Deon Meyer’s LEO awarded ATKV-Woordveertjies Prize for best Afrikaans Thriller

We are delighted to announce that Deon Meyer – author of the blockbuster Benny Griessel series – has been awarded the 2024 ATKV-Woordveertjies Prize, celebrating exceptional achievement in Afrikaans literature, in the thriller category for his latest novel LEO. Published by Human & Rousseau in October last year, the book took South Africa by storm, enjoying a ten-week run at the top of the bestseller list on its way to becoming South Africa’s bestselling fiction book of 2023.

English-speaking readers of Deon’s work do not have long to wait to discover LEO’s thrills either, with Hodder and Stoughton publishing K.L. Seegers’ translation in the UK, South Africa and the British Commonwealth on 10 October 2024.

Deon will be making a rare UK appearance tomorrow (Wednesday 9 October, 19:00) for a Wine and Crime Night at the French Institute in South Kensington, with tickets for the event still available. The event will be hosted by translator and editor Georges Lory, and all ticket include a complimentary glass of wine – a truly unmissable evening.

Grove Atlantic will publish in the US and Canada on 18 February 2025. The book is already out in Germany (Aufbau), France (Editions Gallimard) and the Netherlands (A W Bruna). Back in South Africa, Afrikaans fans of Deon can also look forward to a brand-new audiobook of FENIKS – available in the format for the first time – published by NB this November.

LEO picks up the story of Meyer’s heroes Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido – now stars of M-Net (South Africa) and Tubi (US) series DEVIL’S PEAK. Following the explosive events of THE DARK FLOOD, the detectives are now languishing in Stellenbosch. Run-of-the-mill police work in the leafy university town is a far cry from their previous life in Cape Town fighting crime and government corruption at the highest level. Then a student is found dead on a mountain trail, and the key suspect, a local businessman, is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit delivering a message – suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat.

On the other side of the country, a beautiful wildlife guide is recruited by a group of special forces soldiers to act as a honeytrap, part of a dangerous multi-million-dollar heist that goes tragically wrong. A single link connects the murdered businessman to the special forces, making Benny and Vaughn’s case all the more mysterious. Another former soldier is soon killed, as is an agent of the country’s disgraced former president; and then the heist crew reorganizes with an even more audacious theft in mind.

Following leads as they fly at them, not sure exactly who to trust and struggling to connect the dots as the motives don’t seem to add up, Benny and Vaughn find their case increasingly points to the corruption polluting the country. They know the clock is ticking – and Benny also has to be at the altar on time for his very anxiously-anticipated wedding day.

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. 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, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, 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’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. His latest novel LEO, a new Benny Griessel thriller, enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories.

Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching audiences in the USA, New Zealand, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe.

Praise for LEO

‘When a new Deon Meyer lands on the shelves, I feel like W.H. Auden: “Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone / Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone.” All 490 pages of such a book have to be devoured in one sitting. Keep it for the holidays, or for a weekend when you have nothing planned… You’ll be on the edge of your seat, chewing your nails… Meyer is the best, if you ask me... Buy LEO and take a day or two off work.’ – Deborah Steinmair, Vrye Weekblad

Praise for Deon Meyer

‘He’s up there with the best in the world.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘I love Deon Meyer novels. It’s global storytelling at its best, with the undeniable hallmarks of gritty realism and deep character building.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen

‘Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.’ – El Mundo

‘One of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

Visit Deon’s website

Follow Deon on Twitter

DEON MEYER’S FEVER HITS NORTH AMERICAN SHORES

’Reminiscent of THE STAND and THE PASSAGE. Great stuff.’ – Stephen King

FEVER, the number one bestseller by Deon Meyer, is published today in in the USA by Grove Atlantic, hot on the heels of the Canadian publication by House of Anansi. Translated into English by K.L. Seegers, FEVER shot to the top of the South African charts after its release in English, (Hodder and Jonathan Ball, 2017), having already been No. 1 in its Afrikaans edition, KOORS (Tafelberg, 2016). The Dutch edition (A.W. Bruna, 2017) also leaped into the Top 20 in the Netherlands, where Deon was selected as the national Crime and Thriller Week’s Author and commissioned to write a special novella – DE VROUW IN DE BLAUWE MANTEL (THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE CLOAK), which features his beloved police detective Benny Griessel. THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE CLOAK, will be published later this year by NB Publishers in South Africa, and Aufbau in Germany.

