About The Book

South Africa’s preeminent crime fiction writer, Deon Meyer is internationally acclaimed for his razor’s-edge thrillers, unforgettable characters, and nuanced portrayals of contemporary life in his native country. The fifth pulse-pounder starring Captain Benny Griessel, a lead detective in South Africa’s priority crimes unit, delves into the country’s burgeoning tech and wine industries.

A week before Christmas, a young photographer discovers a plastic-wrapped corpse amidst the sand dunes north of Cape Town. The only thing found on the corpse is a dead iPhone, but it doesn’t take long for the police to identify the body as that of Ernst Richter–the tech whiz behind MyAlibi, an Internet service that provides unfaithful partners with sophisticated cover stories to hide an affair. Meanwhile, Benny Griessel is called to the scene of a multiple homicide involving a former colleague, and four years of sobriety are undone on the spot. He emerges from his drunken haze determined to quit the force, but the indomitable Major Mbali Kaleni, now his boss, wants Griessel on the Richter case. The high-profile murder has already been the subject of fierce media speculation, with questions swirling about the potential for motive: Could the perpetrator be one of the countless jilted spouses? An aggrieved client?

Before the week is out, an unexpected connection to a storied family winery comes to light, and Griessel’s reputation is again on the line. Mounting toward a startling conclusion, Icarus is another exceptional novel from the “King of South African Crime.”

Praise

“Deon Meyer’s name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.” —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Playing with Fire

“Meyer delivers another expertly crafted thriller that feels exceptionally timely.” —Booklist

“Excellent . . . The richness of the characters, especially the multifaceted Benny, elevates this above most contemporary police procedurals.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Present[s] an unvarnished picture of the social divisions in post-apartheid South Africa.” —Lorien Kite, Financial Times (Best Books of 2015)

Awards

Shortlisted for the 2016 CWA International Dagger Award
Shortlisted for the 2016 Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice Award
An Amazon Best Book of the Month
Named a Best Book of the Year by the Boston Globe and Financial Times
One of Publishers Weekly‘s Best Audiobooks of 2015

Excerpt

Cupido’s face was somber as he approached.

“Benna, you don’t need to go inside. Our work here is done.” Griessel could hear the tone in his colleague’s voice, the false businesslike note hiding his dismay.

“I didn’t drive all this way to . . . What’s going on, Vaughn? What happened here?”

“Trust me, Benna, please. It’s an open-and-shut, let’s go.”

Benny felt his temper rising. What was wrong with Cupido? “Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or must I see for myself?”

“Benna, for once in your life, trust me.”

“Jissis,” said Griessel and began walking towards the front door.

“It’s Vollie,” said Cupido.

Griessel froze. “Vollie?”

“Ja. Our Vollie. And his family.”

Adjutant Tertius van Vollenhoven, who had worked with both of them before, back when the Provincial Detective Branch still existed. Vollie, who went home on weekends and brought back seafood for the whole team on Mondays.

The man who had caught two serial killers on the Cape Flats in four years, through endless patience and dedication. And then he left. He said he had done his bit, he wanted a quieter life, wanted to save his marriage, wanted to see his children grow up. But everyone knew it was the trauma of the investigations.

“What happened, Vaughn?”

Cupido’s voice was barely a whisper. “Vollie shot them, last night, and then shot himself.”

“Vollie?”

“Yes, Benna.”