A Beautiful Place to Die
by Malla
Nunn
A magnificent start to a promising series!
First
in the Detective Emmanuel Cooper series, A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE,
opens in 1952 South Africa as the National Party's apartheid laws go
into effect, expanding outwards into the farthest reaches of the
country. Called from Johannesburg to investigate a murder in Jacob's
Rest, a town near the border of South Africa and Mozambique, war
veteran and police detective Emmanuel Cooper discovers a body of
Captain Pretorius, a white policeman who rules the town in more ways
than one. An Afrikaner whose family spearheads the move to the new
South Africa as a land for God's chosen people, Captain Pretorius's
family is the moral pivot around which the white community and his own
family turns. Cooper's investigation proves difficult as the forces
wanting to unearth the murderer are checked by witnesses reluctant to
come forward on all sides of the racial divide for reasons of safety as
well as to preserve the reputation of the victim. When the Special
Branch enters the investigation, their determination to find black
radical communists to boost the success of the National Party's mission
threatens to sacrifice the truth for political purpose. Determined to
uncover the truth, Cooper sets off on his own to unravel the mystery of
the murder alongside a case of crimes against women that was long
ignored since the women were not white. Shabalala, a Zulu-Shangaan
policeman who was like a brother to Captain Pretorius gives Cooper and
indeed the reader a window thorough which to view the victim's
complexity. As he investigates, Cooper discovers the secret
relationships and crimes beneath the intricately layered rules of
social and now legal rules, a truth that threatens his physical safety
and entire social construct seemingly so stable in Jacob's Rest.
In A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE, Malla Nunn, the Swaziland born filmmaker
and now debut author, creates a murder mystery rich in detail that
takes the reader to the heart of a small South African town in this
period. Every gesture or word between characters carries with it the
social construct of apartheid. Malla explores the tense relations
between the English and the Afrikaners as well as the religious
mythology behind apartheid, with subtlety tying it into World War II
through her characters and history. Against this background, A
BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE creates complex characters whose divided
loyalties belie surface appearances. As characters uphold apartheid's
legal and mythological ideal of racial purity, the murder investigation
unearths seething passions, corruption and the dangerous lengths to
which the characters will go to preserve their outward sense of honor
all the while committing atrocious acts. Against this backdrop, Malla
Nunn creates a multi-layered portrait of the murder victim and indeed
of Shabalala as well, two men whose friendship crossed the racial
divide. Cooper's investigation takes the reader beyond the stereotypes
created by apartheid, revealing aspects of the murder victim's most
private life and the divided loyalties within his heart.
A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE is not only a riveting mystery where clues and
carefully laid twists and turns make this book a fast page turner but
also a rich work of fiction to satisfy a deeper longing within the
reader for depth in setting, characterization and history. This reader
hopes to catch a deeper glance of some of the characters here,
especially the Jewish Zweigman and the policemen as the series
develops. Malla Nunn draws the reader into both the setting and the
crime hunt as the shocking path to the culprit leads to an unexpected
revelation with dangerous consequences. Unlike many detective crime
movies set in Africa, A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE provides a more intimate
look into the the subtle workings of the effects of racial laws and
makes this period of history come alive. Do not pick up this book
expecting a cozy mystery set in an exotic setting that passes lightly
over torture and other graphic details. If however, you crave a mystery
that goes beyond the mere solving of a crime, albeit with exciting
prepared but unexpected turns, into something grittier that peers into
the very social constructs and intimacy of the human heart, for better
and worse, A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE is a stunning, memorable read. A
magnificent start to a promising series!
Publisher: Simon &
Schuster (January 2009)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
Courtesy of Amazon Vine
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