A century-old trunk has been dug up near the railway village of Sterfontein. Inside is the lost journal of Victorian author Elizabeth Tenant – and what appears to be the remains of a child.

Michael, a university student recovering from a broken heart, is intrigued by what the journal describes: a scarlet curtain billowing above the desert, covering the entrance to another world. But things become even stranger when a line in the journal seems to be connected to Michael and his cosmologist mother, written a hundred years before their time. Without much to go on, Michael travels to the old Karoo hotel where Elizabeth wrote her novel Mirage. Amid talk of omens in the sky, ancient prophecies and the end of the world, he tries to decipher the journal’s secrets.

As one mystery leads to the next, constellation-like patterns between his own life and Elizabeth’s appear, helped along by Renata, a self-proclaimed medium, and Oom Sarel, the local museum curator. But as time starts to dissolve in the mirages of the Karoo, it becomes more and more difficult to know what is real and what is not.

And why can’t he shake the feeling that he’s been to the village before?

More riveting cases from the files of former police psychologist and bestselling author Gérard Labuschagne.

In this second instalment of The Profiler Diaries, former South African Police Service (SAPS) head profiler Dr Gérard Labuschagne, successor to the legendary Micki Pistorius, recalls more of the 110 murder series and countless other bizarre crimes he analysed during his career. An expert on serial murder and rape cases, Labuschagne saw it all in his fourteen and a half years in the SAPS. Often stymied by a lack of resources, office politics and legal incompetence, Labuschagne and his team were nevertheless determined to obtain justice for the victims whose cases they were tasked with investigating.

Tracking down a prolific serial stalker, linking the murders of two young women in Knysna, assessing a suspect threatening to assassinate Barack Obama and apprehending a serial murderer of sex workers are just a few of the intriguing – and often terrifying – cases he covers in his second book, The Profiler Diaries 2: From Crime Scene to Courtroom.

As Labuschagne says, catching a killer is one thing; getting them convicted in a court of law is an entirely different ball game. This book shows how it is done in fascinating detail.

Twee gewilde Weskus-romans in een.

Haar naam is Ragel:
Die verhaal van ’n jong ma wat haar seuntjie se dood moet leer verwerk. Sy ontmoet ’n ma wat net soos sy nie kan ophou treur nie. Saam leer die twee vroue geleidelik wat die sin van lyding is en hoe God in Jesus kan troos.

Marta:
Terwyl die 17-jarige Marta se pa in haar arms sterf, vra hy haar om na haar ma om te sien. Haar geloof verval in roetinewerk, en sy neem haar kort-kort voor om haar lewe beter in te rig, maar dit gebeur nie.

An important rumination on youth in modern-day South Africa, this haunting debut novel tells the story of two extraordinary young women who have grown up black in white suburbs and must now struggle to find their identities.

The rich and pampered Ofilwe has taken her privileged lifestyle for granted, and must confront her swiftly dwindling sense of culture when her soulless world falls apart. Meanwhile, the hip and sassy Fiks is an ambitious go-getter desperate to leave her vicious past behind for the glossy sophistication of city life, but finds Johannesburg to be more complicated and unforgiving than she expected.

These two stories artfully come together to illustrate the weight of history upon a new generation in South Africa.

Ian: ‘You’re going to run how far?’
Ryan: ‘250 kilometres. But it’s over seven days, though.’
Ian: ‘And the furthest you’ve ever run is …?’
Ryan: ‘42.2 kilometres … on the road. And on trail … 35 kilometres.’
Ian: ‘Ryan, I think you need to reassess this …’

What does it take to run a six-day race through the world’s harshest deserts? Or 100 miles in a single day at altitudes that would leave you breathless just walking? More than that, though: what is it like to win these races? South Africa’s ultra-trail-running superstar Ryan Sandes has done just that.

Since bursting onto the international trail-running scene by winning the first multistage race he ever entered – the brutal Gobi March – Ryan has gone on to win various other multistage and single-day races around the globe. Written with bestselling author and journalist Steve Smith, Trail Blazer – My Life as an Ultra-distance Trail Runner recounts the life story of this intrepid sportsman, from his experiences as a rudderless party animal to becoming a world-class athlete, and includes details on his training regimes, race strategies and aspirations for future sporting endeavours. Sports enthusiasts will enjoy the adrenaline-inducing trials and tribulations of one of South Africa’s most awe-inspiring athletes, while endurance-sport participants – from beginners to aspirant pros – will benefit from his insights and advice.

