The Woman in the Blue Cloak

Book excerpt: A death in South Africa may be tied to a centuries-old painting: “Is it O.K. to call a murder mystery ‘lovely’? That’s the word that comes to mind.”―Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review Early on a May morning in the depth of South Africa’s winter, a woman’s naked body, washed in bleach, is discovered on a stone wall beside a highway some thirty-five miles from Cape Town. The local investigation stalls, so the case is referred to Captains Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido of the Hawks—the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations. The woman is an American named Alicia Lewis, an expert in old Dutch Masters paintings specializing in the recovery of valuable lost art. Discovering the two men she had contacted before coming to South Africa reveals what she was seeking—a rare painting by Carel Fabritius, Rembrandt’s finest student, not seen since it disappeared from Delft in 1654. But how Lewis died, why, and at whose hand shocks even the two veteran detectives, in this compact jewel of a thriller from a multiple award-winning author. “Just the thing for a one-sitting read.”—Kirkus Reviews “Deon Meyer’s Benny Griessel series is one of the high points of contemporary crime fiction.”―Guardian “A serious writer who richly deserves the international reputation he has built.”―The Washington Post