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Jacob Tshabalala #3
Dead-End Road
Detective Harry Mason has rejoined the South African Police Service after a two-year leave of absence, and moved over to the specialised Serious and Violent Crimes unit, headed by the tough and fiery veteran commander Superintendent Carl ‘Blackie’ Swarts. Soon afterwards, Harry is assigned to investigate the slaying of a minor politician and his family, in a township west of Johannesburg. The case, at first seemingly unsolvable, is abruptly saved by an enigmatic grassroots anarchist whom Harry befriended during the apartheid riots of the ’80s, and soon the SVC is hot on the heels of one of the country’s most secretive and violent vigilante groups, known as ‘The Guardians’, headed up by two brothers whose brutality is legendary amongst the poor inhabitants of Johannesburg’s squatter camps. As the investigation slices away at the layers of secrecy surrounding this group, other secrets surface – truths that ultimately pose a threat to Harry’s unit, and to the city at large. When Harry is abruptly gunned down by unseen assassins during a dawn raid on a remote village, and a bomb is detonated in the judicial heartland of Johannesburg, his former police partner and long-time friend, Detective Jacob Tshabalala, is forced to take matters into his own hands, and expose a splinter faction of vigilantes operating within the police service itself – a faction whose connections stretch all the way into parliament itself.
400 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Richard Kunzmann
6 books27 followersRichard Kunzmann published his first police procedural in the UK at the tender age of 26, and Bloody Harvests was immediately short-listed for the Crime Writers Association’s lucrative J.C.W. Creasy Award for Best New Novel, in 2002. Publication of Bloody Harvests and his second thriller, Salamander Cotton , quickly followed in all English language territories.
The Washington Post has described his writing as ‘recalling No Country for Old Men and other Cormac McCarthy novels that focus a literary sensibility on bloodcurdling events’, while the Sunday Times hailed him as ‘an impressive new talent in the thriller genre’. The Cape Times says of his latest book, Dead-End Road , ‘It stands head and shoulders among the many crime novels we are confronted with’.
Richard’s police procedurals explore a contemporary South Africa and a society that has been ravaged by the past policies of the apartheid state and the rapid changes over the last decade brought on by democracy. Rampant crime and an under-resourced police force provide the backdrop for the critically praised Harry Mason and Jacob Tshabalala series.
His fourth book, The Price of a Country , will be the first in a new series of psychological thrillers, starring the profiler Amina Reynolds, and is due for publication in February 2010.
The Washington Post has described his writing as ‘recalling No Country for Old Men and other Cormac McCarthy novels that focus a literary sensibility on bloodcurdling events’, while the Sunday Times hailed him as ‘an impressive new talent in the thriller genre’. The Cape Times says of his latest book, Dead-End Road , ‘It stands head and shoulders among the many crime novels we are confronted with’.
Richard’s police procedurals explore a contemporary South Africa and a society that has been ravaged by the past policies of the apartheid state and the rapid changes over the last decade brought on by democracy. Rampant crime and an under-resourced police force provide the backdrop for the critically praised Harry Mason and Jacob Tshabalala series.
His fourth book, The Price of a Country , will be the first in a new series of psychological thrillers, starring the profiler Amina Reynolds, and is due for publication in February 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 21, 2009
I got this book through the Goodreads First-Reads program.
This book was interesting. I've read many thrillers, but none of them have been based in South Africa. The book is a number of stories rolled into one surrounding the Serious and Violent Crimes unit of the South African police service. The unit are investigating a murder when they receive information about a 'protection' group. The turn their attentions to this group, but then a bomb is detonated in Johannesburg. We then follows the stories and the links between them unfold throughout the book. I also learned a few things about South Africa whilst reading this book - a bonus!
The book is pretty action packed, but not all the way through. I found that it took me a while to get into it and the beginning was a little slower than I'm used to in a thriller. I'm glad I stuck with it though, as the latter part makes up for the slowness of the initial third of the book. The plot develops really well and the characterisation gives the book depth. We really get to know the main characters; and the supporting cast is nicely built too.