As Professor Tim Noakes says in the Foreword to this book: ‘However much we might think we know and understand, there are some phenomena which now, and perhaps forever, we will never fully comprehend. We call such happenings “enigmas”. Or even miracles. Ryan Sandes is one such.’

Die hersiene uitgawe van die Tesourus van Afrikaans gee ’n uitstekende beeld van die verskeidenheid en kompleksiteit van die Afrikaanse woordeskat en die fyn net van betekenisse wat binne die woordeskat geweef word. Vir elkeen wat in Afrikaans belangstel en doeltreffend wil komminukeer, is dit ‘n besondere instrument.

• Meer as 140 000 inskrywings word in 855 betekenisvelde gerangskik.
• Verwante woorde en uitdrukkings word in elkeen van hierdie betekenisvelde opgeneem.
• Ontsluiting van nuanseverskille tussen sinonieme, byna sinonieme, en teenoorgesteldes.
• Oorkoepelende terme en woorde wat betekenisverhoudinge uitwys, bv. woorde wat verwys na die onderdele van 'n saak en woorde wat verwys na die persoon wat 'n bepaalde handeling uitvoer.
• Spreekwoorde en ander vaste uitdrukkings wat met bepaalde konsepte geassosieer word.
• 'n Uitgebreide indeks.
• Handige kruisverwysings en gebruiketikette.

Provides a comparative study of the complex governance challenges confronting city-regions in each of the BRICS countries. It traces how governance approaches emerge from the disparate intentions, actions and practices of multiple collaborating and competing actors, working in diverse contexts of political settlement and culture.

The scale and pace of urban change in the recent past has been disorienting. As individual cities evolve into complex urban agglomerations, scholars battle to find adequate vocabularies for contemporary urban processes while practitioners search for meaningful governance responses. Governing Complex City-Regions in the Twenty-first Century explores the ongoing evolution of metropolitan governance as diverse urban agents grapple with the dilemmas of collective action across multi-layered and fragmented institutions, in contexts where there are also manifold centres of influence and decision-making.

Whereas much of the existing literature is founded on the settled urban contexts of Western Europe and North America this book draws on the experiences of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). The author shows that governance approaches are rarely designed but emerge, rather, from the disparate intentions, actions and practices of multiple collaborating and competing actors working within diverse contexts of political settlement and political culture. Intended for students, academics and professionals, the book does not offer packaged solutions or easy answers to the challenges of urban governance, but it does show the value of comparative study in inspiring new thought and perspectives, which could lead to improved governance practice within South African contexts.

Steve Henry was born in 1967 in the sleepy little city of East London on the East Coast of South Africa, the youngest in a family of five children and brought up in a home filled with love and laughter. As a teenager in the mid-80s, fresh out of high school, he is conscripted into the South African Defence Force where he goes through the hardships and humour of infantry training. Innocent youngsters from all over the country are moulded into efficient killing machines and turned into platoons of mechanized infantry.

The author takes you blow by blow through some of the biggest and bloodiest battles fought on the African continent since World War II, during Operation Moduler. He takes you inside his “Metal Mother”, a Ratel infantry fighting vehicle, deep into Angola and describes the feeling of utter helplessness as he faces off against Soviet main battle tanks in his lightly armed and armoured Ratel.

Loved ones back in the “States” have no idea of the scope and violence of the war in Angola and are kept in the dark as to the extent of South Africa’s involvement, often told that their son, brother or father has been killed “on the Border”, little knowing that he died hundreds of kilometres inside Angola.

In the space of a week, the intense high of battle contrasts starkly with suddenly being back in Civvy Street where nobody knows or cares about what he’s just been through.

Just add rice is about Taiwanese cuisine, which seeks balance and harmony in taste, texture and nutritional value. But it’s also about home cooking, about familiarity and comfort and celebrating culture – recipes that connect the author to her parents when they lived in another city and in a distant country.

- Delicious, nutritious food on a budget.

- Comprehensive list of need-to-have pantry items for cooking Taiwanese and Chinese food.

- East Asian ingredients that are available to the South African market, with suggested substitutions.

- Essential information on traditional Chinese dining etiquette, customs and traditions.

