About The Book

When Deon Meyer’s Thirteen Hours won the Barry Award for Best Thriller in 2011, one of international crime fiction’s most electrifying writers finally began to get the American attention he so richly deserves. With seven novels published in twenty languages, Meyer has set countless hearts racing with gripping stories that mix the violence, politics, natural beauty, and history of his native South Africa

In Thirteen Hours, homicide detective Bennie Griessel struggled to solve the murder of an American girl, find her missing friend, and avoid drinking again, all in a single day. In Seven Days, Griessel is given another nearly impossible task. Two police officers have been shot, and the department has received an e-mail from the shooter alleging a cover up in a cold case. He threatens more violence until the case is solved.

The case in question is the murder of Hanneke Sloet, an ambitious lawyer stabbed to death in her luxury apartment. There’s no apparent motive and no leads, just a set of nude photographs and an ex-boyfriend with a rock-solid alibi. Then more policemen are shot and the pressure mounts. Can Bennie solve the case and stay sober? Seven Days is a gripping adventure by a fantastic writer at the top of his game.

Praise

“Sleekly done crime fiction layered with the cultural complexities of the new South Africa.” —Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist

“Meyer is good with sexy plot complications, and the mysteries of Sloet’s murder and the sniper’s identity take interesting turns along the way. But the book’s main strength is in its characters . . . Griessel himself is no typical action hero . . . Griessel is flawed but likable, and his trials give a bittersweet edge to a strong mystery.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A perfect example of why [Meyer] is, in my opinion, one of the very best crime fiction authors in the world today. . . . Seven Days is a marvelous crime novel which must be a strong contender for best crime novel of 2012.” —Maxine Clark, Eurocrime

“Deon Meyer continues his string of superb, tightly constructed timeline thrillers. Coming on the heels of the breath-holding Thirteen Hours, Seven Days takes us into the heart of a major police hunt for a killer targeting policemen as he demands the investigation of a seemingly unsolvable cold case.” —Margaret Cannon, Globe & Mail

Excerpt

Griessel dug the remote out of his jacket pocket, automatically, his head was dull. He found it, pointed it at the gate. It began to move, reluctantly.

He heard the smack, felt the light shock through the steering wheel.

He swore, a half-formed thought—the front tire, he must have driven over a nail. An unwillingness to accept the implications, he didn’t want to change a tire at this time of the night.

Another smacking sound. Only then did everything come into focus—someone was shooting at him. The window right beside him exploded.