I would say that this is more crime than thriller. There isn't the suspense that is present in other thrillers; however this isn't a bad thing. The author clearly knows his subject and it shows in his writing. This was an interesting read and I'd recommend it to fans of both the crime and thriller genres.
This book was interesting. I've read many thrillers, but none of them have been based in South Africa. The book is a number of stories rolled into one surrounding the Serious and Violent Crimes unit of the South African police service. The unit are investigating a murder when they receive information about a 'protection' group. The turn their attentions to this group, but then a bomb is detonated in Johannesburg. We then follows the stories and the links between them unfold throughout the book. I also learned a few things about South Africa whilst reading this book - a bonus!
The book is pretty action packed, but not all the way through. I found that it took me a while to get into it and the beginning was a little slower than I'm used to in a thriller. I'm glad I stuck with it though, as the latter part makes up for the slowness of the initial third of the book. The plot develops really well and the characterisation gives the book depth. We really get to know the main characters; and the supporting cast is nicely built too.
I would say that this is more crime than thriller. There isn't the suspense that is present in other thrillers; however this isn't a bad thing. The author clearly knows his subject and it shows in his writing. This was an interesting read and I'd recommend it to fans of both the crime and thriller genres.
May 13, 2009
A very fast paced, action filled book. Very good story and many twist and turns that I sure didn't see coming. The characters seemed to be real and well thought out.
Had a little trouble with the South African dialect, but that is just because of my unfamiliarity with the lingo.
Well done! I look forward to his other books!
Had a little trouble with the South African dialect, but that is just because of my unfamiliarity with the lingo.
Well done! I look forward to his other books!
May 17, 2009
Fast-paced, absorbing thriller with good twists and turns, believable characters and an interesting structure. I enjoy police procedurals, but I'd never read any set in South Africa, so this was a first for me. Very vivid and engrossing, although it is very violent.
January 24, 2022
رواية ذات طابع مثير تدور أحداثها في جنوب أفريقيا، كتبها ريتشارد كونزمان ابن تلك المناطق فأبدع وتفنن... حيث أبهرني أسلوبه الوصفي المميز الممتع... فأنا أصلاً لا أحب المبالغة في وصف الأشياء والمواقف، وأدري أن الوصف ضروري... والمبدع من ينقل لك الصورة دون إطالة وبوضوح
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الرواية كأنها فيلم إثارة وحركة حيث الإثارة هي المهمة أما القصة فثانوية للأسف
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الرواية كأنها فيلم إثارة وحركة حيث الإثارة هي المهمة أما القصة فثانوية للأسف
October 22, 2009
DEAD-END ROAD is third novel Detective Harry Mason novel from South African author Richard Kunzmann - the earlier books are BLOODY HARVESTS and SALAMANDER COTTON. It was the first of this series that I've read, and I'm not sure that was necessarily a wise move.
It's been a couple of years since Harry's last outing and since then he has joined the elite Serious and Violent Crimes unit. They have been assigned to the investigation of the slaying of a minor politician and his family in a township west of Johannesburg. Unsolvable, until a tip sends the unit in pursuit of a vigilante group known as the Guardians headed by two notoriously violent brothers. Things get personally bad for Harry when he is shot during a dawn raid on a remote village in pursuit of the gang.
Part of the reason I picked up this book out of order was for a group read on a discussion list, and one of the participants in that discussion had read the earlier books - which was just as well, as this book didn't seem to work as a stand-alone. Harry, I'm told is a great central character, but as he was shot very early on in this book and didn't really make much of a return appearance he was very hard to assess. Perhaps it was this act that made the book seem to lack purpose or a single focus, but for much of the action I had absolutely and utterly no idea what was going on, who was who and what the whole point was. I actually had to read the blurb to remind myself what this investigation was supposedly all about as cameo appearances from a range of characters who appeared to have no context whatsoever kept coming and going and my grip on the whole thing got fuzzier and fuzzier.
