Death Dealing: The Ryder Quartet, Book 4

The Ryder Quartet #4

by Ian Patrick

"The woman's cries floated down the passage and bubbled out through the front door in helpless, anguished, tortured spasms. It was a sound that echoed down the ages. The horror of mothers from any species that might ever have lived on the planet. A parent trying to deal with the the death of her young ones. It was a sound to chill the blood."

A notorious killer escapes from prison. Heart-rending scenes show the kinds of trauma faced by victims of crime. The thrilling action takes place against a tapestry of courage and heroism in daily clashes between the forces of law and order on the one hand and brutal crime on the other.

Audible Audio

Published June 30, 2016

About the author

After working as an actor, director and teacher in theatre, film and television, followed by a long academic career, Ian is now a full-time writer. His years as an actor, director and scholar play a modest part in his writing, he says. 'My fiction is based to the best of my ability on research and field work. I have to believe every word my fictive characters say, every action they undertake,' he says. Which explains why he has accompanied detectives to the front line, interviewed forensics investigators, taken courses on forensics, crime scene management, and DNA analysis, and spent many hours scouring actual locations for his crime scenes: many of them based on actual events.

'I endeavour to make my fiction plausible and authentic. It takes me up to a year to write an eighty thousand word crime thriller. In my view, although it is clearly desirable to arrive at one's destination by bringing a work to publication, it is the journey that is the really exciting and enjoyable part of writing. I can only hope that readers will also enjoy the journey of discovering my characters and their foibles, their actions and their experiences. I hope, too, that they will inform me about and forgive me for any lapses in my work or any errors of detail.'

Reviews

[Kevin Humphrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite extraordinarily satisfying. The mix of race, gender, class, cultural difference, and more, is so satisfying. There are beautiful relationships here between women, between women and men, and between men, that provide a wonderful background for some superb action and nail-biting twists and turns. There are two cops, a white male and an indian woman, at the centre of it. But there are also brilliant partnerships between two lovable male Afrikaner detectives who are dinosaurs in respect of understanding gender matters, but who have the most wonderful endearing personalities. They are taught all about 'mansplaining' by others who are a little more aware of these things, and it is all done with gentle and loving care by the author. This is such a satisfying piece of writing. I was as excitied as a kid in the action scenes. I was as absorbed by some of the descriptive narrative as I have been in an art gallery. I was as weepy as a child in some of the traumatic scenes. And I was bowled over with admiration at the creation of one superb central character, an unforgettable character. He is a dog. An unforgettable dog. A wonderful creature. I wish I had one just like him. Oh. And the main characters are also wonderful. Intelligent, on top of issues. And capable of the kind of action that leads to hollywood movie contracts, surely? I haven't read this author's other writing yet. But now I will.

[Tammy Bonato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well. OK. Now I feel a little ashamed. There’s a scene in this book that is so traumatic, so sad, so devastating, that I lost my judgement for a moment. I pride myself on usually being on top of these things, but I was completely taken in by my own prejudice. How to say this without spoiling the plot for others? There’s a devastating event that occurs in this book – on the Monday, as I recall - and all my prejudices were exposed. I was gripped by the emotional fabric of the scene, and was thinking all sorts of things. Then the identity of the character I had manufactured in my imagination is revealed in the last couple of lines of the scene. What a shock. Bravo, author. You got me. I’m still recovering. Anyway, quite apart from that scene, this is the most wonderful story you have weaved. I just love these characters, and I love the way in which our rampant feelings about crime, about revenge and retribution, and our attitudes to morality and justice, race, language, religion, culture and every other prejudice that stalks us, are here laid bare and challenged by this lovely little story. I’m so, so, pleased to have picked up a reference to this book from the blurb - about this very scene - and sat down to read it. I will dwell on these characters for months. Oh, and I’ll be on my guard when I read your next book. That scene, by the way, will never work half as well if it appears in film or on television. What a lovely endorsement of the art of writing, where the reader’s imagination runs riot without being channelled by the sight or sound of actors. You got me. I confess. My imagination took me down the wrong path.

