7 Days

Critics Review

• The reader is plunged into a maelstrom of murder investigation, political corruption, racial tension and the clock is ticking for that all-too-human cop Benny Griessel who is also fighting his battle with alcohol on an emotional second front this time . . . Deon Meyer is a top notch plotter and has created one of the best ensemble (and multi-racial) casts of any modern police procedural series.

  Shots

• How fulfilling the rewards are for those seeking crime fiction with real texture and intelligence . . . The author presents an unsparing picture of social divisions in post-apartheid South Africa . . . TRACKERS is a sprawling, invigorating and socially committed crime novel.

  Independent

• An ambitious, multi-threaded tale . . . comprehensively pulling the reader into the melee of modern South Africa . . . this is a book that tells a cracking story and captures the criminal kaleidoscope of a nation.

  Times Literary Supplement

• Meyer is the leading chronicler of South Africa, and his latest novel shows off his technical skill . . . a dazzling performance.

  Sunday Times Books of the Year 2011

• This year’s great discovery: classy, edgy writing, subtly plotted and beautifully balanced between fast-paced action, pungent social comment and the process of investigation.

  Weekend Australian

• The Thriller Shot of the Year title goes to South African Deon Meyer for his superb tour-de-force TRACKERS which combines a spy plot worthy of Le Carre (“spy the beloved country”) with several tense and violent criminal sub-plots and a complex and stunningly impressive narrative structure. All in all, a masterpiece of South African crime writing; which is rapidly proving to be the bench-mark of international crime fiction.’

  Shots

• This South African kind of crime is going global fast. TRACKERS shows why: three deftly-braided plot strands join political sophistication, strongly-drawn characters and a passionate concern with the Rainbow Nation’s fate.

  i

• An unusually intriguing story about modern South Africa.

  Literary Review

• The book that stayed with me most from this year is Deon Meyer’s TRACKERS . . . a dazzling performance.

  Joan Smith, Sunday Times books of the year 2011

• Critics were struggling to come up with new adjectives to praise the South African writer Deon Meyer’s TRACKERS, a menacing tale of smuggling and disappearances on a sprawling canvas of post-apartheid South Africa.

  Independent Books of the Year

• The author is proclaimed to be “South Africa’s answer to Stieg Larsson” in a banner headline on the cover. I wouldn’t disagree with that. He is certainly as powerful a writer, although his style is slightly different, and considerably more complex . . . this is one of the most absorbing crime stories you are ever likely to read.

  Shots

• Meyer’s ambition matches his execution in this brilliantly complex standalone thriller set in his native South Africa . . . Few readers will anticipate exactly how the separate plot strands will be resolved. This powerhouse read, which captures the many facets of modern South Africa, should be the American breakthrough book this talented author deserves.

  Publishers Weekly Starred Review

• Award-winning crime fiction author Meyer demonstrates his superb gift for bringing together several disparate plots, striking characters, and vividly drawn scenes of contemporary South Africa, all roaring towards a climax with more than one surprise . . . With a fine eye for detail, an unflattering image of South African culture, and clear sympathy for the downtrodden, Meyer still never loses his focus on page-turning suspense and riveting mystery. Highly recommended.

  Library Journal Starred Review

• Publishers and booksellers trumpet that “South Africa is the new Scandinavia” when it comes to crime writing and that Deon Meyer is “South Africa’s Answer to Stieg Larsson”. He’s not; he’s far better . . . With TRACKERS I would suggest he has moved into the John le Carré class, and not simply because one of the plot lines is about the workings of a South African security department and the political in-fighting involved, but mainly because this is a book which is a great thriller and a fine novel of characterisation. Indeed, the cast of characters is diverse (morally as well as ethnically) but every single one is fully-formed and three-dimensional and they all play their parts in a complex triple-stranded plot.

  Shots

• Without doubt one of the brightest stars to emerge from the Southern African crime scene is Deon Meyer. A big, complex novel, it skilfully weaves together three separate storylines, and three different forms of crime-writing, into a cohesive and fascinating whole . . . The result is a very powerful thriller that sweeps the reader up in its gritty portrayal of modern South Africa . . . Meyer’s mixture of compelling, believable characters, tense plotting and fascinating insights into the texture of everyday South Africa make TRACKERS one of the year’s better crime novels.

  Canberra Times

• Being hailed as the finest novel yet from an author whose reputation is growing around the world. Deon Meyer, is building a steady collection of awards for his books and an international fan base.

  Hobart Mercury

• One of the sharpest and most perceptive thriller writers around

  Peter Millar, The Times, on DEVIL'S PEAK

• Far and away the best crime writer in South Africa

  Guardian on BLOOD SAFARI

• This guy is really good. Deon Meyer hooked me with this one right from the start.

  Michael Connelly on HEART OF THE HUNTER