Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2014
352 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Five days before Christmas, Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper sits at his desk at the Johannesburg major crimes squad, ready for his holiday in Mozambique. A call comes in: a respectable white couple has been assaulted and left for dead in their bedroom. The couple's teenage daughter identifies the attacker as Aaron Shabalala - the youngest son of Zulu Detective Constable Samuel Shabalala - Cooper's best friend and a man to whom he owes his life.
The Detective Branch isn't interested in evidence that might contradict their star witness's story, especially so close to the holidays. Determined to ensure justice for Aaron, Cooper, Shabalala, and their trusted friend Dr. Daniel Zweigman hunt for the truth. Their investigation uncovers a violent world of Sophiatown gangs, thieves, and corrupt government officials who will do anything to keep their dark world intact.
"Starred Review. Gripping and thoughtful... Nunn brilliantly combines character and fair play clues." - Publishers Weekly
"A disturbing book with a morally compelling hero." - Booklist
"Historical hindsight may make readers a bit more self-congratulatory about recognizing the evils of apartheid, but it won't help them see around the curves Nunn has plotted or rise above her insight into the enduring dilemmas of her separate-and-unequal world." - Kirkus
"The suspense is irresistible, and the mystery sustains itself well. This is a wonderfully effective addition to Nunn's already masterful series of novels. A highly recommended novel." - Historical Novel Society
"An engrossing and compelling read... saturated with the feel of 1950s South Africa." - Mike Nicol, author of the Revenge trilogy
This information about Present Darkness was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Malla Nunn grew up in Swaziland before moving with her parents to Perth in the 1970s. She attended university in Western Australia, and then the US. In New York, she worked on film sets, wrote her first screenplay, and met her American husband-to-be, before returning to Australia, where she began writing and directing short films and corporate videos.
Fade to White, Sweetbreeze and Servant of the Ancestors have won numerous awards and have shown at international film festivals from Zanzibar to New York. Malla and her husband live in Sydney with their two children.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
