Translated by KL Seegers — Six months ago, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido were demoted from their posts as part of Cape Town’s elite crime-fighters, The Hawks, after an incident with the corrupt State Security Agency. Reassigned to Stellenbosch, a university town about 30 miles from Cape Town in South Africa’s wine country, the duo anticipated dealing with minor student-related offences. Instead, they discover that the town’s idyllic facade conceals something much darker and criminal.
Following the events of The Dark Flood Benny and Vaughn are assigned to Serious and Violent Crimes, a specialist unit within the Stellenbosch police. Things are looking up for the crime-fighting team or as Vaughn quips: “Back to the big time, pappie.”
A female student is discovered dead on Stellenbosch Mountain following what looks to be a mountain bike accident. When visiting the site, Griessel comments on the beauty of the victim buying into the stereotype of the beautiful dead white girl. The male gaze is apparent throughout. Hopefully, Meyer utilised stereotypical descriptions of women to bring a point across. This is particularly visible in the character of Christina Jaeger, the ‘sexy’ game ranger.
Vaughn Cupido smells a rat and his instincts are rarely wrong. He’s an ace detective renowned for his sharp sense of humour, his ability to crack the complex cases and his slightly rounded physique. However, when it comes to weight-management and understanding women he’s completely inept, something his fiancée Desiree Coetzee is well aware of.
Unlike his partner, Benny is not an upbeat, ray-of-sunshine kind of guy. Vaughn rolls with the punches, Benny is an anxious cynic. Vaughn is the smart-dresser, whilst Benny doesn’t care and often looks dishevelled. Two years sober, his past addiction is no longer the source of his troubles. Something much more terrifying is keeping Benny awake at night. In just a few weeks he’s walking down the aisle with Alexa, the love of his life.
Their investigation leads them to Basie Small, a former reconnaissance soldier in South Africa’s special forces, now a local businessman who is suspiciously wealthy without any source of income. Small walks the mountain route where the student was found every day with his aggressive dogs and there was evidence of bite marks on the student’s body.
When Small is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit – suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat – Griessel and Cupido know that this is a professional job and a not-so-subtle warning message. What was Small involved in?
With Small’s body barely cold, Dineo Phiri, a corrupt politician involved in a financial scandal, is found murdered on the 16th green of the elite Arabella golf estate. He has filler foam in his throat, exactly like Small.
Parallel to Benny and Vaughn’s investigation Meyer navigates an intricate plot involving a group of ex-soldiers planning a sequence of heists to get their hands on gold stolen during the State Capture. This refers to destabilising events which took place during the Jacob Zuma presidency, aided by the Gupta brothers. Public institutions, including the South African police service, were looted annihilating the country’s economy. This is the environment Benny and Vaughn have to work in: few resources, corrupt police officers and low pay.
Much of the narrative shifts away from the Benny and Vaughn thread to focus on the planning and execution of the heists from the viewpoints of game ranger Christina Jaeger and her group of professional criminals and former soldiers. Add to this another ex-soldier’s mission for revenge and there’s a great deal to keep track of. Meyer’s roller-coaster ride of action, intrigue and revenge necessitates a firm grip.
South African readers will appreciate the authentically Capetonian dialogue and colloquialisms as well as references to recognisable streets, landmarks and local hangouts. As with Dark Flood, real political events and people are referred to, albeit by different names. Here, the Indian brothers who looted South Africa are called the Chandas instead of the Guptas. The Zondo Commission becomes Zamisa Commission, Jacob Zuma is Joe Zaca and well-known Media24 journalist Julian Jansen is called Julian Jenkins. This may be for legal reasons, although South African readers might find it jarring because it’s so freakishly close to their lived truth.
Meyer doesn’t compromise and adapt his style or subject matter to please an international audience, nonetheless international readers will hopefully have their interest piqued by the setting and political background. With the assistance of a glossary of Afrikaans words they’ll also equipped to appreciate Benny and Vaughn’s banter. As always, Meyer delivers an engaging story with the use of short, economical sentences, a decent pace despite its length and a lot of humour. Bring on the next Griessel or as Vaughn would say, “Gooi hom pappie!”
Grove Atlantic
Print//Kindle/iBook
£11.49
CFL Rating: 4 Stars
