Mixed Blood: A Cape Town Thriller

by Roger Smith

Overview

A corrupt cop, a gangbanger, and an ex-marine sitting on three million dollars in stolen cash find themselves entangled in this "cinematic cape town thriller" (Bookpage).

Reluctant bank robber Jack Burn is on the run after a heist in the United States that left three million dollars missing and one cop dead. Hiding out in Cape Town, South Africa, he is desperate to build a new life for his pregnant wife and young son. But on a tranquil evening in their new suburban neighborhood, they are the victims of a random gangland break-in. Benny Mongrel, an ex-con night watchman, knows who went into Burn's house, and what the American did to them. Burn's actions soon trap them both in a cat-and-mouse game with Rudi "Gatsby" Barnard, a corrupt Afrikaner cop. Once Gatsby smells those missing American millions, the men are drawn into a web of murder and vengeance that builds to an unforgettable conclusion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312429508
Publisher:	Picador
Publication date:	12/22/2009
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.32(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Roger Smith is an accomplished screenwriter, director, and producer. He is at work on a second stand-alone thriller set in and around Cape Town, where he currently lives.

Editorial Reviews

With its shattering sense of place and satisfying plot twists, this book will grip you from page one.” —Chelsea Cain, author of Sweetheart and Evil at Heart

“Almost impossible to put down, offering the rewards of a literary thriller combined with the zip of a powerful movie.” —The Florida Times Union

“Like Pelecanos, Smith captures the humanity burning in lives trapped by poverty and prejudice.” —Booklist

“Smith's Cape Town is almost Dickensian in its presentation of thugs and murderers [and] an especially wonderful villain.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Mixed Blood is an unnerving thrill ride that kept me on edge from beginning to end. The set-up is terrific and the bad guy is really bad - but so are the good guys. Mixed Blood is a top notch debut thriller and I'm looking forward to Roger Smith's next book.” —Phillip Margolin, author of Executive Privilege

“Smith does an outstanding job of bringing Cape Town to life, taking us through the twists and turns of the local criminal world and the confusing labyrinth of racial identity in post-apartheid South Africa. His prose is crisp and efficient … [with a] fascinating and vividly conjured location.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A gripping thriller that follows believable (if sometimes grotesque) characters along a desperate rush to ruin. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal

“Smith offers a gritty tale of corruption and vengeance set in South Africa in his absorbing debut … Smith's taut prose bodes well for future thrillers from his pen.” —Publishers Weekly

“[A] well-told, brutal tale…. Riveting.” —The Roanoke Times

“Startling, vivid, frightening. A first-rate debut from an up-and-coming talent.” —Eric Van Lustbader, author of First Daughter and The Bourne Sanction

“Smith's characters fight for their lives against a Cape Town heavy with heat, grime, corruption, and gang violence. With its shattering sense of place and satisfying plot twists, this book will grip you from page one.” —Chelsea Cain, author of Heartsick and Sweetheart

From the Publisher

A lean, bloodthirsty, yet meditative story that is almost impossible to put down.”
—Florida Times-Union

The Anniston Star

One of the most impressive thrillers you are likely to read this year. We are certain to see [Smith's] name in the list of nominees for most of the major crime fiction awards.”
—Bookgasm

Richmond Times-Dispatch

The repulsive Rudi ‘Gatsby’ Barnard, an Afrikaner cop, [is] as corrupt and villainous as any in recent fiction.”
—Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

Florida Times-Union

The spare, well-paced story gathers momentum to a Miltonic moment of retribution.”
—Mystery Scene Magazine

Bookgasm

Smith does an outstanding job of bringing Cape Town to life, taking us through the twists and turns of the local criminal world and the confusing labyrinth of racial identity in post-apartheid South Africa.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

Smith offers a gritty tale of corruption and vengeance set in South Africa in his absorbing debut. His taut prose bodes well for future thrillers from his pen.”
—Publishers Weekly

Mystery Scene Magazine

Smith plays out . . . that chilling sense of inevitability that is at the heart of the best noir. . . . A fine debut.”
—Bill Ott, Booklist

BookPage

A gripping thriller that follows believable (if sometimes grotesque) characters along a desperate rush to ruin. Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal

Booklist

Not for the faint of heart, this mystery brings together an American expatriate, an evil cop, and a hardened ex-con—all living in the underbelly of Cape Town, South Africa. Employing various accents of the region, John Lee infuses the story with tension as he performs an impeccable combination of extreme hostility, seedy vulgarity, and mounting chaos. When an American family escapes to Cape Town to avoid arrest for murder and bank robbery, things go from bad to worse when two men break into their home—catapulting them into the dark side of the city, a world of prostitutes, drug dealers, and killer cops. Lee keeps pace with the grisly plot, hooking the listener with his gripping narration. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2012 - AudioFile