Publishing Deal - M D Villiers

I've received this press release today with details of a publishing deal for M D Villiers:

Alison Hennessey, Senior Crime Editor at Harvill Secker, has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights including Canada for two books from debut crime author M. D. Villiers. The first book will be titled Western Deep.

Alison Hennessey at Harvill Secker says: ‘Western Deep is an incredibly compelling read, with a central character you’re rooting for from the very first page. Everyone I have shared it with so far here at Random House has fallen in love with Martie’s writing, and I know that she has a very bright career ahead of her.’

M. D. Villiers was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger in 2007.

McCarthy Letswe, notorious South African crime lord, has returned to Johannesburg after several years in exile, determined to wreak his revenge on Abaju, the Nigerian gangster responsible for Letswe’s departure, who has now taken his place at the head of the criminal hierarchy. Caught up in the turf war between the two ruthless gang leaders is Siphiwe – a 19 year old orphan determined not to let the brutality around him detract from his dreams of a better life. But as the violence on the streets intensifies, and the danger to those he loves most increases, Siphiwe is soon forced to seek help amongst criminals and police alike.

Upcoming African Crime Fiction

Here's another of my occasional posts about African Crime Fiction. You won't find these authors, with the exception of Margie Orford who was born in London, in the bibliography section of Euro Crime but there are reviews of Deon Meyer's and Michael Stanley's books on the review page.

Here are some upcoming titles for late summer/autumn:

Daddy's Girl by Margie Orford (1 August)
Friday evening. A deserted street below Table Mountain. A six-year-old ballerina waits alone for her mother to fetch her. Then an unmarked car approaches, and she is gone. With no trace of where, or why she's been abducted, suspicion falls on her divorced father, Captain Riedwaan. The boss of Cape Town's gang unit, Riedwaan is tough and ruthless, a man accustomed to being in control. But now he is powerless. Suspended from the squad for wasting police time, Riedwaan watches helplessly as the search for his daughter is called off. In desperation, Riedwaan turns to investigative journalist and police profiler Dr Clare Hart, whose brutal TV documentary about Cape Town's missing young girls has made her something of a local celebrity. Clare has seen how aspiring gangsters in the Cape Flats ghetto prove their worth by tormenting children. She knows that the odds of a victim's survival worsen with each passing minute. She understands that finding the child without police involvement will be difficult, dangerous, and probably illegal. But she also knows she'll do anything to help this heartbroken father - even if it puts all their lives at risk.

Trackers by Deon Meyer tr. K L Seegers (1 September)
A housewife running from years of domestic abuse. A bodyguard hired to escort a smuggled rhinoceros. A group of Islamic terrorists based in a quiet residential street. A secret government agency threatened with amalgamation within a bigger department. A retired policeman trying to get used to his new career in the private sector.Each of these strands of a brilliant narrative is populated with superbly-drawn characters, and woven into a stunningly exciting drama by the undisputed king of South African suspense fiction. Not only a heart-pounding thriller, but also a love story and a fabulous kaleidoscopic picture of South African society, this is the finest novel yet from an author whose reputation is growing all around the world.


Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (1 September)
The third novel in the fantastic Detective 'Kubu' Bengu crime series is set in the southern Kalahari area of Botswana - a place full of buried lost cities, incredible hidden wealth, ancient gods and, for thousands of years, home to the nomadic Bushmen. When a fractious ranger named Monzo is found dead, fallen into a donga - a dry ravine - surrounded by three Bushmen, the local police arrest the nomads. Detective 'Kubu' Bengu is on the case, which reunites him with his old school friend Khumanego, a Bushman and now an advocate for his people. Khumanego believes the arrests are motivated by racist antagonism from the police, as the Bushmen are claiming that they were at the murder scene because they were trying to help. Soon after Monzo's death, Detective 'Kubu' learns of another case involving two botany students on their way back from a specimen-collecting trip but who were later found dead, seemingly poisoned, at a campground. Could the deaths be connected?

The Delta by Tony Park (29 September (paperback)
After a failed assassination attempt on the president of Zimbabwe, ex-soldier turned mercenary Sonja Kurtz is on the run. She heads for her only place of refuge, the Okavango Delta in the heart of Botswana. She's keen to forget her warrior lifestyle - it's time for an easy life. But then Sonja discovers that the Delta is on the brink of destruction. She is recruited as an 'eco-commando' in a bid to halt a project that would destroy the Delta's fragile network of swamps and waterways. Soon she finds herself caught in a deadly web of intrigue involving her ex-lover Sterling, the handsome Martin Steele - her mercenary commander, and a TV heartthrob and wildlife documentary presenter 'Coyote' Sam Chapman who blunders out of the bush in a reality show gone wrong. Instead of escaping her violent past, Sonja is now surrounded by men who are relying on her killer instincts to save the day. Where she came to find peace, she finds war...and it is not just the survival of the Delta that is at stake.

