Weeping Waters - by Karin Brynard (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

First in the series starring a South African police detective: "[A] picturesque backdrop, cast of authentic characters, and knotty story line" (Publishers Weekly).

Shortlisted for the International Dagger Award and Winner of the University of Johannesburg Debut PrizeInsp.

Albertus Markus Beeslaar is a traumatized cop who has abandoned tough city policing and a broken relationship in Johannesburg for a backwater post on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. But his dream of rural peace is soon shattered by the repeated attacks of a brutally efficient crime syndicate, as he struggles to train and connect with rookie local cops Ghaap and Pyl, who resent his brusqueness and his old-school ways.
A beautiful and eccentric artist and her four-year-old adopted daughter are murdered on a local farm, and angry white farmers point to her enigmatic Bushman farm manager as a key suspect. Along with Ghaap and Pyl, Beeslaar is plunged into the intrigue and racial tensions of the community, and finds that violence knows no geographical or ethnic boundaries.
Weeping Waters marks the beginning of a great new series with a striking setting, a strong ensemble of characters, and suspenseful storylines.

"Brooding. Riveting. Brilliant."--Deon Meyer, author of Blood Safari

Review Quotes

"Weeping Waters is a deeply moving detective story [...] The story is unhurried, at times downright slow, as the tapestry of people and culture is woven, a weakness overcome by the tale's rich characterization, particularly that of Beeslaar, and the mystery's satisfying conclusion."--Mystery Scene

"The Afrikaans Stieg Larsson."--Rooi Rose (South Africa)

"[An] impressive debut novel [...] [C]rime fiction fans will find the picturesque backdrop, cast of authentic characters, and knotty story line to be more than satisfying."--Publishers Weekly

"For years Afrikaans readers have been raving about the talented Brynard - now with this translation...English-speaking book fanatics will get to find out for themselves what all the fuss is about." --YOU Magazine

"Weeping Waters...is brimming with authenticity. A lucent tale of farm murder and rural society in the vice of social pressures, with the translation beautifully done by Maya Fowler and Isobel Dixon."
--William Saunderson-Meyer, Sunday Times, 2014 Best Reads

"Weeping Waters is a great, gripping read and sometimes you don't know whether to laugh or cry." --Ornico

"An assured debut - intriguing from its inception, punchy, gritty, by turns gruesome, sensitive, dense and ever evocative... Ultimately what Weeping Waters gets spot on is the introduction of another compelling leading man, an indisputably good man, who can allow readers in English to traverse the diverse social strata that make South Africa such a fertile ground for its skilled writers." --Cape Times

"Weeping Waters is crime fiction you never want to end. You never want it to end because you are intrigued by the story, fascinated by the characters (the dogmatic Inspector Beeslaar, the vulnerable but brave Sara, the enigmatic Dam de Kok, let alone the rest of an instantly recognisable cast), and seduced by the landscape. Weeping Waters is also a book of its time. It is a gauge of our society, of our political and social temperature. Buy this book. Crime fiction doesn't get any better. High praise doesn't come close to doing justice to this book." --Mike Nicol, author of Payback and the Revenge Series

"A riveting thriller that explores South Africa's conflict-ridden past."
--Sawubona

"Brynard weaves the hardness and the vastness of the Kalahari, the peoples of this remote land and their own history and well-formed characters together in a way that one only realises afterwards that one has got so much more than a whodunit."
--Renée Rautenbach, Pretoria News

"Weeping Waters is a great, gripping read and sometimes you don't know when to laugh or cry... a taut and tense, mesmerising plot."
--Business Day Live

About the Author

Karin Brynard is a former political and investigative journalist and uses her research skills and eye for detail to fascinating effect in Weeping Waters. She is, today, one of Penguin South Africa's biggest authors.

Maya Fowler is a novelist, editor and translator living in Cape Town, South Africa. Her debut novel, The Elephant In The Room, (Kwela, 2009) was shortlisted for the Herman Charles Bosman prize.

Isobel Dixon was born and educated in South Africa, and in Edinburgh where she completed Master's degrees in English Literature and Applied Linguistics. She has translated novels from the Afrikaans and her debut poetry collection Weather Eye (Carapace, 2001) won the Sanlam and the Olive Schreiner Prizes in South Africa. Dixon is Head of Books and a Director of the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, where she represents writers from around the world, among them Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers and international prize winners.