{"product_id":"the-serpentine-road","title":"Paul Mendelson: The Serpentine Road [2016] paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eEven after the release of Nelson Mandela and the promise of free elections, extremist groups terrorized South Africa, bombing churches, opening fire in bars and restaurants. Nearly twenty-five years ago, as a young Captain, Vaughn de Vries finds himself in pursuit of the suspects of a fatal bombing in his precinct, under the command of one of the most feared white police officers of the time: Major Kobus Nel. Out of radio communication and without clear evidence, the SAPS barge into a township and set off a chain of events which will resonate for a quarter of a century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  In Cape Town in 2015, the heiress of an Apartheid-era industrialist is found murdered, her body posed to suggest a racial hate crime. But, as Colonel Vaughn De Vries investigates, possible motives for her death abound: a highly controversial art exhibition, her sexual preferences, her relationship - as yet unknown by the press - with the son of one of the heroes of The Struggle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  And, moving South down through the country, five men are murdered, each with a connection to a point in history De Vries would sooner forget. When the link is made, De Vries must re-live the traumatic event to uncover the perpetrator. Old wounds, hidden in history, are exposed, and a mysterious killer approaches, whom no one seems able to stop.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the 2015 Crime Writer's Association Golden Dagger (Crime Novel of the Year)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Paul Mendelson:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Authoritative and unblinkered fare'\u003ci\u003e \u003cb\u003eFinancial Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e'Once more, South Africa is brought vividly to life in a fine crimer which delivers a warm change from the regular diet of Scandinavian angst' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWeekend Sport \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eSerpentine Road \u003c\/i\u003ehas been my discovery of the year. Paul Mendelson has the makings of a literary superstar' \u003cb\u003eJenny Crwys Williams, Radio 702\/Cape Talk 567 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'In another superb slice of South African noir, Mendelson illuminates the corruption and criminality that plagues a country still haunted by apartheid. A taut thriller which evokes a unique political and geographic landscape' \u003cb\u003eCath Staincliffe \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'An excellent, uncompromising crime thriller made even better by its setting ... the story is two journeys in one, and I'm glad I took both'\u003cb\u003e Lee Child\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A jaw-droppingly brilliant crime thriller. Imagine \u003ci\u003eThe Killing \u003c\/i\u003emoved to Cape Town and into the landscape of the hot and dusty African veld'\u003cb\u003e Philip Glenister\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'The First Rule of Survival\u003c\/i\u003e is an incredibly atmospheric, complex and dazzling debut from a thrilling and authentic new voice in crime fiction'\u003cb\u003e Brian McGilloway\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An impressive debut' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mendelson, Paul","offers":[{"title":"Good","offer_id":48673615020371,"sku":"XG81472111388","price":4.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0616\/4001\/6057\/files\/mendelson-paul-the-serpentine-road-xg81472111388-56090030145875.jpg?v=1726534032","url":"https:\/\/theirishbookshop.live\/products\/the-serpentine-road","provider":"Chapters Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}