- Simple recipes for home cooks.

- East Asians can enjoy their first locally produced cookbook with stories that reflect relatable culture and culinary heritage.

- Anyone who is interested in Chinese home cooking, food and South African food heritage.

When 18 year-old Morné Harmse walked into his Krugersdorp high school, armed with a samurai sword on a Monday in 2008, he had one mission – to commit a massacre. Inspired by the Columbine high school killings, his fantasy to make people "take notice" had been brewing for more than a year. By the time his sword-slashing spree had ended, 16-year-old Jacques Pretorius was dead and three others were brutally injured.

In the aftermath of what was described as “the most barbaric act of schoolboy violence in South African history” the country was left reeling. How does an ordinary boy from a "normal" family become a brutal killer overnight? Was Morné under the influence of a satanic cult? A protégée of mastermind Devilsdorp killer, Cecilia Steyn? Did his obsession with heavy metal band Slipknot drive him over the edge? Now, 14 years later, Morné Harmse is out on controversial parole.Written in mesmerising detail, Samurai Sword Murder finally puts together the pieces of this brutal tragedy.

From 1994 to 2000, when South Africa was a young democracy, the country was stalked by a succession of brutal serial killers. Psychologist Micki Pistorius became the first profiler for the South African Police Service, playing a vital role in identifying and interrogating these killers, as well as training detectives nationally and in other countries. She broke ground with her theory on the origin of serial killers and is considered a trailblazer in her field.

Catch Me a Killer was originally released in 2003 and details the cases she worked on – from the Station Strangler and the Phoenix Cane Killer to Boetie Boer and the Saloon Killer. The book also features legendary detectives such as Piet Byleveld and Suiker Britz, as well as the FBI’s Robert Ressler.

Released alongside a major TV series based on the book, this new edition of Catch Me a Killer includes a new chapter and up-to-date information about some of the cases, such as the parole of Norman Afzal Simons in 2023. This is essential reading for all true crime aficionados.

This book hopes to create awareness around endangered animals, to help educate and empower the next generation to be the game changers. Who knows? Some readers may even aspire to become game rangers!

It is time to stand up and say, ‘enough is enough’, even though the task may seem very tough. (The list is only getting longer and longer, these endangered animals getting fewer and fewer).

It is not too late to join in the quest. Let’s stand up and put these poachers to the test. There is power in team work as more can be done. Let’s stand together to save every last one!

So you’ve come up with a killer business idea and you’re ready to turn it into a side hustle or startup. What now? What do you need to do to bring it to life?

Whether you’re looking to earn some extra money on the side or dreaming of starting The Next Big Thing, Side Hustles and Startups is packed with the information you need to take this big step into your bright future. We’ll teach you how to:

1. Find your passion.
2. Test your idea.
3. Write a business plan.
4. Get funding.
5. Ace your business admin, tax and compliance.
6. Brand and market your business.
7. Manage your money.
8. Set up systems.
9. Build your team.
10. Take care of you.

Heavy Chef sat down with some of South Africa’s foremost entrepreneurs, side hustlers, strategists, marketing whizzes, venture capitalists and, yes, even tax specialists to help you get going. Combined, they have centuries of experience in creating and growing side hustles and startups. We’ve turned their advice into bite-sized lessons for you to snack on – as if you’re firing off instant messages to these trailblazers whenever you get stuck on your journey. Go on. Start up and hustle away.

I heard there’s a girl in school growing wings. No, she’s not graduating or anything. She’s legit growing wings, just like this other oke in school.

He’s doesn’t have wings though. He’s growing a tail and he keeps skipping class. They probably think no one sees them but we’re watching them. They keep getting closer and closer to each other so we all have to watch them. The sky and the sea. The rivers and the forest.

Faeries and mermaids. It’s hectic, I know. A thousand eyes watching you but I guess that’s what happens to us as we grow up. We either grow a tail or wings and the world watches the ugly process unfold.

This beautiful and poignant novel by the exciting voice of Mia Arderne will be sure to make young adult readers excited about holding a book in their hands!

An African fantasy-adventure graphic novel inspired by the mythology of the Zambezi River and the history of the Kariba Dam, one of the largest dams ever constructed.

