When the former assassin, Zikhona, wakes up next to a dead body in an affluent Johannesburg suburb, she knows of only one person who can clean up her mess, uncle Zenzele. The incident unravels ghosts of the past, forcing the Z Gang to crawl out of their Mozambican hideout.

It is not only Zikhona’s situation that is intricate but the gang’s wealth back home is threatened by the torching of their taxis. They are also about to lose their millions through the elaborate laundering syndicate of a murderous underworld mobster while also nursing a terminally-ill member.

Zenzele resorts to the only thing he knows best – guns, treachery and dark powers – while unleashing his battle-hardened gang to fend off the police and the underworld mobsters chasing Zikhona hell-bent on forcing her back into her contract-killing past. Her marriage to a flamboyant Nigerian pastor hits the skids.

With fewer friends and desperate to save their millions, Zenzele is forced to tap deep into the reserves of old connections, where loyalties still hold. His knack to keep everyone in his debt reaches its pinnacle. Staying alive would take ingenuity, conniving, outsmarting the SAPS crime intelligence and a Police Minister, desperate to save his political career. However, discovering that their enemies are closer to home than they had thought is the ultimate betrayal.

When the body of a Bushman is discovered near the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the death is written off as an accident. But all is not as it seems.

An autopsy reveals that, although he’s clearly very old, his internal organs are puzzlingly young. What’s more, an old bullet is lodged in one of his muscles … but where is the entry wound? When the body is stolen from the morgue and a local witch doctor is reported missing, Detective ‘Kubu’ Bengu gets involved. But did the witch doctor take the body to use as part of a ritual? Or was it the American anthropologist who’d befriended the old Bushman? As Kubu and his brilliant young colleague, Detective Samantha Khama, follow the twisting trail through a confusion of rhino-horn smugglers, foreign gangsters and drugs manufacturers, the wider and more dangerous the case seems to grow.

A fresh, new slice of ‘Sunshine Noir’, Dying to Live is a classic tale of greed, corruption and ruthless thuggery, set in one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, and featuring one of crime fiction’s most endearing and humane heroes.

Sy’s ʼn boeremeisie, hy ʼn Jood. ʼn Boerejood, ja, maar nogtans ʼn Jood. Vir hulle liefde is daar geen toekoms as hulle dit nie self skep nie.

Terwyl hulle jonk is, dink hulle nie aan die toekoms nie, leef hulle vir die nou, glo hulle die verskille kan oorkom word. En Izak Katz, weet Elizabeth, maak altyd ʼn plan. Altyd.

Hy, met sy lag, sy terg, die sagtheid in sy oë. Die paadjie wat aan hulle toebedeel is, is ongelyk. Soos die middelmannetjie in die drif. Hulle weet van mekaar vermy, van voorgee sodat niemand iets vermoed nie. Van wag. En van liefhê … Totdat Elizabeth gedwing word om ʼn doodsbelofte te maak. En sy weet, sy wéét, hierdie keer is dit verby, nie eers Izak sal nou meer raad hê nie.

Die vertrek waarin ek my opgestopte voëltjies in glaskissies uitgestal het, het ek ontruim. Ek het die voëleiertjies en -neste, asook kassette met opnames van voëlgeluide in bokse gepak. Dit het my te veel aan Pa laat dink, en aan hom wou ek nie dink nie. Want dan het ek vir Annalisa gehaat, en ’n ma mag haar kind nie haat nie.

Hulle is onder ’n kareeboom in die agtererf besig om na ’n janfiskaal te kyk wanneer haar tronkdokter-pa by Rosaria bieg dat ook hý ’n tipe laksman is. By Pretoria-Sentraal, waar hy die gehangdes se doodsertifikate uitreik, dien hy soms ook die genadeskoot toe. Maar sê nou van daardie tereggesteldes was onskuldig? wonder Rosaria.

Nou, jare later, en kort ná die raaiselagtige dood van haar dogter Annalisa, onthou Rosarie die nonnetjiesuil wat sy en haar aweregse dogter grootgemaak het. Dit was voor Annalisa se rockmusiek van haar ’n kultusfiguur gemaak het, en voordat sy haar rug op haar ma gedraai het.

Rosaria se worsteling strek verder terug as haar kind se dood. Haar verlede word verder oopgeruk wanneer Annalisa se dogtertjie haar verskyning maak – ’n kleinkind waarvan Rosarie nooit geweet het nie.

Maar hoe het haar dogter gesterf? En hoe naby aan ’n laksman is Rosaria self?

After years teaching Romantic poetry at the University of Cape Town, David Lurie, middle-aged and twice divorced has an impulsive affair with a student. The affair sours; he is denounced and summoned before a committee of inquiry. Willing to admit his guilt, but refusing to yield to pressure to repent publicly, he resigns and retreats to daughter Lucy’s isolated smallholding.

