Blood Rose

Clare Hart #2

by Margie Orford

A breathtaking, atmospheric thriller and a stunning return for investigator Dr Clare Hart. The gruesome murder of a homeless teenage boy suggests a methodical serial killer is at work in Walvis Bay, a depressed port, isolated in the vast sweep of the Namib Desert. It is a corrupt, claustrophobic place with a shifting population of people who came here only because they had to and where people know everything - and nothing - about each other. As part of a cross-border policing initiative, Dr Clare Hart is sent to profile the possible killer. She works with Captain Tamar Damases, an astute local detective, who heads up the coastal town's Sexual Violence and Murder Unit. Clare is glad to be distracted from the implosion of what was till a few days ago a blossoming love affair with Captain Riedwaan Faizal, who turned out be more married than she thought... As the two women trace older crimes that may be related to the recent killings, nothing is as it seemed at first. And as Riedwaan comes to join Clare, to help with the investigation and to try salvage their relationship, she realises that the harbour holds more than just rusting Russian fishing trawlers, and that a deadly cargo is ready to sail. It's not just their relationship that is in danger, their very lives ? and the lives of others ? are at stake...

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Namibia, Africa, South Africa

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Margie Orford is a journalist, film director and author of children’s fiction, non-fiction and school text books.

She was born in London and grew up in Namibia and South Africa, studying at UCT where she wrote her final exams in prison while detained during the State of Emergency. After travelling widely, she did an honours degree at UCT, then worked in publishing in the newly-independent Namibia, where she became involved in training through the African Publishers Network.

In 1999 she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and while in New York, worked on an archival retrieval project, Women Writing in Africa: The Southern Volume. She made her crime debut with Like Clockwork, which became a bestseller and was followed by a sequel, Blood Rose. Both crime novels will be published in Germany. A recent non-fiction project is Fabulously 40 and Beyond : Women coming into their own; her latest is Fifteen Men.

Reviews

[Barbara McEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - a talented writer, I thought it was less strong towards the end but I would pick up another of her books.

[Carli Pienaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! This was such a good thriller! I loved it!!

[Jayne Bauling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third of Orford's Clare Hart thrillers that I've read, and the best yet. She's an author you can count on to deliver. Blood Rose is typically atmospheric, the evocative setting heightening the sense of menace that is one of Orford's trademarks.

Walvis Bay, the Namib Desert, fogs, winds, burning heat and old and dirty secrets - all contribute to the suspense, as a series of homeless boys' murdered bodies are discovered.

Then there is the charged relationship between Hart and Riedwaan Faizal. I've been reading the books in the sequence that tracks their relationship, but you can read them in any order without the novels losing anything.

If you loved Le Carre's The Constant Gardener, this is for you.

I'm going to be sneaking Gallows Hill up the to-read pile.

[hugo van der wildt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een sobere kaft.
Een vreemde titel voor het verhaal.
Mooi in beeld gebracht de leefomstandigheden in Namibie in een spannend verhaal.
Het moeilijk werken in een land/stad met corruptie in de hogere gelederen van de samenleving.
Het doorzettingsvermogen van vrijwilligers en mensen met het hart op de juiste plaats kunnen iets bereiken en oplossen de verschillende moorden op.
Het verhaal speelt zich af in Walvisbaai waarvan op het einde een korte geschiedenis gegeven wordt.
Het is geschreven met kennis van zaken want de schrijfster is een Zuid-Afrikaanse.

[Jenny Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of my books from each country in Africa challenge. This is set in Namibia and although it is a typical murder thriller following a South African profiler and Detective it still touches on the history between Nambia and South Africa. Interesting as someone with limited knowledge about this and very descriptive about the Namibian countryside.
As a novel it hasn’t made me want to read the rest of the Clare Hart series.

[Cris Redbone · Rating 2 out of 5]

La verdad que no me ha parecido gran cosa, mucho diálogo insustancial y poco más. La historia prometía, al principio parecía que no avanzaba hasta que de repente todo se resuelve en un abrir y cerrar de ojos.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good, topical vacation read

[Michelle du Toit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, couldn't put it down.

