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by Wessel Ebersohn
Abigail Bukula was fifteen when her parents were killed in a massacre of anti-apartheid activists by white security forces. A young soldier spoke up in her defense, and she was spared. Now she's a lawyer with a promising career in the new government, but she's never forgotten Leon Lourens, the soldier who saved her. Twenty years later, he comes to her for help: Someone is killing off members of the team who killed her parents, and Leon is one of two still alive.
Abigail turns to Yudel Gordon, an eccentric, nearly retired, white prison psychologist, for help. To save Leon's life they must untangle the web of politics, identity, and history before the anniversary of the raid - only days away.
"Starred Review. The complexities of South Africa a decade after the end of white rule help fuel a compelling plot that builds to several dramatic climaxes." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Deftly mixing past and present in a complex plot that pits justice against moral ambiguity, he vividly portrays a divided nation in which a national hero may also be a contract killer—still at large." - Library Journal
"Ebersohn, an established South African novelist, has created engaging characters; a gripping plot; a great backstory involving the country's recent, violent past; and trenchant commentary on South Africa today." - Booklist
"His writing is earnest, his plotting is murky and his dialogue is ponderously expository. But his horrors, rooted so closely in history, have a nightmare quality that's hard to shake." - Kirkus
This information about The October Killings 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.
Wessel Ebersohn was born in Cape Town, South Africa. An internationally published author, The October Killings - the first in a new series - marks his return to crime fiction.
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