Dust Devils by Roger Smith (8 September)
This is an unflinching portrayal of the dark side of the new South Africa, where to avenge what he loves, Robert Dell becomes what he hates. On the run after being framed for murdering his family, South African journalist Robert Dell's only ally is his oldest enemy: his father. Bobby Goodbread, an ex-CIA hitman just sprung from prison for atrocities he committed whilst in the employ of the apartheid regime, joins his son on a bloody cross-country road trip, bringing his killing skills and his hunger for redemption. From picture-postcard Cape Town to a Zulu tribal valley where AIDS, savage feuds and poverty have left the population as gutted as the parched red earth, father and son hunt down assassin Dog Mazibuko, uncovering a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of the South African State. They cross paths with another man on a desperate mission: ex-investigator Disaster Zondi, returning to the place he fled as a youth to rescue a teenage girl - who may or may not be his daughter - sold into marriage to Mazibuko. These men are thrown together in a spiral of violence and retribution in a country where corruption and anarchy have replaced brutal tyranny and human life has never been cheaper.

Recent and Upcoming Titles of Interest

This week I've come across a few titles that though not all Euro Crime or translated, may be of interest to this blog's readers:

Zift by Vladislav Todorov (tr. Joseph Benatov) (out now, US edition)

December 21, 1963: Having served 20 years for a murder he didn't commit, "Moth" exits Central Sofia Prison anticipating his first night of freedom. Instead he steps into a new and alien world—the nightmarish totalitarianism of Communist Bulgaria. In his first hours of freedom he traverses the map of a diabolical city, full of decaying neighborhoods, gloomy streets, and a bizarre parade of characters.

A novel of grave wit, Zift unfolds in the course of a single, frenetic night, offering a fast-paced, ghoulish, even grotesque—but also enchanting—tour of shadowy, socialist Sofia. To achieve his depiction of totalitarian absurdity, Vladislav Todorov combines the methods of hardboiled American crime fiction and film noir with socialist symbols and communist ideological clichés.

An extract can be read via the publisher's website.

Treachery in the Yard: A Nigerian Thriller by Adimchinma Ibe (out now, US edition) - intended to be the first in a series. From the publisher's website:

A stunning police procedural debut from one of Nigeria’s young up-and-coming talents, Treachery in the Yard introduces an electrifying new setting to the world of international crime fiction.

Detective Peterside is drawn into the politics of Nigeria when a bomb goes off at Mr. Pius Okpara’s home. Mr. Okpara is locked in a conflict with a political rival, as both men are seeking their party’s nomination prior to the general election.

As Detective Peterside investigates, one murder leads to another and soon events appear to be spiraling out of control. The more he digs, the more corruption surfaces. Soon he is not sure whom to trust, including even his own mentor.

An intriguing blend of locale and familiar police procedure, Treachery in the Yard provides a unique brand of international suspense.

Looking ahead - The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (tr. Alexander O. Smith) will be published in the US in February 2011 and in the UK in August 2011. [Petrona and I were given a glowing recommendation of this title by a publicist from a rival company to the one publishing the UK edition.]

Yasuko lives a quiet life, working in a Tokyo bento shop, a good mother to her only child. But when her ex-husband appears at her door without warning one day, her comfortable world is shattered. When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand the genius behind this particular crime...One of the biggest-selling Japanese thrillers ever, and the inspiration for a cult film, The Devotion of Suspect X is now being discovered across the world. Its blend of a page-turning story, evocative Tokyo setting and utterly surprising ending make it a must-read for anyone interested in international fiction.

The cover above may not represent the final cover. More information on the book and the author can be found in the publisher's catalogue (pdf).

More African crime fiction - Mike Nicol

I mentioned a few months ago a few titles set in Africa and then added Margie Orford's series. The Bookseller announced today that Old Street have bought three Mike Nicols books:

Old Street Publishing has bought a trio of crime books by South African author Mike Nicol.

Managing director Ben Yarde-Buller acquired world English rights from literary agent Tina Betts at Andrew Mann.

The first book in the deal will be called Payback and is due to be published in spring 2010. The title will be set in Cape Town at the turn of the 21st Century with two main characters who become embroiled in drugs and violence.

The two following books are yet untitled and will be stand alone titles, but will be linked by the same characters.

I don't know whether the 'turn of the 21st Century' bit is a misprint as that's quite a futuristic setting.

More African crime fiction - Margie Orford

I recently mentioned some African crime fiction titles coming up and a few more were suggested in the comments, well today a review copy of Margie Orford's Like Clockwork arrived from Atlantic Books. Like Clockwork is getting its UK publication next month and is the first in the Clare Hart series. The follow-up, Blood Rose, will be published in 2010.