[Erica Smythe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another brilliant book in the Clare Hart series. Next up - book 3.

[Franka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent crimmy very descriptive of Walvis Bay, on the coast of Namibia. Picked this because I hope to travel to Namibia soon and was looking for fiction that describes places there.

[Guillermojimenezespneo]

Digamos de entrada que los principales propagandistas del género pólicíaco son sus mismo autores. No abandonan para nada la zona confortable de sus relatos tremendistas, horrorizantes y adjetivos similares. Ahí entramos los lectores. Eso de la tensión narrativa, ese ocultar a lo largo de la narración datos para conservar el llamado interés ya me resultan un tanto, digámoslo sin tapujos, aburrido. Pero el talento palabrero, la secuencia lógica del transcurrir en tiempo y espacio de las acciones en que se abisman los protagonistas, los conflictos generados en y por estos mismos debido a su incapacidad para incorporarse a la llamada sociedad tradicional y finalmente pero no lo único, la descripción de la bazofia social y los ambientes en que ésta sobrevive, imagino que al menos en mí conservan el interés por continuar en la lectura de este ¿género? y me hacen seguir buscando los autores que valen la pena (como Margie). De acuerdo, son ambientes extrasociales, o cuando menos en su transcurrir lo hacen en la periferia de las llamadas sociedades convencionales. Pero ya lo dijo Ressler, hay que estudiar a todo antisocial, porque si no los entendemos tenemos que sufrir sus acciones de muerte, dolor y destrucción para darnos cuenta que ahí están y continuarán con nosotros mientras lo humano siga siendo humano. Dice Lichtenberg que dijo Miller que destruimos en todo niño lo más profundo de su espíritu para incorporarlo sumiso y obediente a esto que llamamos sociedad, será entonces que en algunos destruimos su capacidad de empatía, su sentido de lo humano como lo más sagrado y en lugar de adherirlo a nosotros (los que no deseamos la destrucción del otro por más inhumano que sea o haya sido, chin, a veces quiero asesinar a alguien, ¿soy pues antisocial? sí, indudablemente, pero adaptado)lo marginamos y le implantamos su deseo tanático. Así es.

[Mr Pink Ink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

After reading Margie Orford's first book in this series, Like Clockwork, I was hooked and it looks like this is fast becoming a favourite author for thrillers.

Blood Rose takes us on a dark and gritty adventure into the seedy underbelly that infests every major city; even in the desert. Dr Clare Hart finds herself out in the Namib desert as a visiting consultant to Walvis Bay where the bodies of young boys have been found. Of course, Riedewaan Faizel is never too far behind.

The relationship between Clare and Riedewaan undergoes a little strain but we are still left with unclarity as to their past...

It is possible to read this as a standalone; there is only the history between the two MCs, as well as their backstories, that may affect the overall read - but I don't think so.

If you'd like to hear me talk more about this book, then be sure to check this video on my channel.

[Inese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Я вроде нашла псевдо магическую формулу изучения иностранного языка (немецкого). Детективы на малознакомом языке мне читать проще, чем любую другую литературу. Интрига поддерживает желание читать, а скудные описания упрощают понимание; и у меня нету желания переводить каждое непонятное слово как в случае с классикой. Иначе я возможно такое чтение посчитала бы пустой тратой времени, а тут… вполне себе оправдание. 

Месторасположение основных событий  -Южная Африка, Намибия- обнаружили целую пропасть в моих знаниях; не восполнили, но в чем-то просветили, пейзажи - волнительны и экзотичны; герои просыпаются ещё до рассвета и ложаться спать к полуночи (и чего себя так мучают); в свою очередь сказочно - эпичное завершение - "та-да-дам! Всех-расстрел-ям!", а также сентиментальных любовная линия, любителем которых я не являюсь (тут такая, ненавязчивая, но есть) несколько подпортили общее не такое уж плохое впечатление. 

