Dead Before Dying

March 27, 2006
South African journalist Meyer's first novel, his third to be released in the U.S. (after 2005's Dead at Daybreak
), is a gritty existential tale with enough muscle for thriller fans and noir aficionados alike. Mat Joubert, a 34-year-old Cape Town detective, has slipped into a downward spiral two years after his wife, a fellow cop, is killed in the line of duty. Complicating matters is his newly appointed boss, Bart de Wit, a bureaucrat determined to make a name for himself in the "new" South Africa, who sends Joubert to a shrink for counseling. Joubert's opportunity at redemption comes as he investigates a bizarre series of murders committed with a century-old Mauser pistol used by the Afrikaners in the Boer war. The killer even uses vintage cartridges. Trouble is, the murders appear to be completely random and unrelated. As Joubert closes in on the killer, the plot takes an unexpected turn that will shock readers. While not up to the standard of his later Dead at Daybreak
, this remains a bold, character-driven page-turner.

Starred review from May 1, 2006
Capt. Mat Joubert, a detective in the South African Police Service, is despondent. Two years ago, his wife died in the line of duty (exactly how is revealed in a heartrending scene late in the novel). The new police chief wants him to lose weight, quit smoking, and see a psychiatrist. And his next-door neighbor's 18-year-old daughter is trying to seduce him. Not to mention other pressures, like tracking down a serial killer at work in Cape Town and stopping a bank robber who changes disguises with each attempt. As Joubert wrestles with his inner demons during sessions with an attractive female psychiatrist and tackles his weight by measuring portions of health food in grams and milliliters, the dead bodies pile up. To save his job, Joubert will have to solve the mystery that ties together seven seemingly unrelated murder victims. In his third novel, Meyer ("Dead at Daybreak") creates an enjoyable character-driven crime story that gently tweaks some of the genre's stereotypes. An appealing protagonist, a plot rich in detail, and a shocking conclusion make this a gripping read. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 1/06.]" -Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2006
Hulking police captain Mat Joubert is near suicidal after the death of his wife, who was killed in the line of duty as an undercover agent. Now he's living in a kind of purgatory, an overweight chain-smoker who is inattentive to his work in the Cape Town Murder and Robbery Department. A new commanding officer, a political appointee, is on a tear, touting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. He orders Joubert to see a psychiatrist and gives him one last chance to prove himself, putting him in charge of an investigation into a serial killer who uses a 100-year-old German handgun. Joubert desperately races to find a connection among the victims, a case the newspapers are reveling in, which, in turn, increases the pressure to solve it. Meanwhile, in prosaic fashion, Joubert struggles to bring himself back to life by chucking the cigarettes, cooking low-cal meals, and taking up swimming. Meyer subtly juxtaposes the heartbreak of the victims' families with the heartbroken detective assigned to their cases. Using humor and pathos in equal measure, Meyer builds a deeply moving portrait of a man in search of his own dignity, reclaiming his life one pool lap at a time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)