[Hillary Bont · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains probably the finest crime thriller description of a murder and its aftermath that I have ever encountered. Let me say why.

I travelled to South Africa from my home in Plattsburgh a couple of months ago and while being hosted and shown around by friends I was struck by headlines every day about crime. So I started reading. Well. Did my eyes get opened, or what? Eventually, after too much reality, perhaps - or so I thought - I came across this book, and then I got to listen to the audiobook of the whole series, and it really blew me away. But I soon learned that although it is billed as "crime fiction" it really is just another extension of crime reality.

It starts with some brutal action right at the beginning, to set the scene for criminal machinations that will follow, and then we follow the actions and adventures of Detective Jeremy Ryder and his team of detectives as they pursue the arch-criminal called "Skura". I loved all four of the books that make up this quartet, but let me try and say something about it by dealing almost exclusively with this, the last book in the series, called "Death Dealing", because I was so utterly moved by it and I still can't get it out of my head.

Right at the outset there is a startling scene in a prison, and then there are a few amusing passages where we explore with the lead character his investigations of how police work is undertaken in different contexts. There is some very astute analysis by the author but also some light-hearted glances at presumptions made among academics and others who pontificate about law and order - with the author clearly having some fun by recalling aspects of life that he and many of his readers will have experienced in some universities.

Then the book really gets going and it is very well written as the plot unfolds and we meet more fascinating characters. Then we get to the heart of things. Chapter 4 (with the title "Monday" - the book is broken down into chapters reflecting consecutive days in a time spanning a little over a week) is probably - let me say exactly what I feel about this - probably the finest crime thriller description of a murder and its aftermath that I have ever encountered in my reading. It is breathtaking in its power, in the accuracy of its forensic detail, and in the depths of emotion that it explores. I found myself helplessly sobbing in parts, I have to tell you. It was brilliant beyond belief. The end of the chapter left me completely drained.

I could go on at length about many facets of the book. Chapter 6 ("Wednesday") presents a startlingly accurate analysis of a person having a nervous breakdown, and again I was moved to tears in reading it. Chapter 9 ("Saturday") contains the physical and emotional climax to the book and - I won't spoil it for others - once again I was a helpless bundle of tears with the extraordinarily human and empathetic dimensions the writer brings to bear on the situation.

The book then closes on an amazing and totally satisfying and peaceful scene, with the dark reminder - subtly insinuated into the narrative - that there is always some evil crime lurking around the corner from our peaceful lives at home.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long, long time. I urge you to read it.

[Charlene Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have gone hunting for this author if he had done the wrong thing with that dog, who is for me the main character in this novel. I'm sitting here with my own gorgeous dog curled around my feet. I better not spoil the plot for anyone.

I downloaded this because of the horrific description of the details of the book on Amazon. It was too terrifying for words, and the scene in which that event happens is one of the most horrifying (and brilliant in so many ways) scenes I have ever read in a thriller.

I read the last chapter again and again just to make sure that after such trauma these people's lives were worth continuing to live. Amazing. I have to confess that I cried quite a lot while reading this. But it's not all gloom and doom. There were some really nice interchanges between the good guys and gals.

And there was such a funny scene near the beginning which describes an office just like the one I used to work in, with an awful boss who counted the staples and treated all the staff like schoolchildren so that everyone in the place just ended up cheating on the business for revenge against his small-mindedness (he also used to put the precise time of each agenda item in a meeting and would stop people in mid-sentence when the allotted time was over - so funny, so weird).

This was so exciting and so terrifying and so sad and and so funny. I don't know what genre that makes it, but it sure is good.

[Rodney Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that I started this book, number four, rather than number two in the series (I've read number one) because of two reasons. Firstly, the blurb got to me: describing a traumatic event of colossal proportions that happens to touch me personally through a parallel family experience. So I thought I'd look at this book out of sequence. Second reason: the author himself says in the preface (a brilliant preface, I thought) to the first book that it's not necessary to read all four of them in sequence. He's right. I lost nothing (that I don't know of, anyway), to my knowledge, that would have given me any information that I couldn't get from the text of this book.

