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Dead at Daybreak

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Dead at Daybreak

By: Deon Meyer
Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
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About this listen

 A South African antiques dealer is murdered with a single bullet from an M-16 assault rifle. The contents of his safe are missing, and the only clues are a scrap of blank paper and the unusual weapon used: a gun that's generally the choice of mercenaries, not burglars. Now ex-cop Zed van Heerden has seven days to fill in the blanks in this dead man's past - a past that appears only to start in 1983.©2003 Deon Meyer (P)2003 W.F. Howes Ltd Action & Adventure Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Meyer keeps the suspense moving throughout the third-person narrative, alternating back and forth with van Heerden's own first-person account of his past. This is a remarkable achievement from a singular new talent." ( Publishers Weekly)
"The author once again mines South Africa's fertile history of racial conflict and cold war gamesmanship for a narrative gem." ( Booklist)
All stars
Most relevant
Reasonable read, but can see that Deon Meyer had a long way to go before writing entertaining reads like the Benny Griessel series and Fever.

Deon Meyer pre Benny Griessel

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This is not a mindless thriller or 'whodunnit'. It has well developed characters, a plausible storyline, dry wit and irony, thoughtful insights and a great conclusion. I was riveted by the plot, the people and the author's comments about the dark side of every man. It ended too quickly.

Saul Reichlin does an excellent job at narration, and gets the accents and pronunciation of words correct. This adds to the authenticity of the story, and brings it to life even more. Some of the language is raw, but it fits in with the story. Don't play it with children in the car.

Raw harsh reality faced by a policeman with brains

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My first Deon Meyer novel and I found it thoroughly enjoyable: good characters, back story and plot, and narrated in a lively and involving way.

Recommended.

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Gripping story, beautifully narrated. I'm running out of Deon Meyer books and will be hard pressed to find another author/narrator combination to match this quality.

Exceptional

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I've been avoiding stories with violence recenlty, but having read other Deon Meyer books, I took a chance on this one. Deon Meyer has the feel for South African ways of being that go deep. It's not always easy to listen to, but then a moment of humour pushes in and you can relax. Congratulations to Saul Reichlin, for his performance which created visual images so vivid, I might have been watching a film.

A South African telling a SA story for everyone

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