Stephen King has described FEVER as ‘great stuff’, reminiscent of Justin Cronin’s THE PASSAGE and his own novel THE STAND. FEVER is an Amazon Sci-Fi Book of the Month for September and was described as ‘a remarkable literary achievement’ in Booklist’s Starred Review. It has also drawn praise from other writers:

‘FEVER is one of the best books of the year. Deon Meyer is a masterful writer and has created a stunning epic that brims with emotion. The mystery, thrills, and action kept me riveted to every page. Highly recommended.’ — Adam Hamdy, author of Pendulum

‘FEVER bears comparison with landmarks in the genre such as THE STAND ...The novel explores humanity at its best and worst; the crushing loss of civilisation with everything that means for the structure of society...This great book asks us to reflect on our own hidden natures - how would we react if the world we knew came to an end tomorrow?’ — Vaseem Khan, author of The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra

Deon Meyer’s work has been published in over 27 countries. In 2016, he was the second bestselling author in South Africa in any language, after J.K. Rowling. His novel THIRTEEN HOURS has just been shortlisted for the Icepick Award,  to be awarded at the Iceland Noir Festival in November 2017. He also won the Deutsche Krimi Preis 2009 for BLOOD SAFARI, Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière 2003 for DEAD BEFORE DYING and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique 2004 for DEAD AT DAYBREAK, which was adapted for an Afrikaans M-Net TV series (SA). THIRTEEN HOURS was the winner of the Barry Award in the Best Thriller category 2011 and was shortlisted for the Macavity Best Mystery Novel Award. He has been shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger three times and many of his books have been optioned for film. DEAD BEFORE DYING was filmed for a 6-part TV series, titled CAPE TOWN, featuring his character Mat Joubert.

Praise for Deon Meyer:
‘Deon Meyer is not just South Africa’s greatest crime writer, he’s up there with the best in the world.’ — Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ — Tess Gerritsen

'Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.' — El Mundo

‘Deon Meyer is a top notch plotter and has created one of the best ensemble (and multi-racial) casts of any modern police procedural series.’ — Shots magazine

‘Crime fiction with real texture and intelligence.’ — Independent

Visit Deon’s website, or read more on the Blake Friedmann website.

Follow Deon on Twitter @MeyerDeon.

ICARUS by Deon Meyer in the USA – and the rise of FEVER

ICARUS, the number one bestseller by Deon Meyer, is out now in paperback in the USA from Grove Atlantic. Translated into English by K.L. Seegers, ICARUS shot to the number one position in the South African charts after its release in Afrikaans, and was shortlisted for the Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice Award. The fifth (and what The Times describes as the best) of Meyer’s Benny Griessel series, ICARUS is a breathlessly-paced crime novel rich in in character and its setting against the backdrop of the South African wine industry.

ICARUS is published in the US with Grove Atlantic, and has also been sold in South Africa, the UK, Holland, France, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Norway, Spain and Sweden, with Deon’s books sold in more than 27 countries overall.

After 602 days dry, Captain Benny Griessel of the South African police services can't take any more tragedy.  So when he is called in to investigate a multiple homicide, it pushes him close to breaking point – a former friend and detective colleague has shot his wife and two daughters, then killed himself. Benny wants out – out of his job, his home and his relationship with his singer girlfriend, Alexa. He moves into a hotel and starts drinking. Again.

But Benny's unique talent is urgently required to help investigate another crime – the high profile murder of Ernst Richter, MD of a new tech start-up, Alibi, whose body is discovered buried in the sand dunes north of Cape Town. Alibi is a service that creates false appointments, documents and phone calls to enable people to cheat on their partners. It has made Richter one of the most notorious people in South Africa. Can Benny pull together the strands of his life in time to catch the killer?