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

South African crime writer Margie Orford is a new favorite of mine. This is the second mystery of hers I have read. The first one was set in Cape Town and this one in Namibia. Each one involved Dr. Clare Hart, profiler of serial killers.

The narrative itself is well told. I was engaged to piece together the crime and to see how all of the pieces came together. I also enjoyed the characters, including Clare Hart.

If you know South/ern Africa, you will appreciate the details of place in this book. If you don't, I think you will still follow it well.

Lastly, something I love about both of these mysteries is that they put a spotlight on vulnerable people and social justice issues. I look forward to what Margie Orford has to show me next.

(Currently, this book is $2.99 USD on Kindle)

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, part of the Clare Hart series, Clare Hart is called to act as profiler in a murder case in Walvis Bay. Two murdered teenage boys are found and Clare Hart needs to solve the mystery.

Similar to the other books in the Clare Hart series, this book is full of suspense. I found the other books in the series better, but maybe because they were set in Cape Town and surrounds which is more familiar to me than Walvis Bay. I also found the ending a bit blunt without explaining all the plots within the book. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the book and look forward to reading all the Clare Hart novels.

[Димитър Тодоров · Rating 3 out of 5]

За серийните убийства на безпризорни деца в Уолвис бей в сердата на 00-те. Точно след като е колабирала риболовната индустрия, след като е свършила рибата. Главната героиня е полицейската профайлерка Клер Харт от Кейптаун. А лошите са бели стар��южноафриканци, които се опитват да продадат заровени в бивша военна база в пустинята бидони с Уран-235, изнасяйки го с рибарски кораб и убивайки все що свидетел или усъмнил се излезе на пътя им. В комбина са с местната стриптизьорка (блондинка) и дясната ръка на кмета (калър). Рижото онемяло от ужас при убийството на майка му сираче Оскар оцелява и го приютяват топнарите (регионалното маргинално племе, доколкото разбирам)

[Mathilda · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, written by a South African writer. Dr. Clare Hart, a police profiler goes to Walvis Bay to help find the killer of four homeless boys. The sad life of this isolated town is vividly described and the people she meets, from a very pregnant local police officer to the orphans of the town are engaging, she also keeps you fascinated with her description of the slowly disappearing native culture to the desert. Unfortunately for me it is yet another Aids story woven into a otherwise good thriller.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Margie Orford's style - great romping good reads..
This one is no exception - a page turner and some interesting historical notes and social history. This is my 2nd Clare Hart book - although the stories are faultless, the endings aren't quite as slick. However, this doesnt detract from Orford's genius as a story teller - she has to be one of the world's best crime writers - keep them coming!

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is only the 2nd of her novels that I have read and have to confess to enjoying it immensely.
Written by a Namibian and set in Namibia it was brought to life with great descriptions of the countryside/Namib. It is another Dr Clare Hart novel where she is still involved with Capt Riedwaan Faizal of SAPS.

[Rachel Nowakowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do love these characters. This one definitely focussed on the female perspective in contrast to the last book. I have a soft spot for Riedwaan and so glad he came into the story halfway through. It is difficult to read about the way human life, especially that of children, is treated so lightly, but Margie Orford writes sensitively about this subject and brings it right to our attention.

[Arja Salafranca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr Clare Hart is back in the second crime thriller to feature this feisty documentary-maker and police profiler. Set in Namibia, where Orford herself grew up. Blood Rose delivers a read that is thrilling and satisfying.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in the Clare Hart series. She goes to another part of Africa to help solve serial murders of children. it kind of reminds me of Law and Order SVU with an international flair. Well written, and a good mystery.

[Kathy Manten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great characters. Lovely, concise descriptions of the areas in which the story was set.

[Jolieg G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vond het een aardig boek maar op het laatst wat langdradig worden.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Cant wait to get into her other books...

[Judith Klinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rock solid detective thriller. Set in South Africa, the omnipresent violence is a character unto itself. Addictive.

[Elmarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is tight, but the relationship between Clare and Riedwaan is.... not great.