In a word, this is a sensational book. I can't believe how effectively it tears one emotionally in all sorts of directions so that one questions one's own morality and sense of justice balanced against a desire for retribution. There is nothing sentimental here. It is brutal, it is clear, it is exciting, it is heart-rending, and at the end it is strangely comforting, after all the chaos and the trauma fade away. One leaves it with the feeling that beneath the terror all is well with the world. I can't elaborate without giving away the game, I suppose.

The writing is so atmospheric, and it is full of menace, as in:- “A thunderclap, crisp and crackling and angry, shattered the heavens” as the characters in a living room look at the window and see the flash of lightning illuminate the terrifying eyes of the key criminal as he is about to break into the house...

Anything that scared you in "The Shining" finds its match here. This is great writing and I absolutely loved it. There is always more than one thing happening. There are echoes and shadows and reversals. There are deliciously amusing moments as white patriarchal men are taught lessons by young smart women, but no-one is judged and there are no straw dogs. These are mature characters created by a mature writer. Nothing shallow. Nothing superficial. All beautifully in balance. The last line of the book - the last line of the quartet, I understand - is simple, beautiful, and choked me up. I hope these characters come back in a future series.

Now to book number three and number two. But not necessarily in that order...

[Roxanne Grenville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. I was so moved by this I had to read it again. There was such a sad moment. No, there were three or four sad moments, where I reached for the hanky. My partner was really worried. But - without spoiling it for anyone else - there's some real good that comes out of it all. I left this book thinking that despite everything, all will be well in the world. How to say this without being sentimental? I felt that there was so much realism in this book, about the horrors of human behaviour, that I couldn't take much more. But I was so gripped that I continued, and thank goodness I did. I left the book feeling that these characters are in a titanical struggle with evil but that with people like them the world will eventually become a better place. I'm a bit sad that detective Ryder and crew appear to have come to the end - this appears to be a quatrain of books and I've now read number four. I hope they come back. Seriously, what I like about these characters and the writing is that everything is so realistic but there's always some moral bedrock to it all that reminds one this is not just cowboys and crooks but a serious discussion of morality and justice and retribution. We need to be reminded that people like this exist, and they are weak and frail but also brave and strong when needed. Mavis is my real hero, now. Please write her story next, dear author...

[Victoria Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one out of sequence, after reading the first one (I understand there are five books already published). That was because of the blurb about the trauma of a woman losing children. It attracted me to read this one, number four, next. It was a shattering thing to read (the blurb, that is). The reading itself then bore out everything promised there. Such an awful, awful experience for a family. But I won't give any plot details away. Suffice to say that I was completely moved to tears. And then there are even more tears later in the book. But, in the final analysis, it is a completely uplifting book. I left it feeling that despite the trauma in the world there is good and there is love and there is optimism. And there is laughter, too. I love these characters. I thought that maybe there was a bit of a boring section in the second quarter of the book, as the policewoman constable explains her work of tracking the criminal. But then it all explodes into action again. OK. Now back to the proper sequence. Number two next, I think. Then three and then five. Oh. I have to say that I have a dog and I love her so, so much. That is important for anyone reading this totally absorbing book. No more from me on that subject, though.

[nora m malotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death Dealing (Book 4)

Police from all over are the same ! They have a bond with each other , they are a giant family. These men are no different other than the language's are a bit strange to me . You will truly enjoy the workings of the unit in pursuit of the drug dealing killers. A GREAT TALE..I Recommend !

