cover image The Fallen

The Fallen

Jassy Mackenzie. Soho Crime, $25 (304p) ISBN 978-1-61695-065-1

In Mackenzie’s searing third novel featuring South African PI Jade de Jong (after 2011’s Stolen Lives), Jade’s sometime lover, Supt. David Patel, arrives at the coastal resort where Jade is on holiday with news that could destroy their already fragile relationship. The weekend becomes more complicated after one of the resort’s scuba instructors, Amanda Bolton, is found stabbed to death in her room. When David volunteers to assist the local police, Jade tags along. More violence erupts, and Jade questions the motives behind former air traffic controller Amanda’s death as well as the larger conflict brewing between environmental activists and the powerful CEO of a strip-mining company hoping to drill in a nearby nature preserve’s protected sand dunes. Meanwhile, those responsible for Amanda’s murder are preparing for an end game that threatens dire consequences. Mackenzie’s blend of contemporary South African issues with Jade’s inner turmoil is pitch perfect, and the true cliffhanger will leave fans eager for more. Agent: Hannah Ferguson, the Marsh Agency. (Apr.)