Dead at Daybreak

In South Africa Zatopek (Zet to his friends) van Heerden is an ex cop now working, reluctantly, as a private detective. Lawyer Hope Beneke hires him to find the will of an antiques dealer called Johannes Jacobus Smit who was killed in his home nearly a year earlier. If the will is not found within seven days Hope’s client, Wilna van As who was Smit’s live-in partner, will not receive any of Smit’s estate. One thread of this book takes off then as a fairly standard, if action-packed, procedural that counts back from Day 7 through van Heerden’s investigation into what happened to Smit and where the will might have ended up. The other thread of the book, revealed in alternating chapters, is a recounting of Zet’s life from his show more childhood onwards to his present circumstance of being self-proclaimed trash with evil in his heart.

The flawed protagonist is certainly not a new invention but I did find myself completely engaged by Zet van Heerden whose route to personal destruction is far from run-of-the-mill. The son of a miner and an artist, Zet’s journey to becoming a policeman and profiler is revealed in such a way that it feels perfectly natural and entirely believable even though it described many events which are completely foreign to me. One of the things that I like most about the characterisation of Zet is that although he’s depicted as quite sad, even depressed at times, he’s not always so and he does maintain some healthy relationships. For example he’s very close to his mother, the only woman he cooks for, and manages to make great friends with some unlikely people along the way even if he struggles to find the kind of love his father and mother shared.

The plot is quite complicated, with both threads getting sidetracked at times, but I found it remarkably easy to follow which is a credit to both Meyer’s writing and the excellent translation from Afrikaans by Madeleine Van Biljon which has retained all the bantering and colloquialisms that are sometimes lost in translated novels. As often happens with thrillers I did find the ending a teeny bit disappointing in terms of the alarming number of testosterone fueled shoot-outs that took place, but overall it was interestingly paced, full of suspense and quite unpredictable. Along the way there are some absolutely beautiful vignettes, such as when Zet and Hope discuss their personal feelings about the country’s referendum on apartheid in 1992 or when Tiny Mpayipheli, a man Zet engages to protect his mother when the search for the will gets dangerous, describes a rugby match he played in the Soviet Union.

Dead at Daybreak is a little more noir than what I tend to think of as ‘my’ kind of crime fiction but I found it captivating. Alongside the male-dominated narrative and the shootouts at the end there’s plenty of heart and intelligence in this book which made it a very satisfying reading experience for me. Saul Reichlin added to my enjoyment with his wonderful narration which included excellent South African accents that helped make me feel like I was half a world away and he might just have the sexiest voice I’ve heard on an audio book. Ever. show less

Hope Beneke is running out of time. With only a week to find a missing will for her client, the mistress of a murdered man, she turns to private investigator Zatopek van Heerden. Van Heerden had been a police officer, but he left the force five years earlier after a trauma so terrible that he has suppressed the memories. While combing through the police reports from the murder investigation, van Heerden spots an angle that the police didn't investigate. Since it seems to be the only lead, van Heerden follows it. The trail leads to unexpected revelations about the dead man and to some very dangerous associates from his past. Now van Heerden isn't just racing against the clock. He's also trying to catch a killer before the killer catches show more him.

This book seems like a cross between Tom Clancy and Tana French. Although van Heerden used to be a policeman and there are police investigators involved in the criminal investigation, most of the action revolves around military, special forces, and mercenaries. Meyer's novels seem to be related to each other in the same way that Tana French's are. While the same characters appear in many of the novels, the protagonist changes with each novel. Thobela Mpayipheli and Mat Joubert have supporting roles in this novel, and each has a central role in another of Meyer's novels. The high body count, the profanity, and the sexual content may be too much for some readers. It exceeded my comfort level so I probably won't seek out any more books by this author. Although the book contains many elements I didn't like, I was impressed by the author's skill. The race against time to find the missing will alternates with van Heerden's back story, gradually revealing the cause of his psychological damage. The construction of the plot and the pacing are very effective. Readers who enjoy this type of crime thriller should add Meyer to their list of must-read authors. show less

The best of the (three) Meyer titles I have read to date. Good plot, good pace, and the subplots concerning the main character's previous career are interesting and not out of place. Van Heerden has baggage and is not an althoughter sympathetic main character, but his attempt at redemption does garner some sympathy. South Africa is ever central and adds to the interest level. A good investigative thriller.