Siku has always called the Zambezi River her home. She understands the water – and strangely enough, it seems to understand her, too, bending to her will and coming to her aid in times of need. But things are changing on the river – a great dam is being built, displacing thousands of Shonga people – and things are changing in Siku, too, as her ability to manipulate water grows out of control, and visions of a great serpent pull her further from reality and her loving father, Tongai.

When Tongai ventures to the Kariba Dam to find a cure for Siku and never returns, she sets off to find him with the help of Amedeo, the young son of Kariba’s chief engineer. Together, they traverse elephant graveyards, rugged jungles, and ancient ruins, outrunning pirates, bootleggers, and shape-shifting prophets ready to use Siku to their own advantage. But she soon discovers that her father has been shielding a terrible secret: Siku is actually the daughter of Nyaminyami, the Great River Spirit, and the only way to bring about the necessary rumuko – a ritual which has brought balance to the Zambezi for centuries – is for Siku to give up the only life she’s ever known.

With the future of the Shonga resting on her shoulders, Siku must journey to the source of the river to understand the ancient power hidden within her.

Never Waste a Good Crisis was born in the wake of Covid-19. However, the book elaborates on many other challenges that leaders in corporate South Africa have had to deal with – including deeply personal ones.

Is leadership an art? Can you learn it? Can anyone be a leader? Carié Maas asks twenty seasoned leaders what their leadership philosophies are, and their opinions vary as widely as the industries they come from.

The lessons they share from their journeys up the corporate ladder will inspire, encourage and challenge the reader.

Post-apartheid South Africa still struggles to overcome the past, not just because the material conditions of apartheid linger but because the intellectual conditions it created have not been thoroughly dismantled. The system of 'petty apartheid', which controlled the minutia of everyday life, became a means of dragooning human beings into adapting to increasingly mechanized forms of life that stifle desire and creative endeavour. As a result, apartheid is incessantly repeated in the struggle to move beyond it.

In Undoing Apartheid, Premesh Lalu argues that only an aesthetic education can lead to a future beyond apartheid. To find ways to escape the vicious cycle, he traces the patterns created by three theatrical works by William Kentridge, Jane Taylor, and the Handspring Puppet Company – Faustus in Africa, Woyzeck on the Highveld, and Ubu and the Truth Commission – which coincided with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of apartheid.

Through the analysis of these works, Lalu uncovers the roots of modern thinking about race and affirms the need to revitalize a post-apartheid reconciliation endowed with truth – if only to keep alive the rhyme of hope and history.

Meet the mammals, reptiles, insects and birds who populate the veld, desert, forests and ponds of South Africa.

From the ant-eating aardvark to the zebra spitting cobra, there is a new friend on every page. Packed with vivid and charming illustrations and includes the scientific name of each animal.

Melo’s Kingdom takes children on a wonderful adventure to the African bush with Melo and her special animal friends. Each of the charming stories explores an African proverb and incorporates biblical principles to inspire and educate children in an engaging way. The stories written by Thuli Madonsela and members of her family, highlight the importance of values like honesty, courage, respect, teamwork and kindness, while exploring the wonders of creation. The message of each story is reinforced by a relevant Scripture verse, a prayer, quizzy questions for further reflection, wise words, and a fun, faith-filled activity.

Dawid Uys, ’n jong dominee op die platteland word gekonfronteer met vrae oor sy oorsprong en ook sy geloof wanneer daar skielik geleenthede en uitdagings oor sy pad kom. Hy kom ook te staan voor moeilike keuses wanneer hy ’n onverwagse oproep van ’n prokureur kry en hoor dat hy Oom Boela se plaas, Aurora, geërf het.

Dawid het Oom Boela skaars geken en nou kom die plaas nog met ‘n klomp bepalings en voorwaardes. Die plaas en die kerk sorg vir eindelose struikelblokke en dan is daar nog Dawid se liefdeslewe ook. Hy moet konfrontasies op die kerkraad en moeilike plaaswerkers hanteer en intussen raak hy verlief op die buurman se dogter. Daar is ook ’n nuwe intrekker op die dorp, ’n beeldskone enkelma met ’n misterieuse verlede.

Aurora neem vir Dawid en die leser op ’n geestelike reis soos min en die uiteinde van die verhaal is amper so onvoorspelbaar soos die lewe self.

Die Skot Quinn Sutherland het Ella du Toit se hart ses maande gelede gebreek toe hy bloot opgehou het om op haar teksboodskappe te antwoord.

