In 2005, Fred van der Vyver, a young actuary and the son of a wealthy Eastern Cape farming family, was charged with murdering his girlfriend, Inge Lotz, allegedly bludgeoning her to death with a hammer as she lay on a couch in her lounge. The case against Van der Vyver seemed overwhelming. His behaviour at the time of the murder appeared suspicious and the forensic evidence seemed to prove his guilt.

And yet, in one of the most sensational and controversial murder trials in South African legal history, Van der Vyver's lawyers sought to turn the table on the police, accusing them of fabricating evidence and lying to the judge.

Now updated with the tale of the remarkable events that followed the judge’s verdict, prize-winning author Antony Altbeker takes you into the heart of the epic courtroom battle. His eye-witness account of the trial presents the reader with all the evidence and testimony while also placing it in the context of a society and justice system that are being stretched to breaking point.

Since 1994, Antony Altbeker has worked on issues relating to crime, policing and the criminal justice in government and in a variety of think-tanks. He is also the author of A Country at War with Itself and The Dirty Work of Democracy.

A warts-and-all account of a year spent 'on the beat' with units of the South African Police Service. The author records his experiences with insight and sensitivity, but above all with honesty – there is no glamorisation of person or of job, nor is there camouflage of the shortcomings and flaws, even frequently the moral frailty, in the South African policing system and among some of its personnel. By the same token, he shows a deep sympathy for a police service generally trying hard, often under difficult conditions, to play its given role in a society whose incidence of lawlessness challenges the very capacity of its law-enforcement services. Skilful characterisation introduces the reader to a number of interesting characters, on both sides of the legal divide, vividly and deftly drawn. The text provides an absorbing insight into the many-faceted psyche of the South African policeman. Altbeker uses language with skill; his text is fluent, and his expression sophisticated. His vivid descriptions, especially his evocation of the spirit of place and his use of metaphor, make this text readable at a level far deeper than that merely of an investigative narrative. His narrative, as he comments and reflects on the people and incidents recounted in the book, is thoughtful and informative, and his commentary is perceptively analytical. It sets the events that take place, many of them sordid, against a broader and more objective, at times even a philosophical, backdrop.