For a time, his daughter’s influence and the natural rhythms of the farm promise to harmonise his discordant life. But the balance of power in the country is shifting. He and Lucy become victims of a savage and disturbing attack which brings into relief all the faultlines in their relationship.

Look closely around you. Have you ever asked yourself what happens to all the girls who are in the system?

Girls that are orphans…
The boys…
The mothers in shelters…
All the battered women…
The downfall of the most powerful…

I’m leaving the agenda BARE for those who seek to find it. I have a story for you. No mercy…

Back like I never left!

Tim Morgan
Undisclosed location

The savage, senseless murders of children and the youth. It carries Treasure’s story from Book 1 and ends with the fight for life between Paul and Tim Morgan. We look at the disappearance of young people, human trafficking, cults and mental illness in men.

This story is inspired by real-life events and researched data from global social ills and Jackie looks into SA political faces that have sex scandals as part of her research.

A story of two passionate people who share a shameful past and a tenuous present, this remarkable narrative follows headmistress Mohumagadi--of the elite Sekolo sa Ditlhora school for talented black children--and Father Bill, a disgraced preacher, as they are brought together again decades after a childhood love affair expelled them from their communities. Much to the dismay of her students, Mohumagadi hires Father Bill as a teacher, resulting in a battle of wills and wits for the hearts and minds of the children living in the shadow of revolution and change. Entertaining and thought-provoking, this unique account offers insight into the workings of African culture.

Universiteit van Johannesburg Debuutprys vir Skeppende Skryfkuns (2010) M-Net Letterkundetoekenning in die rolprentkategorie (2010) Inspekteur Albertus Beeslaar het genoeg gehad van die brutaliteit van misdaad in Johannesburg. Hy kom soek rus en vrede op ’n klein dorpie aan die rand van die Kalahari, waar hy ’n nuwe veediefstal-eenheid op die been moet bring. Dan word ’n grusame dubbele moord op ’n plaas gepleeg. Gou kry Beeslaar egter met veel meer as ’n “gewone plaasmoord” te doen. Hy word gekonfronteer met ’n koelbloedige veediefstalsindikaat, Afrika-towerkuns, ’n ou grondeis in ‘n plofbare politieke klimaat wat deur ’n regse wit vigilantegroep uitgebuit word. En dit is maar net die begin. ’n Naelkou-misdaadroman met ’n nuwe, eg Suid-Afrikaanse speurheld. Plaasmoord is in Nederlands vertaal as Moord op Huilwater.

When zoologist Magrieta Prinsloo is put on the wrong antidepressant, her head comes unstuck. She insults the head of her department, and impulsively resigns from her job. She accepts a position at the Bureau for Continuing Education, with the inscrutable Markus Potsdam as her boss. When he disappears one morning, matters become very complicated. Winterbach's extraordinary gift as a novelist, and uncanny understanding of the human psyche, are again as evident as ever.

A Big Hand For The Spirits explores the space where science, religion and magic come together – where the world behaves in ways that are at once absolutely normal but also utterly amazing.

An ecologist on the run from a hit man joins up with a brilliant physicist struggling to reconcile his traditional African beliefs with science, an anaesthetist dealing with a bad marriage, a physically powerful, but emotionally distraught river guide, and an enigmatic recovering drug addict who alternates wildly between reality and fantasy.

Together they travel overland from Vic Falls to Malawi, encountering many adventures, some intellectual, some fun, and some downright terrifying.

As they explore the power of their individual and collective unconscious, they discover that they are connected in unexpected ways and, through means both mystical and prosaic, work together to survive and achieve each other’s goals.

The action, which includes wild white water rafting, tracking elephants, dabbling in witchcraft, catching snakes and learning to dive, mirrors the characters’ exploration of the nature of reality, time and truth – and whether there are, in fact, only three thousand people in the world. The climax on the edge of Lake Malawi revolves around a dramatic performance of the Gule Wamkulu spirit dancers that may – or may not – be instrumental in bringing it all together.

Hierdie ware verhaal handel oor 'n jong seun uit 'n arm gesin wat op die spoorlyne van Carnarvon-stasie grootgeword het en moes as kind onder andere bottels en bene in die dorp optel en verkoop vir eksta geld vir die gesin om te oorleef. Sy weetgierige geaardheid, positiewe uitkyk en wil om bo uit te kom, lei egter tot 'n inspirerende suksesverhaal. Die skrywer vertel met humor, passie en 'n gemaklike skryfstyl unieke en skreeusnaakse stories wat net in 'n klein Karoodorpie kan plaasvind.