Sy kies koers Londen toe waar sy as beleggingsontleder gaan werk. Dan bars ’n skietery los by die restaurant waar sy een aand kuier en Quinn is die een wat met haar hospitaal toe jaag. Hulle besef die vonk tussen hulle is nog lank nie uitgebrand nie.

Quinn is egter nie van plan om gou te trou nie en Ella is lugtig vir hom nadat hy haar so seergemaak het. Dan stel sy ’n kortstondige romanse van drie weke tussen hulle voor. Dit behoort genoeg te wees om hulle vir goed uit mekaar se gestel te kry, of hoe?

Nou kyk ons nog in ’n dowwe spieël ...

Doktor Olaf Demeyer herstel nog van sy vierdubbele hartomleiding en die trauma van vorige ondersoeke waarby hy betrokke was. Om die waarheid te sê, hy moes lankal aftree as forensiese profileerder van die SAPD. Maar dan kom vra Lucida Winterbach sy hulp. Sy glo ’n moordenaar teiken studente van haar Elegant Queens Academy, ’n skool vir skoonheid en modelwerk. Al die meisies is minderjarig, met blinkoogdrome van skoonheidstitels en modelkontrakte. Tot van hulle naak op die bodems van swembaddens in die omgewing gevind word. Olaf se lewenslange beskermingsdrang teenoor die weerloses motiveer hom om gehoor te gee aan haar versoek. Gou besef hy egter dat dit hier gaan oor soveel meer as die feite en bewyse wat ’n mens kan sien en hoor. Olaf twyfel aan sy oordeel en instinkte. Hy word geteister deur verwronge beelde van die meisies en homself.

Uiteindelik weet hy: Ons sal altyd alles slegs ten dele ken, en ons moet ’n manier vind om elke dag saam met dié wete te leef. Vir Olaf is dit daardie wete wat dreig om hom na jare in die bedryf van sy kop af te dryf.

Spreekwoorde En Ander Segswyses is ’n handige naslaanwerk vir Afrikaanse en Engelse gebruikers.

Spreekwoorde En Ander Segswyses bevat:

• 10 765 spreekwoorde en segswyses
• 1400 nuwe spreekwoorde en segswyses
• interessante inligting oor en verklarings en vertaalekwivalente vir die spreekwoorde en segswyses

Hierdie boek het Tobi vir drie redes geskryf Eerstens het elke resep net drie bestanddele Tweedens vir die ekonomiese faktor Nie almal kan duur bestanddele bekostig of ses soorte kase in die yskas aanhou nie As plaasseun verstaan hy ook dat almal nie altyd toegang het tot groot winkelsentrums waar elke bestanddeel onder die son beskikbaar is nie Derdens vir tydsbesparing Met dié kortpadresepte hoef jy nie vir ure in die kombuis te staan nie.

Tobi beskou homself nie as ‘n chef nie Trouens hy wil nie eers die gesogte titel koskenner voor sy naam skryf nie Omdat ek myself nie as ‘n kosmeester beskou nie koop ek byvoorbeeld sonder om te blik of te bloos klaar voorbereide skilferkorsdeeg En met geblikte kos kan jy soms toor en hoekom het hulle ‘n vrieskas in die eerste plek gemaak as jy nie kos mag vries nie.

Tobi glo kook is ‘n manier van ontvlugting waar jy jouself kan uitleef in ‘n kombuis En hier deel hy sy passie deur maklike vinnige en bekostigbare geregte

South Africa’s general election of 2024 saw the African National Congress losing its majority at the national level for the first time since the arrival of democracy in 1994. To maintain its rule, President Cyril Ramaphosa led his party into a Government of National Unity (GNU) centered around a hitherto unlikely coalition with the opposition Democratic Alliance. Election 2024, South Africa: Countdown to Coalition presents the first comprehensive analysis of this historic process.

It outlines the extensive social and economic crisis that preceded the election; provides detailed analyses of the election campaigns of the political parties; highlights the dramatic rise Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto we Sizwe Party; places the GNU against the recent experiences of coalition formation at provincial and local level; offers comprehensive summaries of voter participation and both the national and provincial results; and discusses prospects for the GNU’s survival and its possible long-term consequences.

Written in a highly accessible style, Election 2024, South Africa is an indispensable resource for all those wanting to understand South Africa’s contemporary politics.