promising future at the end, feeling smarter than life, but still only we know about the sex, and the mosquito.
March 22, 2020
The last Kramer and Zondi mystery published, this is actually the origin story of one of the greatest partnerships in all detective fiction. Detailing the overt racism of the time, a background note is a continuing search by other officers in the area for a "dangerous" Bantu lawyer named Mandela. I won't spoil the ins and outs of their meeting and subsequent partnership by recounting the plot. Suffice to say this book will delight fans of the characters and enlighten readers unfamiliar with the apartheid era in South Africa.
January 19, 2020
Great look at South African culture, including superstitions, witchcraft, and social challenges of post-apartheid, all tied together into a wonderful murder mystery solved by a pair of detectives from the other side of the tracks. Both are superior to their peers in social-awareness, leading to a quick respect that overcomes South African history. This appears to mirror the current social attempts of the new generation. Great read (despite the tenuous link to the title)!
August 29, 2021
This will be a book that stays with me for a good while. I almost gave up on it because the use of racist language made me feel very uncomfortable. I realised that it was from the mouths of white Apartheid cops so they were hardly going to be using anything but that, but it did make reading it difficult. However, and not wishing to spoil it for anyone who has not read it, the sudden turn of the narrative about half-way through was superbly done and countered all that had gone on before it.
May 14, 2020
Great Series
Kramer and Zondi 1962 South African detectives come upon a murder that could ignite a tinder box in the country. They decide to suppress key evidence in the case until it is nearly resolved. The bad guy thought his men cleaned the murder site before the police arrived. This was not true.
Kramer and Zondi 1962 South African detectives come upon a murder that could ignite a tinder box in the country. They decide to suppress key evidence in the case until it is nearly resolved. The bad guy thought his men cleaned the murder site before the police arrived. This was not true.
December 10, 2021
Enjoyable enough crime fiction romp. Be warned though; it is set in apartheid South Africa and the dialogue is very dated (and duly extremely racist). A working knowledge of SA slang would also come in handy!
February 27, 2022
Interesting and evenly paced. Good characters, with an interesting twist to the end.
July 14, 2022
This last book was the best. Ironically, it was also the origin story of the Kramer and Zondi partnership. I am sad that there are no more…
August 27, 2018
Der Krimi um das Ermittlerpaar Tromp Kramer und Michael Zondi ist nicht nur besonders, weil es um das erste Auftreffen der beiden geht oder weil Zondi erst im letzten Drittel des Buches überhaupt auftaucht oder weil eine Hexe darin vorkommt, nein. Das Besondere daran ist, dass es sich hier zwar um das erste Treffen der beiden Protagonisten in James McClures Krimireihe handelt, aber es das letzte Buch der Reihe ist, welches er veröffentlicht hat. Aber egal wie – die neuaufgelegten Bücher der Reihe sind covertechnisch ein wahrer Augenschmaus. Well done, Unionsverlag!
Tromp Kramer wird von seinem Chef nach Jafini, ins Nordzululand, geschickt, um ein Sprengstoffattentat zu untersuchen. Von Fynn’s Creek sowie seiner Bewohnerin Annika Gillets sind nur noch Stücke übrig, von Maaties Kritzinger, einem Polizisten auch. Kramer wird also losgeschickt, um zu untersuchen, was „einem unserer Besten“ passiert ist. Wer sprengt ein Haus in die Luft? Wo war Annika’s Ehemann? Und was machte Kritzinger dort? Kramer macht sich also auf nach Jafini, gemeinsam mit Bokkie, der ihm vom Chef aufs Auge gedrückt wurde, um die Ermittlungen aufzunehmen.
Tromp Kramer ist laut, ungehobelt, ruppig und natürlich sehr gut in seinem Job, wenn auch nicht sehr beliebt bei seinen Chefs. Genau so, wie wir unsere Ermittler mögen. Als erstes versucht er mal, sein Anhängsel Bokkie loszuwerden, denn mit der Trantüte kann er gar nichts anfangen. Mit dem Chef der örtlichen Polizei schon eher, auch wenn das Attentat deutlich seinen Erfahrungsschatz übersteigen. Nichtsdestotrotz kennt er natürlich Land und Leute und ist eine Hilfe für Kramer.
Als Leser bekommt man in der ersten Szene mit, was genau Kritzinger auf Fynn’s Creek zu suchen hat, so dass man erst mal ein wenig verwundet den Ermittlungen folgt und sich fragt, warum Kramer das nicht sofort auffällt. Natürlich geht das nicht mit rechten Dingen zu, doch ein wenig Zeit braucht es, bis Kramer dahinter kommt. Das heißt aber nicht, dass Kramer kein guter Ermittler ist, doch die Ermittlungen werden ihm absichtlich schwer gemacht. Nichtsdestotrotz bohrt er sich tiefer und tiefer und lässt keineswegs den Ball fallen.