Luckily I've now got the 2 earlier books in the series so I'll pick them up when I get a chance and see if the problem was just this book (which I suspect may have been the case). And the problem with this book could very well have been me - perhaps I wasn't working hard enough, having said that, I'm not sure I want to raise a sweat just to read a book.
It's been a couple of years since Harry's last outing and since then he has joined the elite Serious and Violent Crimes unit. They have been assigned to the investigation of the slaying of a minor politician and his family in a township west of Johannesburg. Unsolvable, until a tip sends the unit in pursuit of a vigilante group known as the Guardians headed by two notoriously violent brothers. Things get personally bad for Harry when he is shot during a dawn raid on a remote village in pursuit of the gang.
Part of the reason I picked up this book out of order was for a group read on a discussion list, and one of the participants in that discussion had read the earlier books - which was just as well, as this book didn't seem to work as a stand-alone. Harry, I'm told is a great central character, but as he was shot very early on in this book and didn't really make much of a return appearance he was very hard to assess. Perhaps it was this act that made the book seem to lack purpose or a single focus, but for much of the action I had absolutely and utterly no idea what was going on, who was who and what the whole point was. I actually had to read the blurb to remind myself what this investigation was supposedly all about as cameo appearances from a range of characters who appeared to have no context whatsoever kept coming and going and my grip on the whole thing got fuzzier and fuzzier.
Luckily I've now got the 2 earlier books in the series so I'll pick them up when I get a chance and see if the problem was just this book (which I suspect may have been the case). And the problem with this book could very well have been me - perhaps I wasn't working hard enough, having said that, I'm not sure I want to raise a sweat just to read a book.
May 23, 2009
I am not usually one to read crime fiction, yet Dead-End Road is something different. Transcending obligatory genre convention, this novel is fresh, exciting and exotic, set in the hazardous African world of Johannesburg, filled with racial and tribal tensions where the morality of its inhabitants isn't so much black and white as a varying scale of grey. Kunzmann is a great story-teller, skillfully exploring human emotion and experience within his vastly rich cast of highly believeable characters. Here is a novellest I shall be keeping an eye on...
February 12, 2016
I've read all of Kunzmanns, Mason and Tshabalala novels and even though they are extremely violent and don't show South African society in the best of lights I still enjoyed them because they were well written character driven reads. This one however isn't as well written as the rest, there are too many confusing flashbacks and some topographical errors (there are no warehouses in Westdene, its a residential area) if I wasn't a fan I wouldn't have read past the first 100 pages. I'm glad I did though, the writing gets better and the action is fast-paced.
August 25, 2009
I am a lover of mysteries, but wasn't sure that I would like Dead-End Road. It was somewhat different then what I usually read, but once I got into the story I really liked it. I liked the locale of South Africa and Johannesburg, places that I really know nothing about. I had a bit of trouble with the dialect until I got use to it. I would recommend this book to those who like a good story and a mystery to boot.
February 11, 2010
Having tended to avoid South African authors this book is a remarkable surprise. Well written and compelling. Its obviously not just the Americans that have crime, crime novels or crime authors.. Well worth the read and an interesting look at the dynamics of a post apartheid SA with all the crime, squallor and violence that one might expect.
May 28, 2010
Harry Mason has returned to the police and serves on an elite force for dealing with violent crimes. Harry is shot on a raid to capture Russian assault rifles and spends the balance of the book tracking down the perpetrators. Gritty.
July 13, 2011
A solid South African crime novel: the sequel to Salamander Cotton. Entertaining, but not quite as good.
October 8, 2011
Draws you in on every page. Bit of a culture shock for someone living in Europe but very fascinating.
November 16, 2010
Dead-end book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews