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Dead at Daybreak

ebook / ISBN-13: 9781848947849

Price: £9.99

ON SALE: 23rd August 2007

Genre: Fiction & Related Items / Thriller / Suspense

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Paperback

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From the author of Thirteen Hours A Sunday Times ‘100 best crime novels and thrillers since 1945’ pick

An antiques dealer is burned with a blowtorch and executed with a single shot to the back of the head. The only clues at the scene are a scrap of paper and an unusual choice of gun.

Ex-cop Zatopek ‘Zed’ van Heerden has just seven days to solve the case – an almost impossible task made even harder when he discovers that, until a few years ago, there was no proof that the victim even existed . . .

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Reviews

Deon Meyer recreates the beauty, wildness, and danger of modern Africa with an immediacy and force no other writer has achieved . . . his work is undeniably "a cause for celebration"
<i>Sunday Telegraph</i>
If DEAD AT DAYBREAK is anything to go by, we are seeing the rise of a major new, international writing talent. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
<i>The Big Issue</i>
Out of post-apartheid South Africa comes a thriller good enough to nip at the heels of le Carré ... Wonderful setting; rich, colourful cast, headed by a valiant/vulnerable protagonist.
<i>Kirkus Reviews</i>*, on HEART OF THE HUNTER
Meyer weaves an impressively tangled web and taut narrative keeps the reader guessing until the last couple of pages
<i>Heat***</i> on DEAD BEFORE DYING
A brilliant book. Deon Meyer does an excellent job of developing a whole range of characters who are affected by the changes in South Africa in different ways. And Thobela, a giant of a man in search of redemption, is a wonderful hero.
Michael Ridpath, author of THE PREDATOR, on HEART OF THE HUNTER
Hooked me right from the start...a thriller with some weight attached and that is a rare find.
Michael Connelly on HEART OF THE HUNTER
'DEAD AT DAYBREAK is a gripping read with a flawed but human protagonist who invites our compassion. This is the second novel by Deon Meyer, a fresh voice and a compelling storyteller'
<i>Manchester Evening News</i>
'Deon Meyer's second foray into the crime thriller genre offers a slick plot, strong characters and a subtle insight into a changing country'
<i>Southern Cross</i>
A brilliant book. Deon Meyer does an excellent job of developing a whole range of characters who are affected by the changes in South Africa in different ways. And Thobela, a giant of a man in search of redemption, is a wonderful hero.
Michael Ridpath, author of THE PREDATOR, on HEART OF THE HUNTER
A highly entertaining, page-turning transposition of the American private eye genre to an exotic and vibrant setting...a terrific new talent
<i>Irish Independent</i>
With simmering racial tensions, a bounty of natural resources, and a government whose members worked both sides of the cold-war fence, South Africa should prove fertile ground for many fine spy thrillers to come. Don't be surprised if quite a few of them are written by Meyer.
<I>Booklist</I>*, on HEART OF THE HUNTER
A highly entertaining, page-turning transposition of the American private eye genre to an exotic and vibrant setting...a terrific new talent
<i>Irish Independent</i>
'Deon Meyer provides us with a gripping mystery solved by dogged legwork and occasional flashes of insight, and with a telling psychological portrait of a man and a nation haunted by a past that combines brilliance with much to be ashamed of'
<i>Amazon.co.uk</i>
Meyer weaves an impressively tangled web and taut narrative keeps the reader guessing until the last couple of pages
<i>Heat***</i> on DEAD BEFORE DYING
A plot-driven page-turner, but clear attention has been paid to character development, motivations and dialogue as well. Joubert is a haunted yet sympathetic protagonist; his character fairly begs for a sequel.
<i>Bookpage</i> on DEAD BEFORE DYING
'Deon Meyer's second foray into the crime thriller genre offers a slick plot, strong characters and a subtle insight into a changing country'
<i>Southern Cross</i>
Like post-war Germany, post-apartheid South Africa offers fertile ground for reflective fiction ... Senior editor at Little, Brown, Judy Clain, a fellow South African, says, "Meyer has an extraordinary landscape - a changed world where the ghosts of the past play a huge role."
<i>Publishers Weekly</i>, on HEART OF THE HUNTER
Meyer subtly juxtaposes the heartbreak of the victims' families with the heartbroken detective assigned to their cases. Using humour and pathos in equal measure, Meyer builds a deeply moving portrait of a man in search of his own dignity, reclaiming his life one pool lap at a time.
<i>Booklist</i> (Starred Review) on DEAD BEFORE DYING
Hooked me right from the start...a thriller with some weight attached and that is a rare find.
Michael Connelly on HEART OF THE HUNTER
Like post-war Germany, post-apartheid South Africa offers fertile ground for reflective fiction ... Senior editor at Little, Brown, Judy Clain, a fellow South African, says, "Meyer has an extraordinary landscape - a changed world where the ghosts of the past play a huge role."
<i>Publishers Weekly</i>, on HEART OF THE HUNTER
With simmering racial tensions, a bounty of natural resources, and a government whose members worked both sides of the cold-war fence, South Africa should prove fertile ground for many fine spy thrillers to come. Don't be surprised if quite a few of them are written by Meyer.
<I>Booklist</I>*, on HEART OF THE HUNTER
Meyer subtly juxtaposes the heartbreak of the victims' families with the heartbroken detective assigned to their cases. Using humour and pathos in equal measure, Meyer builds a deeply moving portrait of a man in search of his own dignity, reclaiming his life one pool lap at a time.
<i>Booklist</i> (Starred Review) on DEAD BEFORE DYING
'DEAD AT DAYBREAK is a gripping read with a flawed but human protagonist who invites our compassion. This is the second novel by Deon Meyer, a fresh voice and a compelling storyteller'
<i>Manchester Evening News</i>
Deon Meyer recreates the beauty, wildness, and danger of modern Africa with an immediacy and force no other writer has achieved . . . his work is undeniably "a cause for celebration"
<i>Sunday Telegraph</i>
If DEAD AT DAYBREAK is anything to go by, we are seeing the rise of a major new, international writing talent. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
<i>The Big Issue</i>
'Deon Meyer provides us with a gripping mystery solved by dogged legwork and occasional flashes of insight, and with a telling psychological portrait of a man and a nation haunted by a past that combines brilliance with much to be ashamed of'
<i>Amazon.co.uk</i>
A plot-driven page-turner, but clear attention has been paid to character development, motivations and dialogue as well. Joubert is a haunted yet sympathetic protagonist; his character fairly begs for a sequel.
<i>Bookpage</i> on DEAD BEFORE DYING
Out of post-apartheid South Africa comes a thriller good enough to nip at the heels of le Carré ... Wonderful setting; rich, colourful cast, headed by a valiant/vulnerable protagonist.
<i>Kirkus Reviews</i>*, on HEART OF THE HUNTER