Als Gegengewicht präsentiert der Autor Michael Zondi, einen Bantu. Ein schlaues Kerlchen, nicht nur weil er weiß, wie er sich in der weißen und schwarzen Welt zu bewegen hat, sondern auch, weil er erkennt, dass er in Tromp Kramer jemanden gefunden hat, der seine Meinung respektiert und dem seine Hautfarbe egal ist. Natürlich muss Kramer sich gegenüber anderen als Chef positionieren, doch wenn die beiden alleine sind, gestalten sich die Ermittlungen partnerschaftlich und auf gleicher Ebene. Eine sehr ungewöhnliche Kombination, ist das Buch doch im Südafrika der 70er Jahre angesiedelt. Kein Wunder also, dass der Autor die Reihe erst begann, als er aus Südafrika weggezogen ist, denn in Zeiten der Apartheid hätte er sich in Südafrika damit wohl in Lebensgefahr gebracht.
So ist der Krimi einerseits ein Blick in die südafrikanische Gesellschaft in Zeiten der Apartheid, zeigt aber am Ermittlerpaar Kramer und Zondi das es eben auch anders geht. Ein mutiges Buch, garniert mit einem spannenden Kriminalfall, der die Ermittler nicht nur trickreich reinzulegen versucht, sondern auch dringend übernatürlicher Hilfe bedarf. Wie gut, dass eine Hexe darin vorkommt.
Fazit:
Ein spannender Blick in die Vergangenheit Südafrikas – das Buch bietet nicht nur einen komplexen, trickreichen Kriminalfall für die gewieften Ermittler Kramer und Zondi, sondern auch einen genauen Blick in Südafrikas Vergangenheit.
Tromp Kramer wird von seinem Chef nach Jafini, ins Nordzululand, geschickt, um ein Sprengstoffattentat zu untersuchen. Von Fynn’s Creek sowie seiner Bewohnerin Annika Gillets sind nur noch Stücke übrig, von Maaties Kritzinger, einem Polizisten auch. Kramer wird also losgeschickt, um zu untersuchen, was „einem unserer Besten“ passiert ist. Wer sprengt ein Haus in die Luft? Wo war Annika’s Ehemann? Und was machte Kritzinger dort? Kramer macht sich also auf nach Jafini, gemeinsam mit Bokkie, der ihm vom Chef aufs Auge gedrückt wurde, um die Ermittlungen aufzunehmen.
Tromp Kramer ist laut, ungehobelt, ruppig und natürlich sehr gut in seinem Job, wenn auch nicht sehr beliebt bei seinen Chefs. Genau so, wie wir unsere Ermittler mögen. Als erstes versucht er mal, sein Anhängsel Bokkie loszuwerden, denn mit der Trantüte kann er gar nichts anfangen. Mit dem Chef der örtlichen Polizei schon eher, auch wenn das Attentat deutlich seinen Erfahrungsschatz übersteigen. Nichtsdestotrotz kennt er natürlich Land und Leute und ist eine Hilfe für Kramer.
Als Leser bekommt man in der ersten Szene mit, was genau Kritzinger auf Fynn’s Creek zu suchen hat, so dass man erst mal ein wenig verwundet den Ermittlungen folgt und sich fragt, warum Kramer das nicht sofort auffällt. Natürlich geht das nicht mit rechten Dingen zu, doch ein wenig Zeit braucht es, bis Kramer dahinter kommt. Das heißt aber nicht, dass Kramer kein guter Ermittler ist, doch die Ermittlungen werden ihm absichtlich schwer gemacht. Nichtsdestotrotz bohrt er sich tiefer und tiefer und lässt keineswegs den Ball fallen.
Als Gegengewicht präsentiert der Autor Michael Zondi, einen Bantu. Ein schlaues Kerlchen, nicht nur weil er weiß, wie er sich in der weißen und schwarzen Welt zu bewegen hat, sondern auch, weil er erkennt, dass er in Tromp Kramer jemanden gefunden hat, der seine Meinung respektiert und dem seine Hautfarbe egal ist. Natürlich muss Kramer sich gegenüber anderen als Chef positionieren, doch wenn die beiden alleine sind, gestalten sich die Ermittlungen partnerschaftlich und auf gleicher Ebene. Eine sehr ungewöhnliche Kombination, ist das Buch doch im Südafrika der 70er Jahre angesiedelt. Kein Wunder also, dass der Autor die Reihe erst begann, als er aus Südafrika weggezogen ist, denn in Zeiten der Apartheid hätte er sich in Südafrika damit wohl in Lebensgefahr gebracht.
