Bloody Words
Bloody Words
is Canada's premier mystery conference. This year (the 10th) it will
be held May 28-30 at the Hilton Hotel in Toronto. It's a lot of fun,
especially for readers, who get to chat with a number of authors.
The International Guest of Honour is Deon Meyer from South Africa. I had never heard of him and decided 
to try his latest book Blood Safari.
It's a stand-alone mystery/thriller and I couldn't put it down. The
plot features a taciturn bodyguard with a past whose latest job is to
look after a woman who thinks she may have seen her long-lost brother
on TV. He had disappeared 20 years before, while working as a warden in
one of the game parks. Subsequent to her inquiries, her house had been
broken into and she was barely able to escape.
As with all good
mysteries, there is much more than the actual case at hand. It is a
picture of contemporary South African society, shedding light on
relations between black and white, and Afrikaners and English. There is
the intriguing character of the bodyguard, whose voice tells the story.
He has explanations for everything: Law of Rich Afrikaners, Law of
Small Women, Law of Animal Fanatics… We learn about conservation,
what it takes to be a bodyguard, and the workings of nature. (The
division of labour among vultures is particularly interesting.)
Meyer's newest book will be published later in the year, and several others are available at TPL. Best of all, you can hear him speak at Bloody Words in May.
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