[Themba Sekhabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great. I listened to the audio version. A good thriller with fantastic characters and really believable all the way. There's a lot more to this than just a crime thriller. I like the underlying bits about real social interaction as I've experienced it in South Africa. There's a scene I really laughed over and shared it with friends. We all recognised the nuances. We all have white friends who are good guys but always make assumptions. Like, if you're a black dude you must live in a "township". My favorite scene is the one where the three white male cops are talking to the sister constable Mavis (as Zulu as any Tshabalala could be) :

'You ever met a guy as bad as this, Mavis?’

‘Sorry, Detective Koeks, what was that?’ replied Mavis.

‘Okes like Thabethe. You ever run into a guy like this in the township?’

‘No, Koeks, only in the city. I don’t live in any township. I live in Musgrave.’

Ryder and Pillay exchanged a glance as they saw Koekemoer walking right into it.

‘Oh. Ja. I see. Sorry. I thought… but when you were small…’

‘I was born next door to the Musgrave Shopping Centre. I’m living in the same flat where my mother had me as a baby.’

‘Oh. Ja. Well. I see. Anyway, you ever seen a guy as evil as this? I mean, you know, even in Musgrave it can be dangerous. If I had a daughter who…’

‘Here comes some mansplaining, Navi,’ said Ryder. ‘Watch it unfold.’

‘What? What’s that, Jeremy. What’s mans-planning?’

‘Mansplaining, Koeks,’ interjected Pillay. ‘Jeremy’s just alerting us to a big explanation coming along from you in a few seconds. From a man. All for Mavis’s benefit. In case she doesn’t understand, you know? I mean, she’s only a woman.’

Koekemoer was dumbfounded for a second. Then they all burst out laughing, Mavis loudest of all.

‘Jirra, you okes. It’s hard for a guy to even…’

‘Don’t worry, uncle Koeks,’ said Mavis. ‘It’s not a problem. We’re just joking. But you’re right. It’s dangerous out there, and I've seen some very bad people. I must take you to visit my friend Nonnie in KwaMashu some day. She lives in a very bad area. I can show you some people there. But it’s not safe for a white Afrikaner man, you know. It would be OK if you came along with us, though. Nonnie and I know how to look after ourselves. You’ll be safe with us.’

This is good writing and really in touch with what it's like. And, hey, the criminals are the worst kind of scum. I'm all for the cops this time. Especially Mavis. She'll be a brigadier one day. We need people like her.

This was very enjoyable. I'll get more of this series.

[Matthew Seagreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised that I didn't like this as much as I did the others in the series. The couple of reviews I read were helpful, and by reading them I realised that I had missed out on some of the nuances in the book. But, having finished this on Christmas Eve I have been pondering a review of it ever since. Why didn't I enjoy it as much as the others? I suppose it's because I really liked the police procedural aspects of the other books. There is less of that here. Here, there is more focus on the criminals and on the victims. I suppose I instinctively like the police procedural books because of my experience in that area, and I have loved the way the writer has got all the small details of day-to-day life and interaction among policemen and policewomen, and in fact has got it spot on! In this book, on the other hand, I found it hard to identify with a couple of the characters who aren't detectives doing their job.

There's one horrifying scene involving the day after a break-in at a private home. I read one other reviewer who wrote about this scene who said she was taken by surprise by the identity of the victims. I'm glad I read that review because in a draft of this I actually named the family and I realise now that that would be to spoil it for other readers. But I identified with that reviewer, anyway, because I felt exactly the same suprise when I got to the end of that scene. How will they make the television version of this without that big moment of revelation at the end of the scene?

I think there is a spectacular and wonderful final chapter that everyone will love, and there is no doubt about how good that is. In fact, the whole ending is really good. But I was bored with the whole history of the young police-woman's search for the serial killer and rapist. That was too long, for me. And I thought the forensics womens' problems were a distraction. So all in all I liked the book a lot, but nowhere near as much as I liked the others in the series.

[Ronald Gumede · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got to this book after a long delay. I originally joined GoodReads because our crime-stories reading and discussion group moved from SAPS to here, and I was at first only interested in crime thrillers. But as a result of GoodReads I started reading other things - because we had to list books we had either read or wanted to read - and it's been great to collect a whole lot of books. So this book had to wait its turn next to my bed.

