COBRA by Deon Meyer published in paperback tomorrow

Benny Griessel is back! Tomorrow, Deon Meyer’s latest novel COBRA is published in paperback in the UK by Hodder.

Why would a mathematics professor from Cambridge University, renting a holiday home outside Cape Town, require a false identity and three bodyguards? And where is he, now that they are dead? The only clue to the bodyguards' murder is the snake engraved on the shell casings of the bullets that killed them. Investigating the massacre, Benny Griessel and his team find themselves being drawn into an international conspiracy with shocking implications…

Read the first chapter of COBRA here.

Hear Deon Meyer introduce you to his hero Benny Griessel here.

You can read what his editor Nick Sayers has to say about the novels, and test your Afrikaans, here.

COBRA has been selected for Elle Magazine’s Prix de Lectrices Prize 2015, and shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger 2015, which will be announced at the CWA dinner in London on 30 June, marking the end of National Crime Reading Month.  It was also chosen by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the Top Ten Mystery and Thriller for Fall and ‘Thriller of the Week’ on the very popular Dutch thriller & crime fiction community Crimezone.nl. When initially released in his home territory of South Africa, COBRA (published in Afrikaans by Human & Rousseau as KOBRA) shot to Number 1 on Afrikaans publication, beating off all international competition in English as well. 

His new novel, ICARUS (published in Afrikaans by Human & Rousseau as IKARUS) has also held the Number 1 spot in South Africa for several weeks and is set to be released in English on August 27th 2015 in the UK and on October 6th 2015 in the US. 

COBRA was published last year in France and Germany and has since been signed by more than a dozen more international publishers. Deon will be at the Salerno festival in June and in October will be on tour in Europe visiting Holland, Germany, and Poland among other places.

Mike Ripley from Shotsmag has nothing but praise for COBRA:

‘A masterful new thriller.  This is terrific stuff:  fine plotting, superb characterisation, a constant thread of suspense, a multi-ethnic cast and an intriguing setting. It also comes with a glossary of South African terms and if COBRA doesn’t win at least one major prize this year, then someone needs a good snotskoot blikseming.’

More Praise for COBRA:

‘An astonishing and violent climax… Meyer gives rare insights into the texture of everyday life in a country still troubled 20 years after the release of Nelson Mandela.’ – The Sunday Times

“Nothing takes you further into the heart of South Africa than a Deon Meyer crime novel, the beating heart of its hopes and disappointments.” – L’Hebdo

Visit Deon's website here.

Follow Deon on Twitter.

Praise for Deon Meyer:

‘A master on vintage form… He is a defining novelist of modern South Africa.’ – Barry Forshaw, Books of the Year 2012, Independent

‘Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

‘Meyer is brilliant at suspense, a skill that is coupled with beguilingly unabashed social commentary.’ – William Saunderson-Meyer, The Times (SA)

 'With Deon Meyer you can't go wrong. He's a writer whose work I admire, wait for and then devour.' -- Michael Connelly

COBRA shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger

Deon Meyer’s COBRA has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association International Dagger. COBRA is translated by K L Seegers. The shortlists were announced at Crimefest in Bristol last Friday. The overall winners will be presented with their awards on 30th June, to mark the end of Crime Reading Month, at a gala dinner in central London.

Also shortlisted are Camille by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne, Into a Raging Blaze by Andreas Norman, translated by Ian Giles, Falling Freely, As If In A Dream by Leif GW Persson, translated by Paul Norlen, Arab Jazz by Karim Miské, translated by Sam Gordon and The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo, translated by Isabelle Kaufeler.

Deon was previously shortlisted for the awards in 2010 with his novel THIRTEEN HOURS, also translated by K L Seegers.

COBRA was published in the UK by Hodder in 2014. It was chosen by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the Top Ten Mystery and Thriller for Fall and ‘Thriller of the Week’ on the very popular Dutch thriller & crime fiction communityCrimezone.nl. In his home territory South Africa, COBRA (published in Afrikaans by Human & Rousseau as KOBRA) shot to Number 1 on Afrikaans publication last year, beating off all international competition in English as well. 

Praise for COBRA:

‘A masterful new thriller.  This is terrific stuff:  fine plotting, superb characterisation, a constant thread of suspense, a multi-ethnic cast and an intriguing setting. It also comes with a glossary of South African terms and if COBRA doesn’t win at least one major prize this year, then someone needs a good snotskoot blikseming.’ – Mike Ripley, Shotsmag

‘The plot clicks along like a machine… The set pieces, such as a complex train-hopping action sequence, are slickly executed. This is an author in full charge of his technique, but he burnishes the mechanics of the story with delicious Kaapse characters and richly idiomatic dialogue. The feral pickpocket Tyrone Kleinbooi is one of Meyer’s best characters ever, sly and quick with a strong sense of thieves’ honour. Meyer has a habit of beckoning side characters to the front of stage in subsequent books… Here’s hoping Meyer will put Mbali Kaleni centre stage in future.  More of Mbali, please, and more, much more of Deon Meyer.’ – Michele Magwood, SA Sunday Times

Praise for Deon Meyer:

‘A master on vintage form… He is a defining novelist of modern South Africa.’ – Barry Forshaw, Books of the Year 2012, Independent

‘Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

 'With Deon Meyer you can't go wrong. He's a writer whose work I admire, wait for and then devour.' -- Michael Connelly

Deon Meyer’s COBRA out in the US tomorrow

Benny Griessel is back! Deon Meyer’s latest novel COBRA is published in the US tomorrow by Grove Atlantic.

