The story of Lemmer and Emma le Roux, South Africa, racism, eco-terrorists, and political intrigue, Africa style. Lemmer’s First General Law is: Don’t get involved, but he does.

In many ways Blood Safari, the author’s fifth book, is an unconventional thriller — the protagonist, Lemmer, is a bodyguard with a shady past, rather than a policeman or a journalist, for instance — and it’s imbued with a real sense of what it is like to live in modern South Africa, where the past and the present have an uneasy relationship, and where black and white tensions still remain despite the birth of a new nation.

But it also features some typical (or should I say lazy?) clichés: there’s a budding romance between Lemmer and his client, a beautiful young businesswoman, and there’s plenty of gun action, car chases and the like. But, to be honest, those things don’t really matter when you’re in the throes of a master storyteller — and Meyer is, indeed, one of those.

The story, which is a heady mix of politics, environmental activism, corruption and greed, centres on a rich young woman, Emma Le Roux, who believes she has seen her long-dead brother on TV, the prime suspect in a murder case in which four poachers were killed. However, the suspect and her brother have different names, so is Emma merely mistaken or has her sibling been “reborn” under a new identity?

Not long after she contacts the police to tell them of her suspicions, her house is burgled and it seems Emma’s life may be in danger. She hires Lemmer as her bodyguard and then begins her own investigation into her brother’s disappearance, but her probing questions ruffle feathers and she’s thwarted at almost every turn. When she is put out of action by a serious accident, Lemmer picks up the mantle and finds his own life is suddenly on the line…

That’s when things really begin to heat up — and when the tone of the story changes from seemingly innocent “detective” work to one of pure vengeance.

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When Lemmer is hired as bodyguard for Emma le Roux, he doesn't really believe the threat she sees is real until she is harmed. He feels compelled to find out the truth and put everything right for her, if possible.

This story was very enjoyable, with the interesting backdrop of South Africa and its wildlife parks. None of the components in this book is straightforward.. the characters, the plot and the action scenes. Doesn't get boring for me.
I'm sure I will check out the rest of the series.

A few 'penalty points' for:
"a woman on the wrong side of forty" (and some other un-feminist expressions throughout the book)
and for the translator of the dutch version, for using "blank" (the 'white is superior'-version of 'white'), instead of "wit".

This book is like if Sybrand from Paarl, who has only ever watched B-tier American action movies, tried to write a book, even though he’s never read one.

I might seem harsh, but this was a very frustrating book that could have been two distinct ones. On one hand, you have a violent(ly), bland crime novel. On the other, you have a frustratingly unfinished but A-for-Effort mystery novel about the line between conservation and eco-terrorism, South African corruption and how the late 20th century affected the whole of Austral Africa.
I wanted to weep when I got to the last half of the book. The author decided he would blast the mystery in one single dump of exposition. I had found myself wishing that those condensed two chapters were what I had been reading since the beginning, as they seemed to be what was promised in the blurb at the back of the book.

Lemmer is a bodyguard that ends up embroiled in an ecological, political and personal cover-up, all while lusting over a woman the author forgot to give a personality to.
The characters in this book, particularly the women, have all the personality of a 90s blockbuster. None of the characters are original or dependent on the context of the book. You could transpose Lemmer anywhere and he would be the same. This contrasts so deeply with the beautiful cultural specificities that Deon Meyer describes when he talks about South Africa, the languages and Austral African late 20th history in general that it hurts.
It's a difficult task reading a 300+ page novel when the main character is as bland as some of Sylvester Stalone's less talkative roles. As if a guy from the Karoo had tried to write a James Bond with less intellect, class and self awarenesses.
The main problem here is Lemmer thinks about himself a lot. Unfortunately, the thinking isn't about very much as he is an empty character and as a reader I found myself skimming paragraphs and then pages of the same whining about his parents and emotional unavailability.

I could go on about the lack of personality (or developed personality) for the two female characters. I won't say anything more than the main love interest is in a coma for half of the book. We barely get to know her before then. Don't worry, though, we know she's pretty. The other female character is Lemmer's boss who is the stereotypical woman written by a man not to be the love interest (lesbian, quick-witted, don't-fuck-with-me type). Obviously, she smokes Gauloises in a suit.

I must give Blood Safari this: when it takes the time to describe South Africa, the people, their interactions and how they all slot in together to make their cultural ecosystem, the book truly shines. The author takes time to use different tribal languages and translate them without taking you out of the book. He also has some interesting thoughts about Boer stereotyping and how it can affect and be a force of determinism for the Afrikaners, even today.
There is no doubt that Meyer was trying to get his love for the bush and the importance of conservation across. It's just truly a shame that a potentially poignant, thrilling and insightful book was weighed down by an empty main character and misogyny that had no true business being there.

I came for South Africa, suffered through the lack of character development, and stayed, desperately hoping, the author would get back to the point. He sort of did.

A riproaring thriller/mystery translated from Afrikaans. The author has his blind spots but it was far more racially progressive than I expected. Conservationism is at the heart of the novel, just as it is for all of Carl Hiaasen's book. The tough guy narrator who gets pushed past the role of bodyguard into detective has some DNA in common with Lee Child's Jack Reacher character. But the whole thing is original and compulsively readable.

As someone fairly unfamiliar with South African geography and culture, I found the book's settings, characters, and storyline really intriguing. Fast-paced and suspenseful, this book was a fun and exciting read.

Dit voel asof hierdie boek heel aan die begin van Deon Meyer se skryf loopbaan gepen was want die kwaliteit was nie so goed soos sy Griesel reeks nie.

Ek dink die probleem was Lemmer – hy het my van die begin af verkeerd opgevryf met sy Lemmer Wette. Dit het hom na ‘n poepol laat klink. Soos daai mense wat met help-my-fris-lyk hempies in warm gemaakte karre rondjaag.

Die basiese storie is ook bietjie stereotipies – lyfwag wat gevoelens kry vir sy klient – lang gaap – dis nie baie oorspronklik nie.

Maar dis altyd ‘n plesier om in my moedertaal te lees en ek HET van die konservasie tema en die laaste 25% van die boek gehou.

Ek sal veel eerder die Bennie Griesel reeks aanbeveel vir lesers wat Deon Meyer wil probeer.

Pretty good for a freebie or 99 cent ebook from nook. I've not read many books set in S. Africa, and I didn't care for the few that I have read, so this was a pleasant surprise. Although a lot of the political background and details were lost on me, the author didn't go overboard in the politics of S Africa in order to craft a thriller.

Really liked parts of this book, ecoterrorism, preservation, apartheid consequences. Loved the suspence, action, thrills, chills.

However, the romance ruined it for me. Too tropeish. I'm not against a little love, but here it was too forced. He had more chemistry with his boss than with the love of his life. Just about ruined it.

However, apart from that major flaw, this was a great thriller.