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The Dark Flood

A Times Thriller of the Month

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The Dark Flood

By: Deon Meyer, KL Seegers - translator
Narrated by: Saul Reichlin
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About this listen

 'The undisputed champion of South African crime' - Wilbur Smith

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.

'One of the best crime writers on the planet' - Daily Mail

(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2021 Deon Meyer Crime Thrillers Modern Detectives Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Thriller Fiction Crime Suspense

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Critic reviews

Many writers treat character and context as window-dressing for their plots. Meyer roots his novels in them. This makes Griessel's fate important to the reader and gives Meyer's writing the heft of Table Mountain, as well as its ability to take your breath away
Deon Meyer's Benny Griessel novels, featuring a detective in an elite crime squad in Cape Town, are a joy to read... Meyer has become an outstanding chronicler of South Africa's corruption
Is Deon Meyer the most accomplished South African crime novelist in the history of the genre? The Dark Flood is further evidence of that assertion...every word earns its place, and there's no stinting on the usual nuanced critique of South African politics
In a thriller packed with intrigue and biting social commentary, Meyer proves he is South Africa's finest crime writer
Stellar ... [a] wholly satisfying conclusion. This is the best work yet from this gifted author
Meyer handles the complicated plot with panache
A fast-moving South African police procedural . . . The plotlines are tightly knitted together, and the story ends with a nifty twist. A well-crafted blend of suspense, culture, and humour. Meyer is terrific
A slick thriller full of acid commentary on corruption in modern SA
Achieves a fine mix of suspense, action, political intrigue and personal revelation
Fans of Jo Nesbø's similarly character-driven Harry Hole mysteries will find lots to like here
Meyer brings readers another tense thriller with meticulous plotting, delving into corruption in South Africa's power structures, police abuses, and land schemes . . . Meyer is one of today's most skilled crime craftsmen
Absorbing procedural details lead to an explosive confrontation with a ruthless street gang and a police-corruption scheme that links SAPS to the country's devastating political scandals. It's a grim period for South Africa, but Griessel and Caputo remain loyal to justice and to each other. A gritty but surprisingly hopeful instalment in Meyer's immensely popular series
Tense and compelling, this is classic Meyer (Sarah Ward, author of the DC Childs series)
PRAISE FOR DEON MEYER:
Up there with the best in the world
The undisputed champion of South African crime
Meyer's humane and engaging characters are indeed among "the best of the best"
A powerful exploration of humanity at its best and worst . . . simply stunning
Great stuff
One of the best crime writers on the planet
Meyer is the Monarch of South African crime novelists.
All stars
Most relevant
Another good story with the usual easy flow. Audio quality not up to the usual standard, with some edits very obvious, but Saul Reichlin still a top narrator.

Thoroughly enjoyable overall.

A solid story

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Deon Meyer is an outstanding storyteller and Saul Reichlin an excellent narrator. Top quality entertainment all around

Entertaining

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Demoted and sent into exile, Benny and Vaughn do a 'Bosch'. An initially minor investigation expands rapidly in depth and complexity into a huge investigation. As usual, Meyer weaves multiple narratives together masterfully. Even the final line of the whole book is a peach.

Not being an Afrikaner, I have no idea if the concerns of a mother from that community whose student son has not been in touch with her for just a weekend would be taken seriously by the SPS in real life. But it is in this book. It's a jarring moment. Assigning two detectives to a missing person case on these grounds seems unlikely and an enormous waste of resources. As is triggering a high profile 'child abduction' alert for a male university student. If all that were true, every time a hungover student failed to ring their parents, the police service would become so swamped that no other crime could be investigated. It's a weakness of the story, and puzzling that Meyer did not fix that. Other than that it is an absorbing and exciting tale.

Great narration by Saul Reichlin, of course.

One of Meyer's Best Tales

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Deon Meyer’s best book so far. Fast paced, a rich palette of interesting, credible characters and great dialogues.

Great story!

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Really enjoyed the storyline and have found Saul Reichlin to be a brilliant narrator. I found the production was poor with sound levels changing between paragraphs at times. I have listened to all the Benny Griesel books on here and this production is the only one that could do with a bit of editing.

Would still listen to again though

Great story, a few sound issues

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