A hulking black motorcycle-shop janitor named Tiny is the unlikely hero of this frantic, intelligent thriller by a South African crime writer. Tiny (aka Thobela Mpayipheli aka Umzingeli, the Hunter) is a former KGB-trained assassin who plied his trade in service of the struggle against apartheid. He is now a peace-loving family man, but when a plea for help comes from the daughter of an old friend, he is forced to race across the country on a motorcycle to deliver a coveted disk, chased by a homicidal special forces commander. His fear of revisiting the violence of his past feels real-the sincere hesitation of a dark-skinned man in a country where violent acts multiply like viruses, especially where black blood is involved. "His hands so terribly ready to kill, his brain clattering out the knowledge of the vital points on the soldier's body like machine gun fire, despairing, don't, don't, don't..." In other ways, this is a standard thriller complete with CIA involvement, an appearance by Muslim extremists and a loose, rat-a-tat prose that keeps pages turning. The central plot twist is predictable and too few of the many story lines are resolved, but the freshness of the context and the emotional complexity of the hero's journey are ample compensation for readers who want a more thought-provoking spy story. Agent, Isobel Dixon. (July) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Thobela Mpayipheli, a descendant of Xhosa kings, has a past he would like to forget. A former assassin, he has settled down with a woman and her son in Cape Town. Then the daughter of an old friend comes to him for help: her father has been abducted in Lusaka, Zambia. In exchange for his life, the kidnappers want a computer disc that reveals the names of double agents and the identity of a mole in the upper echelons of the South African government-and they want it delivered to them within 72 hours. Thwarted in his attempt to fly out of the country, Thobela hops on a BMW motorcycle, and the chase is on. Will he be able to save his friend? Will the mole keep his or her identity a secret? Will Thobela, now the prey, ruin what he has tried to become-a man of peace by reverting to the instincts of the hunter he was trained to be? Not all these questions have happy answers. Despite the complexity of its tightly woven plot-skillfully revealed through newspaper articles and intelligence reports-Meyer's U.S. debut moves at a breathtaking pace that will carry readers away. A sympathetic protagonist and the landscape of South Africa add color to the story. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [Meyer is the 2003 winner of Le Grand Prix de litterature policiere, France's most prestigious prize for suspense fiction.-Ed.]-Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Out of post-apartheid South Africa comes a thriller good enough to and nip at the heels of le Carre. Thobela Mpayipheli is six-foot-three, a giant of a man so (naturally) they call him "Tiny." During the Struggle, he was an ANC (African National Congress) hero, a ferocious and decorated fighter. But that was then: Tiny's now is Miriam Nzuluwazi, the "tall, lean, strong and beautiful woman" who kisses him each night when he arrives home from his low-level, low-profile job in Cape Town. Miriam, her small son, their small house, that's Tiny modest life-and it's a life he loves. But the advent of a perfectly ordinary woman named Monica Kleintjes sends it crashing. Monica is the daughter of old comrade Johnny Kleintjes, who is in serious trouble, and to whom Tiny owes a debt of honor. If he fails to deliver a certain information-packed disk to a certain blood-thirsty band of terrorists, Johnny's a dead man, Monica tells him, handing him the disk. Tiny, a closet Romantic, as perhaps all great warriors are at their core, believes he has no choice but to accept the mission. Naturally, the disk turns out to be eagerly sought by a variety of inimical entities: among them, the CIA, al Qaeda, and the still fledgling South African government. As he zigzags through Africa on a stolen motorcycle, Tiny, now an object of intense and frequently murderous interest, tries, for the sake of survival, to sort out the conflicting realities governing his situation. He discovers, however, that like the desperate ex-hero on the BMW bike, "the truth is a moving target."Wonderful setting; rich, colorful cast, headed by a valiant/vulnerable protagonist who makes empathy easy. Impossibly convoluted, of course-hey, it'sa suspense novel-but fans of the genre won't want to miss Meyer's US debut. Agent: Isobel Dixon/Blake Friedmann
Heart of the Hunter is the dark, explosive side of Alexander McCall Smith’s Botswana books, as full of love for the vast beauty of the country but also riddled by the anger of South Africa’s recent racial and political struggles.”
—Chicago Tribune
“A stellar performance. . . . Deon Meyer’s well-turned story and Vance’s top-notch narration make this a compelling listen.”
—AudioFile
“[Vance’s] performance feels spontaneous, off the cuff, and fresh. The gripping story . . . is a mesmerizing listen, thanks to Vance’s precise reading.”
—Booklist
[Vance’s] performance feels spontaneous, off the cuff, and fresh. The gripping story . . . is a mesmerizing listen, thanks to Vance’s precise reading.”
—Booklist
Heart of the Hunter is the dark, explosive side of Alexander McCall Smith’s Botswana books, as full of love for the vast beauty of the country but also riddled by the anger of South Africa’s recent racial and political struggles.”
—Chicago Tribune
Simon Vance turns in a stellar performance narrating the story of a former assassin and anti-apartheid warrior now struggling to find his way from the violence of his past to peace with his common-law wife and her son. Vance beautifully captures the rich voice of the oversized protagonist, Thobela “Tiny” Mpayipheli, a KGB alum who goes on the run when a favor for a friend runs afoul of the South African government. Vance convincingly creates the accents and rhythms of South African speech and moves effortlessly between major characters, including a rage-filled male soldier, an angst-filled female reporter, and a little boy. Deon Meyer’s well-turned story and Vance’s top-notch narration make this a compelling listen. G.S.D. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
