Highly Recommended Crime Fiction

Beautifully crafted, disturbingly violent, and intricately woven tales of female P.I. Jade De Jong...

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Set in contemporary South Africa, Mackenzie's triumphant debut introduces PI Jade de Jong. After roaming the world for a decade, Jade returns home to Johannesburg to take her revenge on the convicted murderer, about to be released from prison, who she believes killed her highly respected police commissioner father. Meanwhile, David Patel, her father's former assistant, asks Jade for help in investigating the murder of Annette Botha, gunned down one night after getting out of her car to unlock a malfunctioning automatic gate outside her home. David and Jade later learn that robbers killed Botha's brother a few years earlier, and that the dead woman recently retained a detective, who has since disappeared. The plot has more than its fair share of nice twists, and Mackenzie does a superb job of making the reader care for her gutsy lead while offering a glimpse at life in South Africa after apartheid. Readers will wish Jade a long fictional career. (Apr.)
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And the sequel to "Random Violence"

 

From Publishers Weekly

In Mackenzie's fine second crime novel featuring Johannesburg PI Jade de Jong (after Random Violence), Jade agrees to take what she considers an easy case, protecting Pamela Jordaan after Jordaan's husband, Terence, disappears. Jade later realizes the job is more than she bargained for, especially after she learns that Terence owned a strip club and his "disappearance" might be more sinister than it first appeared. Meanwhile, Supt. David Patel, who's adjusting to his new position in the Organized Crime Division, is trying to patch things up with his estranged wife and sort out his feelings for Jade. To complicate matters, Scotland Yard detectives from the human trafficking unit get in touch with Patel after they raid a London brothel whose owner, a dangerous man with South African ties, may be connected to Jade's case. Under Mackenzie's deft hand, Jo'berg and Jade crackle with frenetic energy. (Apr.)
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