Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido are languishing in Stellenbosch. Run-of-the-mill police work in the leafy university town is a far cry from their previous life in the elite HAWKS. But when a student is found dead on a mountain trail, the two detectives find themselves trying to unpick a stubbornly difficult mystery.

In the north of the country, meanwhile, a beautiful wildlife guide is recruited by a group of special forces soldiers to act as a honeytrap, part a dangerous multi-million-dollar heist that goes tragically wrong. Then back in Stellenbosch, a local businessman is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit - suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat. A message to keep silent - but about what?

You need a cool head to unravel it all, because sadly, the thieves and criminals are as likely to be in government - or even the police - as on the streets. You need to stay calm, focused - and sober. Benny may be sober these days, but he's not feeling calm. Solving this puzzle is turning into a deadly race against time and there's another date that's coming towards him like an express train. Alexa has fixed the date for their wedding. Big trouble, on every front.

Almost fired for insubordination, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves demoted, exiled from the elite Hawks unit and dispatched to the leafy streets of Stellenbosch. Working a missing persons report on student Callie de Bruin is not the level of work they are used to, but it's all they get. And soon, it takes a dangerous, deeply disturbing turn.

Stellenbosch is beautiful, but its economy has been ruined by one man. Jasper Boonstra and his gigantic corporate fraud have crashed the local property market, just when estate agent Sandra Steenberg desperately needs a big sale. Bringing up twins and supporting her academic husband, she is facing disaster. Then she gets a call. From Jasper Boonstra, fraudster, sexual predator and owner of a superb property worth millions, even now.

For Sandra, the stakes are high and about to get way higher. For Benny Griessel, clinging to sobriety and the relationship that saved his life, the truth about Callie can only lead to more trouble.

GRIESSEL AND CUPIDO ARE EXPECTING A QUIET LIFE

Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido remain on duty in beautiful Stellenbosch, but run-of-the-mill police work in a leafy university town famed for its vineyards is a far cry from their previous life in Cape Town fighting crime at the highest level. For now, Benny has more pressing things to worry about - it's the countdown to his wedding day on 12 June.

BUT THE PEACE IS ABOUT TO BE SHATTERED

When a student is found dead on a mountain trail, and the key suspect, a local businessman, is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit delivering a message - suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat - Griessel and Cupido both know this the work of professionals.
Benny also knows he needs a cool head to untangle this web of deceit, and to manage the incessant pressure. He needs to stay calm, focused - and sober. And it all needs to be wrapped up by 12 June.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING. AND CHAOS IS COMING...

From internationally acclaimed crime writer Deon Meyer, a new thriller featuring superstar detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido in the wake of their impulsive pursuit of state corruption that has left their reputations hanging in the balanceHaving jeopardized their careers in an unauthorized investigation that threatened to reveal the corruption in South Africa's halls of power, Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido have been demoted from the elite Hawks police unit. While waiting to be transferred from Cape Town to seemingly mundane duty in Stellenbosch, Griessel receives a disturbing, anonymous letter: "I can only trust you and Captain Cupido. There is an adder in our bosom. Be careful of phone calls."Assigned to investigate the disappearance of Callie de Bruin, a young university student and brilliant computer programmer, they hit dead ends until the trail, including the death of a fellow officer, leads to a series of gun heists and the alarming absence of certain weapons from the police registry, the ramifications of which could be devastating.As Griessel and Cupido intensify their search for de Bruin, real estate agent Sandra Steenberg confronts her own crisis: state corruption has caused the real estate market to crash, exacerbating the dire financial straits facing her family. When billionaire Jasper Boonstra contacts her to represent a major property he wants to sell, she pushes aside her concerns about his notorious reputation as playboy and swindler. And then Boonstra himself disappears, and Griessel is forced to juggle between Boonstra's bitter wife, protective lawyer, and Steenberg, the last person to see him alive.With propulsive and intricate plotting, sharp prose, and an ending that takes one's breath away just when the dust seems to have settled, The Dark Flood spotlights the state capture and corruption that has overtaken the country, lending political weight to a powerful story.

'The undisputed champion of South African crime' - Wilbur Smith One last chance. Almost fired for insubordination, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves demoted, exiled from the elite Hawks unit and dispatched to the leafy streets of Stellenbosch. Working a missing persons report on student Callie de Bruin is not the level of work they are used to, but it's all they get. And soon, it takes a dangerous, deeply disturbing turn. One last chance. Stellenbosch is beautiful, but its economy has been ruined by one man. Jasper Boonstra and his gigantic corporate fraud have crashed the local property market, just when estate agent Sandra Steenberg desperately needs a big sale. Bringing up twins and supporting her academic husband, she is facing disaster. Then she gets a call. From Jasper Boonstra, fraudster, sexual predator and owner of a superb property worth millions, even now. For Sandra, the stakes are high and about to get way higher. For Benny Griessel, clinging to sobriety and the relationship that saved his life, the truth about Callie can only lead to more trouble. Taut with intrigue, murder and suspense, exploding with action and excitement, The Dark Flood is a masterpiece from the author of Trackers and The Last Hunt. 'One of the best crime writers on the planet' - Daily Mail