“John Lee infuses the story with tension as he performs an impeccable combination of extreme hostility, seedy vulgarity, and mounting chaos. . . . Lee keeps pace with the grisly plot, hooking the listener with his gripping narration.”
      —AudioFile

“Smith plays out . . . that chilling sense of inevitability that is at the heart of the best noir. . . . A fine debut.”
      —Bill Ott, Booklist

“A gripping thriller that follows believable (if sometimes grotesque) characters along a desperate rush to ruin. Highly recommended.”
      —Library Journal

“A cinematic Cape Town thriller.”
      —BookPage

“Smith offers a gritty tale of corruption and vengeance set in South Africa in his absorbing debut. His taut prose bodes well for future thrillers from his pen.”
      —Publishers Weekly

“Smith does an outstanding job of bringing Cape Town to life, taking us through the twists and turns of the local criminal world and the confusing labyrinth of racial identity in post-apartheid South Africa.”
      —Kirkus Reviews

“The spare, well-paced story gathers momentum to a Miltonic moment of retribution.”
      —Mystery Scene Magazine

“The repulsive Rudi ‘Gatsby’ Barnard, an Afrikaner cop, [is] as corrupt and villainous as any in recent fiction.”
      —Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

“One of the most impressive thrillers you are likely to read this year. We are certain to see [Smith's] name in the list of nominees for most of the major crime fiction awards.”
      —Bookgasm

“A lean, bloodthirsty, yet meditative story that is almost impossible to put down.”
      —Florida Times-Union

“Dickensian in its presentation of thugs and murderers [and] an especially wonderful villain.”
      —Richmond Times-Dispatch

“A very brutal, absolutely gripping walk on the wild side. . . . A shattering page-turner.”
      —The Anniston Star

ROGER SMITH is an accomplished screenwriter, director, and producer. He lives in Cape Town.