The Dark Flood by Deon Meyer

Translated by K.L. Seegers

Summary:

One last chance. Almost fired for insubordination, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves demoted, exiled from the elite Hawks unit and dispatched to the leafy streets of Stellenbosch. Working a missing persons report on student Callie de Bruin is not the level of work they are used to, but it’s all they get. And soon, it takes a dangerous, deeply disturbing turn.

One last chance. Stellenbosch is beautiful, but its economy has been ruined by one man. Jasper Boonstra and his gigantic corporate fraud have crashed the local property market, just when estate agent Sandra Steenberg desperately needs a big sale. Bringing up twins and supporting her academic husband, she is facing disaster. Then she gets a call. From Jasper Boonstra, fraudster, sexual predator and owner of a superb property worth millions, even now.

For Sandra, the stakes are high and about to get way higher.

For Benny Griessel, clinging to sobriety and the relationship that saved his life, the truth about Callie can only lead to more trouble.

Taut with intrigue, murder and suspense, exploding with action and excitement, The Dark Flood is a masterpiece from the author of Trackers and The Last Hunt.

My Review:

Firstly, this is my first novel that I have read by Deon Meyer, and I really do not know how this has happened. The Dark Flood (Hodder & Stoughton) was released on 14th April, and I have to say right now, just how much I really enjoyed reading. Thank you, Sophie Ransom and Hodder & Stoughton, for giving me the chance to read in advance.

I do enjoy a thriller that get off with an explosive start and it really does here. The setting for Deon Meyer’s is South Africa and here in The Dark Flood it is Stellenbosch where detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido are now exiled from the elite Hawks Unit and demoted to patrolling the streets, I guess that is what you get for disobeying a direct order.

Both Griessel and Cupido have been given a missing persons report, a student by the name of Callie du Bruin has disappeared. This is out of character for Callie who has never been in any trouble so what is going on here? For Griessel and Cupido something does not seem quite right. Why would a young man who is close to his mum and studying hard just vanish? As both detectives investigate the case the more, they become concerned that he has not gone voluntarily. As you can imagine his mother is beside herself and is concerned something has happened to Callie.

There is a lot going on in this outstanding crime thriller, this is a complex and complicated case for both the detectives. There is also Sandra Steenberg who is an estate agent, and she has a real problem. She is married and has young children but for some time now she has hidden a secret from her husband, and this is about explode and could wreck all their lives, that is until local fraudster Jasper Boonstra who is a real predator and is seeking to sell one of his major properties. This is a major risk for Sandra, but the commission could ease her problems and save her marriage. But there is much more to this, and the stakes are high. Sandra is desperate but I really liked her story. An intriguing and compelling thriller that has everything that will keep you guessing what twist is coming next and how the two exiled detectives go about solving a difficult and fast paced novel. When people’s lives are at risk you will do whatever, it takes to crack the case and the ending is just an exciting as the beginning of the story. Gripping.

416 Pages.

My thanks to Sophie Ransom (Ransom PR) and Hodder & Stoughton for the review Copy of The Dark Flood by Deon Meyer Published on 14 April 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

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