This is vintage Deon Meyer. Which means that the story is set in a contemporary South Africa, in which individuals suffer under the spell the past, an apartheid legacy that is still present today. But Deon is too good a story teller, too much a social thinker, and too well immersed in his material, to let clichés get the better of him. While the topics he addresses tend to be 'comprehensive' (violence, political strife, underachievement of the police, township thugs gone philospher/philantropist, depression, border wars, political correctness) he addresses them so vividly and with such a keen eye, as well as understanding, that the reader - even the one who knows a little bit himself about this country - is never disappointed, and show more actually can learn something.

But also on the level of pure action and adventure, this novel satisfies. Okay, Deon is a sucker for romaticism, but why shouldn't he be? Overall though, his heroes (and anti-heroes) are made of flesh and blood, and the challenges they face seem 'real to life'. In the case of this particular novel there is even a touch of Murakami to be spotted (the detective with a preference for classical music and pasta!), which works here as well.

I would recommend Deon's thrillers to anyone, anywhere. Even though I preferred Devil's Peak to this one, the book still left me in an enduring state of joy (while I was reading and after). I certainly can't wait for the next one to come, it's called 'Blood safari'. show less

There's a blurb on the back of the U.S. paperback that claims Meyer has created the perfect mystery; he hasn't, but it's not far off, in my opinion, so I was really surprised to see ratings of 1 and 2 stars from other readers.

I'm not a big reviewer of books and I detest reviews that re-hash the story, so don't look for that here (go to any Amazon site if you want that). I've now read all three of Meyer's books, with this one being the best (though not by much), and it's clear Meyer likes to write about characters with damaged psyches, how those psyches became damaged and how the circumstances of the stories begin the healing process; very character driven stuff, but with plenty of action and well-constructed dialogue.

Also of interest show more to me are the, mostly, Cape Town, South Africa settings of the stories. Having lived all my life in California, all I really knew about South Africa were the names of a few tennis players/golfers, Nelson Mandela, apartheid (the word, but not really the struggle to end it), diamonds and Krugerrands, and that the bad guys in Lethal Weapon II came from there; rather sad, but the settings of these books have inspired me to read up on South Africa, past and present, and it's fascinating stuff.

Dead at Daybreak doesn't get a five-star rating only because I thought the explanation of the driving force behind the main character's self-loathing, when eventually revealed, didn't go far enough (i.e., for those of you who read it, what happened to "the One?"); otherwise, it's a damned fine read. show less

Protagonist: former police officer, Zatopek van Heerden
Setting: Present-day South Africa

First Line: "He woke abruptly out of an alcohol-sodden sleep, the pain in his ribs his first conscious sensation."

Van Heerden is a former police officer with past tragedies he cannot forget. He reluctantly agrees to work for a lawyer who gives him seven days to find a dead man's will. The more van Heerden searches into the dead man's past, the more unanswered questions he finds--and people who want the questions to remain unanswered. Although I had a difficult time trying not to mentally clout the main character upside the head with a cast iron skillet, I enjoyed this book. Van Heerden does have a tragic past, but as the details of said past show more unraveled, it sounded more like whining than explanation. I have no patience with whiners, hence the skillet. But the story is an interesting one in the way that it unfolds, and I enjoyed the South African setting. I wouldn't mind reading more of Meyers' books even though I won't race right out to do so. show less

This was, compelling. Nothing special in the hero. He's a fallen hero, angsty over his tragic past. Be a man, nancy boy. Meyer has a certain limited knowledge of small arms, he needs some more. I thought the heroes were post-apartheid sissies and naturally the villians were racist. Take a stand, you can have a character that is a good guy that doesn't like or agree with the rest of the heroes. God help me, it's the only credit I can give to JK Rowling's Snape. What did I find compelling about it? I have a soft spot for the old South Africa and Rhodesia. If you don't, don't read it, the self pity is tiresome. I may try more of his work, if this isn't a series.