Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published in USA
Apr 2010
336 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
In Johannesburg, prosperous whites live behind gates; when they exit their cars to open the gates, car-jackings are common. But seldom is the victim killed, much less shot twice, like Annette Botha. Piet Botha, the husband of the wealthy woman, is the primary suspect in his wife's murder.
PI Jade de Jong fled South Africa ten years ago after her father was killed. Now back in town, she offers to help her father's former assistant, Superintendent David Patel, with his investigation of this case. Under apartheid, Patel, of Indian descent, could never have attained his present position. But he is feeling pressure from his "old line" boss with respect to this investigation and fears lingering prejudice is at work.
As Jade probes into this and other recent car-jacking cases, a pattern begins to emerge, a pattern that goes back to her father's murder and involves a vast and intricate series of crimes for profit.
Click to the right or left of the sample to turn the page.
(If no book jacket appears in a few seconds, then we don't have an excerpt of this book or your browser is unable to display it)
"Starred Review. Mackenzie does a superb job of making the reader care for her gutsy lead while offering a glimpse at life in South Africa after apartheid. Readers will wish Jade a long fictional career." - Publishers Weekly
"Mackenzie's debut is a bit overstuffed, but key characters and a gritty style augur well for proposed future installments." - Kirkus Reviews
"Random Violence excels in its ability to translate our propensity for violent crime into a clever plot that could take place only in South Africa."- Gillian Anstey, The Sunday Times (South Africa)
"Mackenzie delivers a thriller that will hopefully be the first of many." - The Star (South Africa)
"Starred Review. This gripping first entry in a new crime series set in postapartheid South Africa should please readers of Zoë Sharp and Suzanne Arruda. Fans of other South African crime fiction by Deon Meyer, Roger Smith, and Malla Nunn will also want to try." - Library Journal
The information about Random Violence shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Jassy Mackenzie, born in Rhodesia, moved to South Africa when she was eight years old. She has actually been car-jacked at gunpoint outside her home in Kyalami, near Johannesburg. She edits and writes for the annual publication Best of South Africa.
An audacious American epic set in rural Georgia during the years of the Depression and Prohibition.
About the book
The Family Tabor
by Cherise Wolas
Wolas's gorgeously rendered sophomore novel reckons with the nature of the stories we tell ourselves.
Reader Reviews
Clock Dance
by Anne Tyler
A delightful novel of one woman's transformative journey, from the best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer.
Reader Reviews
A Place For Us
A deeply moving story of love, identity and belonging--the first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends books that we believe to be best in class. Books that will whisk you to faraway places and times, that will expand your mind and challenge you -- the kinds of books you just can't wait to tell your friends about.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info & giveaways by email.