Why would a mathematics professor from Cambridge University, renting a holiday home outside Cape Town, require a false identity and three bodyguards? And where is he, now that they are dead? The only clue to the bodyguards' murder is the snake engraved on the shell casings of the bullets that killed them. Investigating the massacre, Benny Griessel and his team find themselves being drawn into an international conspiracy with shocking implications…

COBRA was chosen by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the Top Ten Mystery and Thriller for Fall and ‘Thriller of the Week’ on the very popular Dutch thriller & crime fiction communityCrimezone.nl. In his home territory South Africa, COBRA (published in Afrikaans by Human & Rousseau as KOBRA) shot to Number 1 on Afrikaans publication last year, beating off all international competition in English as well. 

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a profile of Deon, with an extract from the novel and handy glossary of Afrikaans terms included.

Deon is currently touring in France and will then proceed to Germany. You can find out where he’ll be visiting on his website, and follow him on Twitter for pictures from the tour.

10 international publishers have signed up to COBRA with new deals regularly signed for ‘The best crime writer on the planet’ across the globe. COBRA was published in the UK by Hodder earlier this year, and in South Africa by Jonathan Ball.

Praise for COBRA:

‘A masterful new thriller.  This is terrific stuff:  fine plotting, superb characterisation, a constant thread of suspense, a multi-ethnic cast and an intriguing setting. It also comes with a glossary of South African terms and if COBRA doesn’t win at least one major prize this year, then someone needs a good snotskoot blikseming.’ – Mike Ripley, Shotsmag

‘The plot clicks along like a machine… The set pieces, such as a complex train-hopping action sequence, are slickly executed. This is an author in full charge of his technique, but he burnishes the mechanics of the story with delicious Kaapse characters and richly idiomatic dialogue. The feral pickpocket Tyrone Kleinbooi is one of Meyer’s best characters ever, sly and quick with a strong sense of thieves’ honour. Meyer has a habit of beckoning side characters to the front of stage in subsequent books… Here’s hoping Meyer will put Mbali Kaleni centre stage in future.  More of Mbali, please, and more, much more of Deon Meyer.’ – Michele Magwood, SA Sunday Times

Praise for Deon Meyer:

‘A master on vintage form… He is a defining novelist of modern South Africa.’ – Barry Forshaw, Books of the Year 2012, Independent

‘Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

 'With Deon Meyer you can't go wrong. He's a writer whose work I admire, wait for and then devour.' -- Michael Connelly

Deon Meyer’s COBRA out today

Benny Griessel is back! Deon Meyer’s latest novel COBRA is published in the UK today by Hodder and is also being launched in English in South Africa by Jonathan Ball, with a very busy author tour. Audiobook fans can order the Audible edition now too.

Why would a mathematics professor from Cambridge University, renting a holiday home outside Cape Town, require a false identity and three bodyguards? And where is he, now that they are dead? The only clue to the bodyguards' murder is the snake engraved on the shell casings of the bullets that killed them. Investigating the massacre, Benny Griessel and his team find themselves being drawn into an international conspiracy with shocking implications…

Read the first chapter of COBRA here.

Glimpse the world of COBRA here, in stunning photographs.

Hear Deon Meyer introduce you to his hero Benny Griessel here.

You can read what his editor Nick Sayers has to say about the novels, and test your Afrikaans, here.

COBRA was chosen by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the Top Ten Mystery and Thriller for Fall and ‘Thriller of the Week’ on the very popular Dutch thriller & crime fiction community Crimezone.nl. In his home territory South Africa, COBRA (published in Afrikaans by Human & Rousseau as KOBRA) shot to Number 1 on Afrikaans publication last year, knocking Wilbur Smith off the top spot and beating off all international competition in English as well. 

10 international publishers have signed up to COBRA with new deals regularly signed for ‘The best crime writer on the planet’ across the globe. COBRA will be published in France and Germany this October, and Deon will tour in both countries.

Mike Ripley from Shotsmag has nothing but praise for COBRA:

‘A masterful new thriller.  This is terrific stuff:  fine plotting, superb characterisation, a constant thread of suspense, a multi-ethnic cast and an intriguing setting. It also comes with a glossary of South African terms and if COBRA doesn’t win at least one major prize this year, then someone needs a good snotskoot blikseming.’

Deon Meyer will be on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row today at 19:15 GMT to talk about the novel, so make sure you tune in.

Visit Deon's website here.

Follow Deon on Twitter.

Praise for Deon Meyer:

‘A master on vintage form… He is a defining novelist of modern South Africa.’ – Barry Forshaw, Books of the Year 2012, Independent

‘Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

 'With Deon Meyer you can't go wrong. He's a writer whose work I admire, wait for and then devour.' -- Michael Connelly

Deon Meyer’s KOBRA Launched in South Africa

The Afrikaans edition of Deon Meyer’s KOBRA is now out in South Africa. Deon Meyer will be promoting the book around the country; see his website for more details.

Benny Griessel is back in a brand new thriller. And this time he, with the help of his Hawks colleagues Mbali Kaleni and Vaughn Cupido, has to take on the top police brass, Britain's MI6, South Africa's own State Security Agency - and the temptations of the bottle. In the beautiful Franschhoek wine valley, at an exclusive guest house, three bodies are found, each with a very professional bullet through the head. A fourth guest is missing. And he just might be a very, very important man in the fight against terrorism. And organised crime …

Deon Meyer lives in Cape Town. His books are sold in 23 countries, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. His novel THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune's '10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004'.

Praise for Deon Meyer:

Meyer is a writer to take seriously - the best crime writer out of South Africa." -- Crime Time

'With Deon Meyer you can't go wrong. He's a writer whose work I admire, wait for and then devour.' -- Michael Connelly