The Five Firm Friends – Edith, Cordelia, Amanda, Doris and Beauty – are five sassy career women who confront life head- on. But when Beauty suddenly becomes ill and, after six short weeks, passes away, their world is thrown into confusion. On her deathbed Beauty begs Amanda to promise her one thing – that she and the rest of the FFF will not waste their lives as she has done. All because of an unfaithful husband ... ‘Ukhule,’ she begs of Amanda. May you live a long life, and may you become old.

Beauty’s Gift is a moving tale of how four women decide to change their own fate as well as the lives of those closest to them. This is Sindiwe Magona at her very best – writing about social issues, and not keeping quiet. Speak up, she says to women in Africa. Stand up, and take control of your own lives.

German South-West Africa, 1905. A time of war and upheaval. The frail Siegfried Bock comes to the protectorate as a soldier to prove his mettle. But soon he becomes disillusioned when he witnesses atrocities he cannot forget. Lisbeth Löwenstein is here to marry a man she hardly remembers, a settler who has sent money to her impoverished parents in exchange for her hand in marriage. Mordegai Guruseb escapes from a concentration camp where prisoners are dying from deprivation. But before long his freedom is threatened once again.

And then there is failed doctor Albert Pitzer who considers himself a scientist and hopes to gather data that prove his theories. However, Alvaus Luipert, a local schoolmaster, will not stand for his arrogant assumptions and demeaning methods. In the vast, majestic landscape of German South-West Africa, the fates of these five people intertwine and each one’s humanity is tested to the limit.

‘A love letter to a brutal landscape and the tale of one man’s defiance of inhumanity.’ – Harry Kalmer

And they didn't die dramatises the heroism of Jezile, a young rural woman. Her story also depicts the emergence of collective resistance by rural women in South Africa of the 1950s and 60s. Above all it is a story of redemption in the strength and vitality of one woman who will not allow intense suffering to deplete her humanity. The author draws upon her relationship with the 'very strong, very proud' women who raised her and her knowledge of their history to create a novel that is sensitive, human and political.

Dan Sleigh se jongste manuskrip handel oor die lewe se ewige dans met die dood - alle lewe, ook die lewe van die skryfkuns. Die protagonis, Koos van der Merwe, was eens een van Goeie Hoop Uitgewers se topskrywers, en dit is waarom 'n woonstel in Bay View Villas aan hom toegeken is, op 'n verdieping wat die uitgewery reserveer vir die skrywers van topverkopers. Maar die muse het Koos verlaat. Jare reeds wag sy uitgewer vergeefs op nuwe werk uit die pen wat voorheen die kasregisters laat klingel het. Die uitgewery se geduld het opgeraak; Koos mag net in die woonstel aanbly as hy produktief is. In 'n bestel waarin kommersiele sukses die hoogste waarde is, is daar in elk geval nie plek vir iemand wat so verstok in sy wee is en so wars van alles wat progressief en modieus is nie. Die uitgewery speel sy troefkaart: Carelina van der Merwe is een van die inspirerendste redakteurs, en as sy nie nuwe lewe in Koos se loopbaan kan blaas nie sal niemand nie. Carelina waai soos 'n stormsterk suidooster by Koos se woonstel in. Hy gooi wal, hy skerm, hy vlug . . . maar uiteindelik begin hy vertel wat dit is wat die donker kolk in hom uitgeruk het waarin alle kreatiewe energie verdwyn. En al vertellende word sy skermutseling 'n dans. Dit is uiteindelik weer die dans met die muse, maar noodwendig weer die lewe-dood-dans, die dans van die lewe.

"I want to tell you about my Father's murder. I want to tell you who killed him and why. This is the story of my life. And the story of your life and your world too, as you will see."

Nico Storm and his father drive across a desolate South Africa, constantly alert for feral dogs, motorcycle gangs, nuclear contamination. They are among the few survivors of a virus that has killed most of the world's population.

Young as he is, Nico realises that his superb marksmanship and cool head mean he is destined to be his father's protector. But Willem Storm, though not a fighter, is a man with a vision. He is searching for a place that can become a refuge, a beacon of light and hope in a dark and hopeless world, a community that survivors will rebuild from the ruins. And so Amanzi is born.

Fever is the epic, searing story of a group of people determined to carve a city out of chaos.

Moet Agab getrou bly aan die ou lsraelitiese waardes, of kan hy sy vrou volg die afvallige tydsgees in? Teenoor lsebel staan die profetiese figuur van Elia - wat die droogte oor Israel voorspel, die profete van Baal in 'n tweestryd op Karmelberg verneder, en uiteindelik die finale doemwoord oor Agab en sy huis uitspreek. Daar is ook die verhaal van Nabot,wat nie bereid om te erken dat God die God van alle mense is nie. En van die liefde van Johanan vir Ada, die dogter van hul dienskneg.

