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Loading... Let the Dead Lie #2by Malla Nunn
Work InformationLet the Dead Lie by Malla Nunn
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Detective Emmanuel Cooper has lost his job, but not his passion. Working ostesibly as a nightwatchman at the Durban docks in South Africa, he is moonlighting for his former boss, Major von Niekirk when a young slumdweller/gofer dies from a slashed throat. Befriending a working girl, with a myriad of underworld contacts, Cooper is arrested for the murder and then released for 48 hours to solve the crime and bring those responsible to justice. ( ) Let the Dead Lie is set in 1950s port town of Durban, South Africa where former Detective Emmanuel Cooper is dealing with the aftermath of inflaming the Security Branch in A Beautiful Place to Die. With no police badge and a different race identification card, Cooper now works undercover in the Victory Shipyards doing surveillance for his former boss, Colonel Van Niekerk. When Emmanuel discovers the dead body of a ten-year old white errand boy, he cannot let the crime go even though he know it will cause him serious problems. As he becomes a suspect in the crime he's given 48 hours to solve it or end up in jail as the murderer. Several complications and interwoven connections expose layers of corruption and danger. The plot takes so many twists and turns that it isn't possible to guess the outcome. The story gets more and more intriguing as the real facts of the boy's killing are exposed with countless characters, policemen and spies. The boy's killing is only a small part of this story. This suspenseful novel is taut, well written and tightly paced. The reader is immersed into the culture and the atmospherics of the unjust and complex color dynamics of South Africa. Throughout the novel, we are confronted with the race laws and the cruel realities of living at a time where identity is granted only through being officially white. This book develops the series with a more intimate look at Emmanuel Cooper and moves the series forward in a new and interesting plot twist. The insights into his character become even more fascinating here as past and present combine to create one of the most fascinating literary characters I've ever read about. Sometimes an author's work will just “grab” you. This has been my experience so I can't recommend this series enough. Nunn once again gives us a very revealing glimpse into South African life under the ruling National Party's segregation laws. I thought the first book in the series, A Beautiful Place to Die, was excellent. Unfortunately this second book was a struggle to read due to the inclusion of too much from the previous book and an absolutely glacial pace. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement; however, because of that first book, I will continue with the series. In the sequel to A Beautiful Place to Die, Emmanuel Cooper, no longer a detective, is working undercover for his former major when he stumbles across the body of a young boy; he can't resist working the case, which results in his being framed for three murders, and he must work against the clock to identify the real killer. This is more of a thriller than a mystery/police procedural, as A Beautiful Place to Die was, although they should be read in order as characters and plot points from the first book are important in the sequel, and a reader new to the series would probably feel lost. The historical setting of Durban, South Africa, in the mid-1950s was vividly portrayed, playing up the awful racial stratifications of the country at the time. However, the plot wasn't as compelling as I would like, despite the "race against time" aspect of it, because it unwound more as a spy thriller than a mystery, and I wasn't that invested in the outcome. I probably won't continue with this series. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesEmmanuel Cooper (2)
From the award-winning author of A Beautiful Place to Die comes the next sensational instalment featuring the charismatic detective Emmanuel Cooper.Patrolling the freight yards one evening, Emmanuel stumbles upon the body of a young white boy and the detective in him cannot, or will not, walk away. When two more bodies are discovered at Emmanuel's boarding house, he unwittingly becomes the prime suspect in a triple murder case.At van Neikerk's behest, Emmanuel is given a 48-hour reprieve to clear his name and - unofficially - try and solve the murders. And so, temporarily back to being a European Detective Sergeant, he launches headlong into the criminal underworld of Durban, a viper's nest of prostitution, drug running and violence run by a colourful cast of characters including two wannabe Indian gangsters; a mysterious figure who drives a white De Soto convertible; a Zion Gospel preacher; king of the underworld Mr Khan; and the exquisite yet streetwise Lana, who also happens to be Emmanuel's boss's mistress... No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.92Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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