Publisher's Synopsis: When a beautiful young woman is found murdered on Cape Town's Seapoint promenade, journalist and part-time police profiler, Dr Clare Hart is drawn into the web of a brutal serial killer. As more bodies are discovered, Clare is forced to re-visit the brutal rape of her twin sister and the gang ties that bind Cape Town’s dark crime rings. Is her investigation into human trafficking linked to the murders or is the killer just playing a sick game with her?

Like Clockwork is a dark and compelling crime story which exposes the underbelly of porn and prostitution in the Mother City.

You can read an extract at the author's website.

Forthcoming African crime novels

Here are a few novels coming out in the next few months set in Africa:

I've been lucky enough to receive today a review copy of Malla Nunn's A Beautiful Place to Die, which is to be published in the UK in March and of which I've heard great things.

When an Afrikaans police captain is murdered in a small South African country town, Detective Emmanuel Cooper must navigate his way through the labyrinthine racial and social divisions that split the community. And as the National Party introduces the laws to support the system of apartheid, Emmanuel struggles - much like Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko - to remain a good man in the face of astonishing power. In a considered but very commercial novel, Malla Nunn combines a compelling plot with a thoughtful and complex portrayal of a fascinating period of history, illustrating the human desires that drive us all, regardless of race, colour or creed. "A Beautiful Place To Die" is the first of a planned series of novels featuring Detective Emmanuel Cooper.

Also in March, is the publication of the latest in the Mma Ramotswe series by Alexander McCall Smith, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built.

It is a troublesome fact on which even Mma Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Makutsi agree: there are things that men know and ladies do not, and vice versa. It is unfortunate, for example, when Mma Ramotswe's newest client is the big-shot owner of the ailing Kalahari Swoopers, that one thing lady detectives know very little about is football. And when the glamorous Violet Sephotho sets her sights on Mma Makutsi's unsuspecting fiance, it becomes exasperatingly clear that some men do not know how to recognise a ruthless Jezebel even when she is bouncing up and down on the best bed in the Double Comfort Furniture Shop. In her attempt to foster understanding between the sexes and find the traitor on Mr Football's team, Mma Ramotswe ventures into new territory, drinks tea in unfamiliar kitchens and learns to trust in the observational powers of small boys. And, as wise and warm-hearted as his heroine, Alexander McCall Smith reminds us that we must dig deep to uncover the goodness of the human heart.

April brings a new standalone novel from Deon Meyer, Blood Safari.

Lemmer is a freelance bodyguard for Body Armor, a personal security company in South Africa. Lean, angry, violent, he is way down on the price list where the bargains are to be found.

Emma le Roux wants to find her missing brother, who supposedly died twenty years ago, but whom she is convinced she's seen on the news as a suspect in the recent killing of a witch doctor and four poachers. She hires Lemmer to watch her back when she goes looking for answers.

As le Roux and Lemmer look for clues in the Lowveld, it becomes clear someone wants to keep them in the dark. Someone who will go to any lengths to stop them asking questions. When they are attacked and almost killed, Lemmer decides to go after whoever is hunting them – against all odds.

and June will see the follow up to Michael Stanley's A Carrion Death - the UK title is A Deadly Trade and the US title is The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu.

Synopsis: Detective Kubu faces his most disturbing investigation yet when he finds himself caught up in a case of betrayal and mistaken identity on the outskirts of northern Botswana. Goodluck Tinubu, an ex-Zimbabwean who has taught in Botswana for many years, is viciously murdered at the Jackalberry bush camp, situated on an isolated peninsula in northern Botswana. Peter Sithole, a guest at the camp, is found bludgeoned to death a few hours later. Detective 'Kubu' Bengu is sent from Botswana's capital, Gaborone, to assist the local CID in this puzzling investigation. Meanwhile, another guest at the camp – Ishmael Zondo - leaves the camp suddenly the next morning and disappears without a trace. The Zimbabwe police are unable to trace him. And, as fingerprints are matched, records reveal that Tinubu was killed in the Rhodesian civil war thirty years earlier...

Nick Brownlee's Bait, published last December is also set in Africa and Richard Kunzmann's latest Harry Mason book, Dead-End Road, set in Johannesburg, came out in paperback this month.

African Crime Fiction

I stumbled across this in my local library the other day. First published in English in 2001, it's recently been reissued by Serpent's Tail. The library has classified it as 'crime'. I've not read it (yet).

Henning Mankell says: "‘Mia Couto is a white man with an African soul’.


Synopsis:
A police inspector is investigating a strange murder, a case in which all the suspects are eager to claim responsibility for the act.

Set in a former Portuguese fort which stored slaves and ivory, Under the Frangipani combines fable and allegory, dreams and myths with an earthy humour. The dead meet the living, language is invented, reality is constantly changing.

In a story which is partly a thriller, partly an exploration of language itself, Mia Couto surprises and delights, and shows just why he is one of the most important African writers of today.

You can read an extract on amazon.co.uk.