February 1942. With the Nazis triumphant in Europe, North Africa and much of the USSR, control of the shipping lanes off the southernmost tip of Africa is an Allied imperative. At the urging of Prime Minister Jan Smuts, South Africa’s parliament has narrowly voted to join the British war effort, but the country remains bitterly divided.

Feisty university student Anna van der Vliet returns to her family farm near Cape Agulhas during the holidays. Noticing strange comings and goings in the area, she begins to suspect that her father, a prominent Member of Parliament, may be involved in a clandestine operation to aid the enemy. As a patriot, Anna feels compelled to inform the authorities, but what if this means betraying her family and lover?

Drawing on extensive historical research, Subversion is a unique tapestry of suspense, wartime intrigue and romance.

(Previously published as Featherstream by Ian Sutherland)

As jy die Groot- en die Klein-Karoo en hulle se stories wil kry, moet jy ’n grootpad soek wat ’n grondpad is, en daarlangs moet jy ry…

Kontreistaaltjies, moordverhale, spookstories en ander vertellings oor besonderse mense en gebeure uit die dorre streke van Suid-Afrika.

Novel set in the Cape before the arrival of the colonists.

Kanu, a young man from the Ofuru tribe, leaves his newly pregnant wife Afua, his hut and his tribe and goes into the mountains in search of his identity and to listen for the name of his son.

For Kanu, the quest for his child's name can only begin through the ritual of first understanding who he is. As he journeys in a search for his own identity and his child's future, he must reexamine his place in the world and the implications for those around him.

Set in precolonial Africa, Kanu must navigate the questions of meaning and identity for the individual, the relationships between individuals, the conflicting interests between groups, and the tensions between individuals and the group. He does so by using his understanding of the history and culture of his people built on the foundations of duty and compassion.

Die kortverhale in Maansiek verken 'n wye register: die Rooms-Katolieke geloof, charismatiese aanbidding, Afrika-mistiek, erotiek en moederskap, konflik tussen ras en geslag en sosiale status, spanning tussen die hede en die historiese, die sienlike en die onsienlike.

As basis vir sommige verhale dien 'n nugter koerantberig of tydskrifartikel uit vervloe dekades wat binne die verhaalkonteks tegelyk humoristies en ontstellend is.

Ander is gegrond op minder bekende aspekte van bekende figure of vertellings van onbekende vroue met uiteenlopende agtergronde.

She saw what the police missed. The killer won’t make that mistake twice.

Ophelia’s grim profession as a crime scene cleaner in South Africa takes a chilling turn when she uncovers a crucial clue overlooked by the police. As she aids the hunt for a ruthless serial killer targeting women from dating sites, the murderer sets his sights on Ophelia and her daughter.

With the body count rising and a potential romance blurring the lines between suspect and ally, Ophelia must navigate a treacherous web of deceit to protect her family and unmask the culprit.

N Gray’s gripping standalone thriller, “Lady Killer,” explores the dark underbelly of Cape Town’s criminal landscape, delivering a pulse-pounding journey through the eyes of an unlikely heroine.

Gedurende die Eerste Wêreldoorlog staan Susan Nell voor die deur van een van die private sale van ’n Britse militêre hospitaal. Op die deur is ’n enkele naam aangebring. Sy ken daardie naam. Sestien jaar tevore was sy gedurende die Anglo-Boereoorlog in die Winburgse konsentrasiekamp, en dit is waar sy daardie naam leer ken het. Sy lig haar hand om daardie deur oop te maak. Haar hand bewe onbeheerbaar. Maar sy is ’n psigiatriese verpleegster en dit is wat sy moet doen, getraumatiseerde soldate terugbring na die lig. As daardie soldaat egter die een is wat sestien jaar te vore met sy heupe alle lig uit jou gestamp het, is dit nie so voor die hand liggend nie. Susan Nell huiwer voordat sy die deur oopmaak, sy wik en weeg desperaat – sy wankel op die drumpel tussen lewe en dood.

Kamphoer is die ware verhaal van ’n vrou wat gedurende die Anglo-Boereoorlog wreedaardig verkrag en vir die aasvoëls weggegooi is. Met die hulp van ’n reeks weldoeners ontsnap sy aan die kloue van die dood en wy uiteindelik haar lewe aan die genesing van presies die soort trauma waaraan sy onderworpe was. En in die proses kom sy weer haar verkragters teë . . .

In Kamphoer word die weerbarstigheid van die menslike gees opgeweeg teen die ewe blywende invloed van trauma. Dit is ’n sielkundige riller wat jou tot op die laaste bladsy in sy yskoue greep sal hou.