The History of Blood
Published on 2. February 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-4721-2182-0 (ISBN)
Description
When the South African Police Service receive a panicked call for help from the wayward daughter of a former Apartheid-era politician, they discover only her body but, within it, a message which will take Colonel Vaughn de Vries and Don February of the Special Crimes Unit on a journey through their country - and their country's past - to decipher and resolve.
As organised crime grips South Africa, new players arrive in Cape Town, determined to exploit the poor and hopeless, promising redemption. While other government agencies snap impotently at the small fish, De Vries, linked by a personal connection, resolves to follow this trail to its source and take it down from the top. As decades old webs of corruption and influence are exposed, and the boundaries of morality blur, his decisions begin to impact on his friends, colleagues and family.
As organised crime grips South Africa, new players arrive in Cape Town, determined to exploit the poor and hopeless, promising redemption. While other government agencies snap impotently at the small fish, De Vries, linked by a personal connection, resolves to follow this trail to its source and take it down from the top. As decades old webs of corruption and influence are exposed, and the boundaries of morality blur, his decisions begin to impact on his friends, colleagues and family.
Reviews / Votes
An excellent, uncompromising crime thriller made even better by its setting ... the story is two journeys in one, and I'm glad I took both -- Lee Child A jaw-droppingly brilliant crime thriller. Imagine The Killing moved to Cape Town and into the landscape of the hot and dusty African veld -- Philip Glenister The First Rule of Survival is an incredibly atmospheric, complex and dazzling debut from a thrilling and authentic new voice in crime fiction * Brian McGilloway * An impressive debut * The Times * Mendelson plots so smoothly and writes so powerfully * The Guardian * The History of Blood is thoughtful and thrilling in equal parts * The Mail on Sunday * When Paul Mendelson, author of a string of successful high-stakes poker manuals, turned to crime writing a few years ago he brought all of the adrenaline fuelled drama of no-limit Texas Hold'em to the printed page . . . Gripping and chillingly authentic * Irish Independent *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
240 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4721-2182-0 (9781472121820)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Paul Mendelson has written for the theatre and television and is the author of eleven non-fiction titles concerning mind-sports such as bridge and poker, as well as being a crime novelist whose first novel, The First Rule of Survival, was short-listed for the CWA Golden Dagger Crime Novel of the Year in 2014. His second novel, The Serpentine Road, was long-listed for the same prize in 2015. Both have been translated into several languages and a television adaptation is already in preparation.