So ist der Krimi einerseits ein Blick in die südafrikanische Gesellschaft in Zeiten der Apartheid, zeigt aber am Ermittlerpaar Kramer und Zondi das es eben auch anders geht. Ein mutiges Buch, garniert mit einem spannenden Kriminalfall, der die Ermittler nicht nur trickreich reinzulegen versucht, sondern auch dringend übernatürlicher Hilfe bedarf. Wie gut, dass eine Hexe darin vorkommt.
Fazit:
Ein spannender Blick in die Vergangenheit Südafrikas – das Buch bietet nicht nur einen komplexen, trickreichen Kriminalfall für die gewieften Ermittler Kramer und Zondi, sondern auch einen genauen Blick in Südafrikas Vergangenheit.
June 26, 2014
There have been seven previous books in the “Kramer and Zondi” series about the two detectives in Apartheid South Africa. This book (which is the last of the series) is about the first meeting of Kramer and Zondi, and how he Kramer got involved with ‘the Widow Fourie’.
Kramer has just been promoted to Lieutenant but has also been transferred from his home provide of ‘Orange Free State’ (the State) to Trekkersberg in Zululand. It’s a cultural change for Kramer that he wasn’t prepared for with the move. He is ordered to help out a rural office in the North of Zululand. The town is little more than a farming center with not real town there.
There had been two deaths from an explosion. The explosion had killed the ‘young lady wife’ of a Forest Ranger, and a local detective Sargent. The Lieutenant in charge of the office is slightly off keel and not the brightest. Because there isn’t a hotel in the town, he introduces Kramer to Widow Fourie by getting him a room in her house. It’s lust at first site.
The young lady who is killed was well-known a popular in the white community. But she is also thought of as a ‘loose’ woman. The first question that everyone asks is why the Detective was in the area at the time of the blast. His body had been found fifty yards from the house that blew up. The husband would normally be the prime suspect but he had left home over twelve hours before the explosion and was in the ‘nature preserve’ where he works with colleagues all day. If the bomb was set with a timer, it couldn’t be set for more than twelve hours.
In his investigation, Kramer finds that there had been many ‘accidental’ deaths over the last eighteen months. Four people were killed when their small plane crashed. The young lady’s mother and father were killed in a car crash blamed on alcohol. The Widow Fourie’s husband died when he fell into a boiling vat of sugar in the mill he worked in, and now the explosion. What was going on in this small town?
At the same time as Kramer was investigating these deaths, Zondi had been following a man who had led a gang that raped and murdered four Nuns. There were no pictures of the man but Zondi knew what he looked like because he was his cousin. During his look for his cousin, Zondi and Kramer meet and decide to work together.
It is a very good conclusion to a very special series.
Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com
Kramer has just been promoted to Lieutenant but has also been transferred from his home provide of ‘Orange Free State’ (the State) to Trekkersberg in Zululand. It’s a cultural change for Kramer that he wasn’t prepared for with the move. He is ordered to help out a rural office in the North of Zululand. The town is little more than a farming center with not real town there.
There had been two deaths from an explosion. The explosion had killed the ‘young lady wife’ of a Forest Ranger, and a local detective Sargent. The Lieutenant in charge of the office is slightly off keel and not the brightest. Because there isn’t a hotel in the town, he introduces Kramer to Widow Fourie by getting him a room in her house. It’s lust at first site.
The young lady who is killed was well-known a popular in the white community. But she is also thought of as a ‘loose’ woman. The first question that everyone asks is why the Detective was in the area at the time of the blast. His body had been found fifty yards from the house that blew up. The husband would normally be the prime suspect but he had left home over twelve hours before the explosion and was in the ‘nature preserve’ where he works with colleagues all day. If the bomb was set with a timer, it couldn’t be set for more than twelve hours.
In his investigation, Kramer finds that there had been many ‘accidental’ deaths over the last eighteen months. Four people were killed when their small plane crashed. The young lady’s mother and father were killed in a car crash blamed on alcohol. The Widow Fourie’s husband died when he fell into a boiling vat of sugar in the mill he worked in, and now the explosion. What was going on in this small town?
At the same time as Kramer was investigating these deaths, Zondi had been following a man who had led a gang that raped and murdered four Nuns. There were no pictures of the man but Zondi knew what he looked like because he was his cousin. During his look for his cousin, Zondi and Kramer meet and decide to work together.
It is a very good conclusion to a very special series.
Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com
May 21, 2016
Last in the series in terms of publication date, this is a prequel, or at least the first meeting of Kramer and Zondi. Like many authors of long-ish series of novels using the same characters, McClure managed to forget some of the parameters he set up in the real first novel, such as the fact that Kramer has some knowledge of Zulu, gleaned from his childhood dealings with the workers on his father's land.