I thought this was really good. I think the third book Plain Dealingis better, because there was no let-up in the action in that one, whereas in this one there is a long passage of discussion before the action takes place. OK, so the action is then amazing, an it is very painful, too: I remember as a cop dealing with a situation just as bad as the one described here, in Glenwood.

I love these characters. The bad boys too. They are just so, so bad, and you just want them to get hammered. I know forensics people who have gone through depression, just as it happens in this story, and I know victims of crime just like these (I still know some of them, who have become friends since their terrible experiences). This is just like real life. It's great reading.

[Marianne Bezuidenhout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucky me. Two great books in a week. Having postponed reading Achebe's Things Fall Apart till last week I absolutely loved it, and I can see why people thought it a masterpiece of African literature. But here, I think, we also have in its own way a little masterpiece of South African literature. Different genre from Achebe's book, of course, and I'm sure Patrick would make no claim to higher recognition for what his modest preface suggests is simply an attempt to write about real crime on the ground and turn it into an interesting pacy thriller. I think he succeeds admirably. I love his writing. Like Achebe's, it's sparse and economical. He is clearly in touch with women's issues and is very progressive in his thinking on race and gender and politics. But all of that is just background to a great little thriller. In addition, it is very touching and there is some really great soul amidst the carnage of the society he describes. I loved this. Will read his earlier books.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A peek into the criminal justice system of South Africa. It portrays the quandary many of us feel about the lack of retribution for crimes committed. I'm becoming more convinced that vigilante justice is the best way to prevent future offenses.

[Charles Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. I got this on a one-day free promotional giveaway on Amazon and decided to dip into it. What a dip. I fell right into it. Nearly frowned. Couldn't re-surface till I finished it. This is a truly amazing thriller. Brutal but uplifting. Action that is terrifying. Descriptive language that is really good. Looks like it was the end of a series, too, so I'll go back and read a couple of others in the series.

What a great character there is in the book. A dog. Say no more. A dog like my own (mine is a German Shepherd). A dog to die for. I never would have believed that you could write a thriller like this centred around a dog. Well, not centred, but certainly crucial. The last chapter is outstanding.

[Patricia Radebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read quite a lot about South Africa over this last week, primarily because of our important anniversary (I was nearly twenty when the country changed forever), and have been thinking about it a great deal. I think this book is very important in many ways. The crime and violence it describes is accurate. I have been to some of these very places that are described so brilliantly in the book. I have met some of the kinds of characters that are so well depicted. But I have criticisms, too. I think there is a bit too much unremitting violence. Anyway, maybe I'll read it again and see if I change my mind. maybe I just didn't want to be reminded about how violent the place is today, after our glorious liberation..

[Carol Faulds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Golly. I tried to find the audio version of this book but it appears there isn't one available. I liked the audio of the previous book. But never mind. The script itself is mind-blowingly brilliant. What a terrifying scene there is involving a family. And what retribution follows! I absolutely loved this. So filled with action and so filled with tender loving scenes too. The very last scene of all is so tender and lovely, coming after one of the most breathtaking scenes of action. This is really, really good.

[Rodney Haines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. I didn't realise this was the last in a series until I had finished because I didn't read the dust cover: I heard the audio version. But it was certainly good enough for me to get the rest of the series.

There are some really spectacular moments in the action scenes. Very powerful stuff. But more important is the characters. Nice fully-rounded characters. The hero and his wife have a passion for rugby that is so, so funny and makes one identify with them in a big way.

The dog is amazing.

[Sofia Martell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so exciting. I listened to the audiobook and was blown away. It was totally real and believable and not a moment of it seemed fiction to me. Detective Ryder is a great detective. One man army.

I realised I was listening to the final book in a series, so I'm definitely going back to listen to/read the others. The team of detectives was so enjoyable. I just loved the scenes about rugby. So funny and so endearing at the same time. Oh, yes. The dog. The dog is just so wonderful. What a nice story.

