I received this book as an uncorrected proof copy- I had not heard of the author, so was intrigued to find out more. I started reading, and was hooked! It`s set in South Africa, an area that Christopher Radmann knows well, as he hails from there- his knowledge, & unique insight into the area, its beauty,  and  also problems, is very apparent.

It`s the story of Paul van Niekerk, who is a contented man, his family means everything to him. Then, one day, whilst waiting at traffic lights, someone taps on his car window with the barrel of a handgun. He`s dragged out and his assailant drives off in his car. It`s an everyday car jacking in South Africa. Except his nine month old daughter is in the back seat. Paul descends into the heart of darkness of South Africa to find his child. he uncovers a criminal gang involved in people trafficing, and discovers in himself a capacity for violence.

Unusually, this book doesn`t focus on the efforts of the police to find his baby daughter, but the effect her loss has on him and his wife, both coping in different ways. I can`t say too much without spoiling the plot, but suffice to say that the descriptions of Soweto, for example, made me feel I was actually there. This is the first time novel from Christopher Radmann, and although very different to my usual read, has made a big impression on me- I loved it, and the story will stay with me for a long time- I can`t wait for book number 2!!

I received a review copy of this one today, thanks for the review, it sounds like a good read.

During these times of economic recession I would guess a publisher has to be pretty confident of publishing a new writer in order to get a decent return on the initial investment. And so I approached this novel with a trust that it would be a worthwhile read.

But I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like it. I’m not sure whether it was the subject matter or the writing style.

The story as a whole made me feel very uncomfortable but I think it was supposed to and there’s nothing wrong in that. However what I couldn’t get my head round was why this guy failed to think about his child until the hold up was over. I cannot think of a parent whose first thought wouldn’t be their child. This was unrealistic. I have no doubt that the author believed it would create a greater impact but for me it failed miserably and possibly compromised the integrity of the rest of the book.

 I am not a fan of novels written in the present tense. I always feel that such a technique indicates that the writer is not sure enough of him/herself to commit. There is only one place in this novel where it worked for me and that is the description of Claire swimming and the recall of an adolescent memory, the present tense there seemed to reinforce the immediacy of their crisis and I liked the juxtaposition of swimming and tears. But that’s the only place.

I guess I learnt a lot about life in South Africa, the poverty, harshness, the anguish of a mother and her children all dying from AIDS and the challenges of simply surviving amidst such a severe regime.

The ‘happy ending’ is too contrived to work against the backdrop of brutality, heartbreak and violence. It simply doesn’t ring true. And with a novel like this a sense of reality within it is vital.

My heart goes out to anyone who has suffered like this. If this is a personal experience for Christopher Radman than I do applaud this work as an act of catharsis and I hope he feels better. But as a work of fiction or literature it doesn’t quite make it for me.

I have a review copy of this too.  Haven't read it yet.  But really curious to do so now!

 I had a feeling it might be a `marmite` book, as certainly the writing style was quite different to what I was used to. For me, it worked- I will be interested to see what Chrisopher Radmann comes up with next.

I'm another one that didn't like this one, my thoughts:

Christopher Radmann's debut novel is a difficult read in two ways. It is a difficult subject and is set in a country where violence is very common place, I also found it difficult because of the style of writing.

I wouldn't say that it is all badly written, but there are parts that really annoyed me. Radmann 'does' violence and description very well, but I found it so hard to relate to his characters. They were quite cold and often emotionless.

I did learn things about South Africa, a country that I know little about but this wasn't enough to make up for the poor plot and one dimensional characters.