Deon Meyer’s thrilling standalone novel FEVER was recently published in South Africa in Afrikaans (titled KOORS) by Tafelberg. A gripping, epic narrative of survival in a world struck by ‘The Fever’, with the mystery of a murder as well, it also raced to Number One in Afrikaans where it topped the lists for 6 weeks, and has remained in the Top Ten for more than ten weeks. See more on Deon Meyer’s site here.

FEVER will be published in May 2017 in the Netherlands and June 2017 in the UK and Deon Meyer will also be writing the gift book for the 2017 Crime & Thriller book weeks in the Netherlands. Previous authors selected include Stephen King, Dick Francis and Ian Rankin.

Praise for ICARUS

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

‘South African author Deon Meyer's Benny Griessel series is one of the high points of contemporary crime fiction, and the fifth title, ICARUS, is his best yet... expertly engineered.’ – Laura Wilson, The Guardian

‘Don’t be surprised if you start to see gaggles of foreigners on the city’s streets clutching well-thumbed paperbacks and talking darkly of murder and mayhem. Such is the growing popularity overseas of Deon Meyer... the tight structure of the novels, which weave simultaneous narrative strands in punchy gobbets of action and suspense are also very filmic.’ – Tim Butcher, Cape Argus

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

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Cape Town. His books are published in 27 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'. Most recently, the spectacular COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger.

Visit Deon’s website, or read more on the Blake Friedmann website.

Follow Deon on Twitter @MeyerDeon.

DEON MEYER’S ICARUS – US PUBLICATION, INTERNATIONAL DEALS

In the week of the US publication of ICARUS by Grove Atlantic, we’re celebrating a plethora of new deals for international bestselling author Deon Meyer, with translation rights sold to Le Seuil in France, Aufbau in Germany, Bruna in Holland, Edizioni E/O in Italy and Tiden Norsk in Norway.  ICARUS has already been published in SA, by NB books (where it earned widespread recognition by holding on to the top spot of charts for several weeks and selling over 40,000 copies) and Hodder in the UK, with amazing reviews including those listed below.  

Deon Meyer will be attending the Frankfurt Book Fair before embarking on a 10-city European tour throughout Germany (where several events have already sold out) and then on to Prague, Cracow and Warsaw. He was also in Italy at the Salerno Crime Festival this summer, where he was warmly received. You can check details of Deon’s events on his website. 

This novel witnesses the return of Benny Griessel, struggling to stay sober, and bruised by a policeman friend’s terrible suicide. Yet the discovery of a body buried beneath the sand dunes north of Cape Town will test his willpower even further. Why was notorious Ernst Richter, MD of a new tech startup, Alibi targeted? How exactly is a service that creates false appointments, documents and phone calls to enable people to cheat on their partners, linked to this high profile murder? With all eyes on Benny’s pursuit to uncover the truth, he will battle not just to track down the killer, but against the siren call of the whiskey bottle as well.

Deon Meyer lives in Cape Town. His books are published in 27 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'. Most recently, COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger.

 Praise for ICARUS:

‘Deon Meyer, who writes in Afrikaans, has long been hailed as South Africa's greatest crime writer. ICARUS places him firmly in the top international league. It's the fifth, and best, of the Benny Griessel series... One of Meyer's strengths is his ability to portray lesser characters with as much attention as he pays to central ones... Meyer scores also in his sensitive portrayals of the social and racial elements of a South Africa still struggling to find its equilibrium.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘Deon Meyer’s South Africa is laid bare in ICARUS […] it is as glittering and hard as the diamonds his country is famous for. […] Meyer utilises the crime fiction genre as an apparatus to create a multifaceted, unsparing picture of his country.’ – The Independent

‘Excellent … The richness of the characters, especially the multifaceted Benny, elevates this above most contemporary police procedurals.’ – Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Visit Deon's website here.

Follow Deon on Twitter.