[Patrick Patson · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, a year ago I was a bit harsh on the first volume in this quartet. Maybe too harsh. In retrospect, the author had to lay out the detail necessary for readers to have an understanding of what was going to happen, and where all of this related to the real events happening in his country. So I found it laced with a bit too much information. I'll go back sometime and re-read that first one, but there's no doubt that the next three volumes were sensationally good. I love this kind of writing. Very, very good.

[Carmen Dustoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodness. How exciting. Very cruel and shocking but uplifting, too. The police men and women are superb and the characters are quite compelling.

I realised at the end that I had not read the prequels. There are earlier stories in the saga of these detectives and the main criminal. I listened to this book in the car on a long journey and it was most intriguing and professionally executed. I shall get more of this writer's work.

[Ken Vermaas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio of this. Very convincingly real and in your face. I enjoyed the characters. There's not just gloom and doom, but some time for real interaction between characters and some touchingly believable moments.

I like this writing: quick, no-nonsense, and above all, plausible.

I realised I had got the fourth in a series. Never mind. It still hangs together as a single novel. But I'm tempted enough to go get the rest. Depends on time at my disposal.

[Pat Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting South African detective story

A week ago I read another novel by Ian Patrick and loved it! What a treat to find this one. Crime is rampant in South Africa. Hard-working detectives are overwhelmed by the never-ending waves of totally inhuman acts perpetrated against innocent citizens. This story kept me up until almost 2am reading to the end. What a spectacular end it was!!! Read this. If you love crime stories and modern day heroes, you will LOVE this.

[Adrienne Coates · Rating 5 out of 5]

How excellent is this. I cried and I laughed. There's action all the way. The final scene is almost unbearable. Can't give anything away, but there is a heart-rending scene followed by utter lyrical beauty. Top class writing. I feel bad that I haven't read the first two in the series. Got it back to front. Will go back to them next, I think.

[Horace Barrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. I read this because of the blurb. Very shocking. Wow. Then the book lives up to the blurb. Humdinger of a thriller. One of the best ever. Very violent and very angry and fantastically tender in places, with characters you can get a grip on. I realised too late that this was the last in a series. Will go back and read the others.

[Michael Oakley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The series comes to an end with a real cliff-hanging scene. This was as good as all of them, but I give it four stars simply because Plain Dealing was that little much more appealing to me. All of the books are great. I'll have to review them all together one day (I need to think through it all, and listen and read to some passages again). But in this one the dog is the hero. Brilliant.

[Geoffrey Arcman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very real and plausible, and just like real life. I heard the audio version and the characters and the dialogue were so persuasive, and well done with the accents, too. The revenge exacted on the thugs who attacked a family home was a really great scene.

I found the book fast-paced and exciting with real, believable emotions underlying the whole thing. Very good indeed.

[Henry Winson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as The Mashego File, because there was a long passage where young Mavis the cop got involved. I thought that was a little tedious, but it sure was exciting after that. The final chapter is a cliff-hanging exciting finale to the story.

I like these characters. They fight the good fight and are totally believable and human.

[Frank Swart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the series, for sure. There is a scene here that will make you rethink your moral concerns about tough policing. What do you do when facing the devil? Do you give him a suspended sentence, or what?

Very exciting and dramatic and filled with compassion and feeling. Very good to read (actually, I also listened to it in audio).

[Mary Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving and Detailed Chronicle of A Society in Crisis

In some ways a rather dry police procedural, in other ways a shockingly clear and vibrant depiction of a country in crisis, gripped by rampant crime fueled by drug addiction. The author tackles both the law enforcement and the criminal points of view, blending the mundane with the horrific.

[Beryl Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. I listened to the audio of this over two days and it had me gripped all the way. Jeremy Ryder's my new hero. And his dog. What a beautiful dog. Just like my Bruno. Seriously, this is thrilling and beautifully written. And nicely performed.