An SAP policeman and a game warden's wife are blasted to hell and gone by a bomb at the warden's fishing cottage. The reader knows what was done, but whodunit and whydunit? Nothing is as it seems in this novel full of twists and turns and switchbacks as the reader is led a dance through this wrongfooted investigation. The problem lies in the white police force's inability to accept, or even think about, any uncomfortable aspects of the case--first the locals, and then Kramer himself.
An engaging read, though I did find the constant interruptions of phones ringing at a vital moment or characters interrupting each other just as vital information is half-spoken became annoying due to constant repetition. Also, the author has explosives expert Dorf use "backward speaking patterns, military, for the use of" constantly, which is ridiculous. He may be regular Army, but not clockwork! Also, this tendency which is so marked at his first appearance totally vanishes at the second--character coherence, please? I grew up around military men and law enforcement officers, and never heard one talk like that, ever.
There are references to a "later" case involving Zondi's cousin and the Shabalala clan, and Nelson Mandela's arrest gets a passing mention, placing the action in 1962. McClure seems to have "written backwards"--the actual first book, The Steam Pig was written in 1970 and set at that time; this last book in the series, written in 1992, is set 30 years earlier. Perhaps that's why I found the final paragraphs (which continue McClure's habit of chopping off a book mid-conversation or mid-scene) so gratuitous and annoying. Bricks under hats are marginally better than doing one's one oeuvre such a disservice.
That said, it was fast-paced and engaging, in spite of the plot juddering in spots.
An SAP policeman and a game warden's wife are blasted to hell and gone by a bomb at the warden's fishing cottage. The reader knows what was done, but whodunit and whydunit? Nothing is as it seems in this novel full of twists and turns and switchbacks as the reader is led a dance through this wrongfooted investigation. The problem lies in the white police force's inability to accept, or even think about, any uncomfortable aspects of the case--first the locals, and then Kramer himself.
An engaging read, though I did find the constant interruptions of phones ringing at a vital moment or characters interrupting each other just as vital information is half-spoken became annoying due to constant repetition. Also, the author has explosives expert Dorf use "backward speaking patterns, military, for the use of" constantly, which is ridiculous. He may be regular Army, but not clockwork! Also, this tendency which is so marked at his first appearance totally vanishes at the second--character coherence, please? I grew up around military men and law enforcement officers, and never heard one talk like that, ever.
There are references to a "later" case involving Zondi's cousin and the Shabalala clan, and Nelson Mandela's arrest gets a passing mention, placing the action in 1962. McClure seems to have "written backwards"--the actual first book, The Steam Pig was written in 1970 and set at that time; this last book in the series, written in 1992, is set 30 years earlier. Perhaps that's why I found the final paragraphs (which continue McClure's habit of chopping off a book mid-conversation or mid-scene) so gratuitous and annoying. Bricks under hats are marginally better than doing one's one oeuvre such a disservice.
That said, it was fast-paced and engaging, in spite of the plot juddering in spots.
December 18, 2014
Novela criminal sin demasiada sustancia que se desarrolla en la Sudáfrica rural de comienzos de los 60. Esta ambientación es, quizá, lo mejor a pesar de que todo es muy liviano, sin apenas claro-oscuros. Es normal que los personajes protagonistas destaquen cuando todos a su alrededor se comportan como si tuvieran serias limitaciones mentales. Muy bien me van a tener que recomendar el resto de novelas de la serie para que continúe con ellas.
October 14, 2015
Always interested in fiction about Africa. This book was hard to take as it is set in deepest Apartheid South Africa, just at the time Nelson Mandela has been arrested. A white policeman is sent to track down a murderer and, reluctantly, needs the help of a black policeman. As this is supposed to be set in the past, the language used towards and about the black characters is pretty hard to take. Not feeling like looking for other books by this author. Though the story is good.
June 7, 2013
The Song Dog by James McClure is as much about the South Africa in the early 60s as it is the mystery, which I found fascinating. Officially, this is #8 is the series, but it's actually a prequel, showing how Kramer and Zondi, the pair who anchor the series, first met, so it stood alone well for me.
Give this one a listen. I enjoyed it.
Give this one a listen. I enjoyed it.
May 31, 2016
I began this book, was less than enthralled, read another book (different author) and, because The Song Dog was my book club book, went back and finished it. This was probably the least liked book I have read this year, among the 30 or so books. Tempted to give it 2 stars, but gave in and gave it 3.
November 15, 2008
At present, I have only the other Kramer-Zondi mysteries to go by -- but they paint a disturbing picture of South Africa under apartheid, which is probably more compelling than any of the mystery features.
April 30, 2009
I had no idea about apartheid... I will definitely read more of his books, as the story itself is top-notch.
July 6, 2014
Magnífica novela negra. Permite, además de disfrutar de una trama bien construida y unos personajes estupendos, tener de fondo el horror del apartheid
October 29, 2014
just can't get through this one
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