Pale Horses

February 18, 2013
The death of aid worker Sonet Meintjies, who took a fatal plunge from a Johannesburg high-rise, propels Mackenzie’s gripping fourth thriller featuring flinty South African PI Jade de Jong (after 2012’s The Fallen). Red flags start popping up almost immediately when Jade discovers that a tribal farming community whose members Sonet was mentoring has vanished without a trace—as has Sonet’s sister, Zelda, a muckraking journalist. With bullets whizzing and bodies falling, Jade contacts her on-again, off-again lover, Supt. David Patel, even though he has problems of his own between his bitchy pregnant wife and anonymous threats. As the novel hurtles toward a devastating climax, Mackenzie pumps up the suspense with a secondary but eventually intersecting story line centering on Ntombi Khumalo, a gutsy widow and mother who proves every bit as intrepid as Jade. Despite giving readers such appealing women to root for, Mackenzie paints a decidedly dystopian view of contemporary South Africa. Agent: Hannah Ferguson, the Marsh Agency.

Starred review from April 15, 2013
Sonet Meintjies jumps to her death off a swanky downtown Johannesburg skyscraper when her parachute doesn't open. Her jumping partner hires private investigator Jade de Jong to clear his name and find out what really happened. De Jong reluctantly takes the case and immediately finds much more than she bargained for. Sonet's sister, an investigative journalist looking into the timely topic of genetically modified seeds, is missing. As de Jong starts digging, all leads seem to point to a small, mysteriously abandoned farming community in Limpopo. In another story line, Ntombi Khumalo, a widow with a young son, is working as a driver for a man she is sure is a murderer. Her employer has effectively trapped her in his employ; she is completely dependent on him for all support, and he threatens her very existence. Khumalo is terrified yet determined to protect her young son. De Jong is tough as nails and persistent, despite the fact that every clue leads to a dark and twisted place. The South African setting and culture are fascinating; the strong women characters intriguing; and the way the story lines eventually intersect adds another layer to this compelling and disturbing tale. While not for the faint of heart, Pale Horses is sure to appeal to fans of Liza Marklund, Zo' Sharp, and Mackenzie's fellow South African crime writer Deon Meyer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)