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Wake Up Dead: A Cape Town Thriller (2009)

by Roger Smith(Favorite Author)
3.78 of 5 Votes: 2
ISBN
0805088768 (ISBN13: 9780805088762)
languge
English
publisher
Henry Holt and Co.
review 1: This book flat out kicks a**! I think the most amazing aspect of Smith's writing style is how he allows you to see the characters in a certain manner for a few chapters and then he puts you into their heads and turns your impression of them completely upside down. The characters all have their own story to tell and Smith tells them all with a style that keeps you hungering for more of their narrative. Smith is one of those writers that switch narrators and when he leaves one perspective you feel angry because you are into that character's point of view, but then you start the next chapter and think "Oh...I couldn't wait to see what this character was up to". Smith is one of the newer hard-boiled noir authors along with Millar, Zeltserman, Flexer and Chaney that is giving t... morehe genre new life. Smith has already established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the noir field and his writing seems to have gotten even better in his second book.
review 2: Not that I had any plans to travel to South Africa, but after reading another thriller by Roger Smith, I might steer clear of Capetown. Contrasting the rich, white areas with the poor mixed-race areas makes for a clash of cultures and lots of drama. Some of the characters seem similar to those in "Mixed Blood" and other RS stories, but I found the antihero Billy Afrika intriguing. Although Roger Smith is described as an African Elmore Leonard, they write crime fiction from very different angles: Leonard shows us the dumb criminal at work with a bit of humor while Smith shows us the depths of debasement a drug-addled person can become. I look forward to reading more Roger Smith, though I wish he would consider a series character. less
Reviews (see all)
Hahahakfhis
Brutal and brilliant thriller set in an apocalyptic post-apartheid South Africa.
mycelticsun
Honest, brutal writing with a lot of muscle. I like it a lot!
garciajenn
What an awesome book by one of our local talents!!!!
Dylan
enjoyed Mixed Blood more but still a good red.
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