Random Violence: A Jade de Jong Investigation (Jade de Jong… (edition 2010)

A thrilling crime thriller set in South Africa, which is depicted as a lawless place. Once the situation is set up (a couple chapters), things just keep on happening.

The protagonist Jade is likable, intelligent, and brave. The villains are all sorts of bad, and there are plenty of them. The plot is full of complications. I'm not going to say more about that so I won't give anything away.

There are no boring parts, and no extra parts. Backstory and Jade's life story are integrated in the narrative; so is information about South Africa.

I found Jade's relationship with the authorities a little implausible.

If you want a rainy day's entertainment, you really couldn't do better than this book. ( )

ell plotted and true to the genre of P.I. fiction. Keeps you going. Characters are less developed but the settings are colorful and the action is satisfying. Baddies are better than the good guys, as usual... ( )

This is an engaging mystery, though there are a couple of flaws. The most noticeable is that the basic plot premise—private investigator who is childhood friend of police officer gets officially invited to be an equal partner in murder investigation—was a bit too far-fetched. (Well, unless South African police attitudes and procedures are significantly different from those in the U.S. and Europe.)

However, if you set those types of things aside, this is a well-plotted mystery that won't be immediately tagged as a clone of a dozen other stories. While the reader will figure out some things ahead of the book's protagonist, there are enough twists and turns to keep your attention. There are also a number of detours into side stories for some long-term interest.

Since I'm not South African, I found the setting of the story colorful and fascinating. One word of warning is about the level of violence. The psychopath who inhabits this story is rather gruesome and, though the author doesn't go into extreme detail, she does mention what is done. In a way, this is part of the book's atmosphere: the sense on the part of the upper class that violence is spiraling out of control in South Africa and the drawbridge mentality they have as a reaction to it.

The main character, Jade de Jong, isn't fully developed in this first book but I found her quite appealing and complex: South African but has lived as an expatriate for years while her country changed; willing to work with the police to catch a murderer while planning a bit of revenge execution of her own; underprivileged as a child but the daughter of a famous police officer. I think that it is the character of Jade who will make or break this series. If she continues to flesh out for the reader and maintains her complexity, she will be interesting to follow. ( )

I read this book on my kindle after seeing a post about it through the Kindle Daily Posts. What a find! The book takes place in South Africa and features PI Jade DeJong who has just returned to Johannesburg, South Africa after a decade away. She had grown up there, the daughter of the Police Commissioner, and was always interested in investigating crimes. After her father was murdered she left South Africa. Now that she has returned she is committed to taking her revenge on the person who killed him. While she is planning her revenge she is asked to assist the current commissioner, a family friend and a person Jade has feelings for, to help in the investigation of a murder. Through a number of twists and turns you feel Jade's challenge of dealing on both sides of the law. The plot is great with lots of twists and turns, the characters are well developed and very real, the relationships between characters are complex, and pace is very fast. This is an author I will follow and hope to see new books in this series! Take a chance and read this one. ( )

Jade de Jong is back in South Africa for one reason, to avenge the death of her father. His killer is being released from jail and Jade is planning to be his sole welcoming committee. And she's planning to make it a short party. Her return isn't quite as simple as she'd expected, the country has changed, as much as the people she'd left behind, but not for the better.

David Patel, her old neighbor, is a Superintendent now and he asks for her help in clearing up a career damaging case. As Jade investigates she starts unraveling connections that lead her in a very sinister direction and on a path to an unexpected revenge.

For readers of international crime. ( )