Present Tense

In this award-winning crime thriller, a cop investigates the murder of his mentor in the midst of a tense election campaign in post-apartheid South Africa.

As Detective Schalk Lourens stands over the brutally murdered body of the police chief he worked under as a recruit, he’s confronted by memories of his mentor’s own ruthlessness as a member of the Security Branch of the South African police. Especially since Piet Pieterse has been “necklaced”—a tire slung around his chest and arms and set on fire—an execution style that has all the hallmarks of the apartheid era. 

With an election looming and South Africa on edge, Lourens must dive deep into the depths of the police chief’s troubled past, and his own complex relationship with the man who brought him up through the ranks on the force. But as the body count rises and it becomes clear that powerful political forces are protecting their own, Lourens must navigate a path to justice in a world where trust in law and order is wearing thin . . .

“A gripping story of murder, betrayal and revenge set in the new South Africa.” —Malla Nunn, award-winning author of When the Ground is Hard