Sonja van der Westhuizen

Facets of Death by Michael Stanley

3 March, 2021

Have you met Detective David ‘Kubu’ Bhengu? You haven’t? Well, you are in luck, because Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip decided to write a prequel to their six-novel series featuring Kubu and Facets of Death is exactly where his story starts. The first thing you…

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Lightseekers by Femi Kayode

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

22 February, 2021

In the rural university town of Okriki, on the outskirts of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, three university students are burnt to death – necklaced by an angry mob who are convinced they are thieves. There is no mystery as to who is responsible for their…

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Sleep Well, My Lady by Kwei Quartey

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

8 February, 2021

The butler did it. Or in this case, the chauffeur. Well, at least that’s who the Ghana police pin it on when renowned fashion designer, Lady Araba, is found bludgeoned to death in her luxury villa in a gated estate in Trasacco Valley – the…

Book Club

The Lost and the Damned

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

12 January, 2021

The first of Olivier Norek’s Banlieue trilogy is set in the notorious Seine-Sainte-Denis district, where Norek lives and where he has worked for the past 18 years as a police lieutenant. At the centre of The Lost and the Damned is Capitaine Victor Coste from…

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Snowdrift by Helene Tursten

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

21 December, 2020

Translated by Marlaine Delargy — Detective Inspector Embla Nyström returns in the third instalment of Helene Tursten’s series based on the detective. Snowdrift picks up only eight days after the end of 2019’s Winter Grave when Embla receives a call from her childhood friend, Louise…

Features

Sonja van der Westhuizen: Top five books of 2020

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

14 December, 2020

Most readers want the same basic elements from their crime fiction: an engaging plot; enough momentum to sustain the plot; well-developed characters; some misdirection; and a satisfying ending. This year my top five favourites not only had all the essential elements, they all included a…

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The Lost and the Damned by Olivier Norek

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

2 December, 2020

Translated by Nick Caistor — Welcome to Seine-Saint-Denis, also known as the 93. Forget the iconic Eiffel Tower, a walk along the Seine or the quaint coffee shops that Paris conjures up in your mind. This is the underbelly of Paris, the district with the…

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One by One by Ruth Ware

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

23 November, 2020

Ruth Ware has written mysteries and thrillers involving dysfunctional families, toxic friendships and twisted romance. With One by One she wanted to explore a different sort of relationship – that between work colleagues – and how this type of relationship might come under strain when…

Crime Fiction Lover

About author

Facets of Death by Michael Stanley

Sleep Well, My Lady by Kwei Quartey

The Lost and the Damned

Snowdrift by Helene Tursten

Sonja van der Westhuizen: Top five books of 2020

The Lost and the Damned by Olivier Norek

One by One by Ruth Ware

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