Cobra

by Deon Meyer Narrated by Simon Vance

Overview

At a guest house in the beautiful Franschhoek wine valley, a famous English mathematician is kidnapped and his two bodyguards killed. It's clearly a professional job, and the spent shell casings offer a chilling clue: each is engraved with the head of a spitting cobra.

Meanwhile, in Cape Town, a skilled young thief is using his talents to put his sister through college. One day he picks the wrong pocket, grabbing the wallet of a young American woman who was delivering valuable and dangerous information. Before the day is over, five more people have been killed by Cobra, the sister is kidnapped, and the thief is on the run.

Captain Benny Griessel and South Africa's top police unit, the Hawks, attempt to identify the missing man, save the sister, and track down Cobra. But when intelligence services step in, ordering them to turn over the investigation, it becomes clear that powerful people are involved. The Hawks, however, aren't about to let it go.

Building to a deadly, heart-pounding finale, Cobra is a masterful thriller from a writer at the top of his game.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

08/11/2014
Meyer’s assured fourth Bennie Greissel thriller (after 2012’s Seven Days) takes the Cape Town homicide detective to South African wine country, where the British citizen Paul Morris has been kidnapped. At the guesthouse where Morris was staying, his two bodyguards lie dead, each of them shot in the head. Near the bodies are shell casings, each etched with the head of a cobra. Back in Cape Town, the amiable cutpurse Tyrone Kleinbooi, who’s devoted to putting his sister through medical school, becomes a target of the same cobra killers after picking the wrong pocket. Suspense builds as the action shifts between Greissel’s and Tyrone’s increasingly life-threatening exploits. On a lighter note, Afrikaans expressions season the story (a glossary is included), and there are practical lessons in the art of pickpocketing. The novel’s only flaw is the abrupt ending, which leaves at least one character’s fate unresolved. Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

Shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association International Dagger
A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Mystery & Thriller for Fall

“Mr. Meyer, the leading thriller writer in his native country, traffics in crime-novel situations familiar the world over: drunken cops, charming robbers, dangerous murderers, sudden violence—and sometimes, issues of race. Mr. Meyer’s South Africa, however, is unique. His books, translated from Afrikaans, are usually set in the Cape Town region, where mountains spectacularly meet the sea on the Horn of Africa. Amid these vistas his detective confronts his own—and his country’s—tortured past and the legacy of Apartheid.”—Wall Street Journal

“Meyer . . . vividly depicts the story of South Africa in his novels, from the hope and turmoil of the fall of apartheid to the corrupt and desperate aspects of present-day Cape Town. . . . Meyer’s novels have an insistent forward motion, and the ones featuring Captain Griessel in particular have a pleasing relentlessness.”—Los Angeles Review of Books

“An excellent South African thriller featuring one of the best ensemble casts of policemen currently pounding the crime beat.”—Deadly Pleasures

“Meyer’s assured fourth Bennie Griessel thriller takes the Cape Town homicide detective to South African wine country. . . . Suspense builds as the action shifts between Griessel’s and [Cape Town pickpocket] Tyrone’s increasingly life-threatening exploits.”—Publishers Weekly

“Meyer combines intricate plotting, a compelling cast, and timely themes in this fourth novel featuring Captain Benny Griessel. . . . Meyer has added another provocative novel to his impressive oeuvre.”—Booklist

“A chase-themed thriller set in the tense political climate of post-apartheid South Africa. . . . As always, Meyer writes with a strong sense of character and an eye on post-apartheid politics.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Deon Meyer’s series . . . grow[s] richer and more sophisticated with each new book. This progression makes Cobra the most dazzling of the bunch.”—Toronto Star

“In this ninth thriller, Deon Meyer shows his mastery of the form once again. He tells a great story with suspense that doesn’t let up. Highly recommended.”—I Love a Mystery

Kirkus Reviews

2014-07-31
A chase-themed thriller set in the tense political climate of post-apartheid South Africa.Detective Benny Griessel of Cape Town's elite Hawks is called in when renowned mathematician David Adair is kidnapped from a remote hideaway, his bodyguards shot dead. The crime is traced to the international assassin team known as Cobra, which is after a memory card containing information that could expose major worldwide financial corruption. Meanwhile, Tyrone Kleinbooi, a small-time pickpocket who steals to support his sister, inadvertently winds up with the card when he robs Adair's assistant and lover, Lillian Alvarez. Already running from the law, Tyrone witnesses a further shooting and now finds himself a Cobra target as well. Griessel's team spends the book's second half pursuing Tyrone, whose life would clearly be easier if he'd turn himself in. There's also a major implausibility when Tyrone's sister is shot point-blank by Cobras and survives with minor injuries. As the chase intensifies, recovering alcoholic Griessel struggles to stay sober and hold onto a new relationship. The story ends with a blast of violence that throws a sudden twist on a tidy ending and sets the stage for the next installment. As always, Meyer (Seven Days, 2012, etc.) writes with a strong sense of character and an eye on post-apartheid politics, though the plotting here is slower and less compelling than previous books in the Griessel series.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171333478
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	10/07/2014
Series:	Benny Griessel , #4
Edition description:	Unabridged

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