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Thirteen Hours
 
 
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Thirteen Hours [Paperback]

Deon Meyer
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks (12 May 2011)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340953616
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340953617
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 22,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Deon Meyer
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Review

'This terrific, action-packed thriller has superbly drawn characters and an enthralling setting. Deon Meyer is one of the best crime writers on the planet.' (Mail on Sunday 20100425)

'Deon Meyer is the undisputed king of South African crime fiction, and THIRTEEN HOURS demonstrates why.' (The Times 20100425)

'South African thrillers arrive with racial baggage, and it's a mark of Meyer's talent to see just how well the issues are balanced with a smashing story. Imposing a strict time limit and a tight location on his plot, he ramps up the suspense to an unbearable degree. Best of all, his sharply drawn characters really feel part of the new South Africa, where loyalties and beliefs must always be questioned.' (Financial Times 20070701)

'What makes this novel so outstanding is its setting... and Meyer's superlative talent for suspense... Above all though, this is a vigorous, exciting novel that combines memorable characters and plot with edge-of-the-seat suspense.' (The Sunday Times 20070701)

'Far and away South Africa's best crime writer' (The Times 20070701)

'gripping and suspenseful crime novel set in a violent, post-apartheid South Africa' (Culture Magazine (The Sunday Times) 20070721)

'A cracking read from one of Africa's finest' (Shots ezine 20070721)

'One of the sharpest and most perceptive thriller writers around' (Peter Millar, The Times, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20080510)

'Far and away the best crime writer in South Africa' (Matthew Lewin, Guardian, on BLOOD SAFARI 20080510)

'One of the most exciting thrillers I've read for a long time.' (Lady Antonia Fraser 20080510)

'Blood Safari is my first exposure to the man billed by his publishers as the "king of South African crime thrillers". For once the publicity spinners are not guilty of hyperbole -- Meyer is simply excellent.' (Business Day on BLOOD SAFARI 20080510)

'Pulsating and gripping' (The Sunday Times on BLOOD SAFARI 20080510)

'I rushed through it like one of Meyer's beloved BMW motorbikes in overdrive. A fantastic read. I know Cape Town well and he did glorious justice to the city's mosaic' (Tim Butcher, author of Richard and Judy bestseller BLOOD RIVER, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20041122)

'A moving, expertly constructed story of a broken man's redemption'

(The Sunday Times on DEVIL'S PEAK 20041122)

'Out of post-apartheid South Africa comes a thriller good enough to nip at the heels of le Carré' (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on HEART OF THE HUNTER 20070601)

A Christmas Choice for best thrillers in 2007 (The Times on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070810)

'A glimpse of the soul of the new South Africa in all its glory, and with all the gory details of its problems and corruption...I marvelled at the intricacy of the plotting, I smiled at Christine's cheeky ingenuity, I felt Thobela's pain and Benny's desperation, and I was stunned by a denouement of awesome power and accomplishment' (Guardian on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070810)

'My favourite South African thriller writer' (James Mitchell, Tonight, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20100424)

'Meyer is a gifted writer...believable and disturbing'

(Tangled Web on DEVIL'S PEAK 20100513)

'Deon Meyer, who writes in Afrikaans, portrays a world of terrifying uncertainty, in which those who fought for liberation from apartheid are having to come to terms with the knowledge that freedom is not enough to wipe out cruelty. A thoughtful and exciting novel'

(Times Literary Supplement on DEVIL'S PEAK 20100513)

'This guy is really good. Deon Meyer hooked me with this one right from the start. HEART OF THE HUNTER is a thriller with some weight attached and that is a rare find.' (Michael Connelly on HEART OF THE HUNTER )

'HEART OF THE HUNTER is a brilliant book. Deon Meyer does an excellent job of developing a whole range of characters who are affected by the changes in South Africa in different ways. And Thobela, a giant of a man in search of redemption, is a wonderful hero.' (Michael Ridpath, author of THE PREDATOR, on HEART )

'Meyer weaves an impressively tangled web and taut narrative keeps the reader guessing until the last couple of pages' (Heat***, on DEAD AT DAYBREAK )

'Like post-war Germany, post-apartheid South Africa offers fertile ground for reflective fiction ... Senior editor at Little, Brown, Judy Clain, a fellow South African, says, "Meyer has an extraordinary landscape - a changed world where the ghosts of the past play a huge role." ' (Publishers Weekly, on HEART OF THE HUNTER )

'With simmering racial tensions, a bounty of natural resources, and a government whose members worked both sides of the cold-war fence, South Africa should prove fertile ground for many fine spy thrillers to come. Don't be surprised if quite a few of them are written by Meyer.' (Booklist (starred review) on HEART OF THE HUNTER )

'A fascinating portrayal...a black, assegai-wielding former freedom fighter who turns into a vigilante and goes on a killing spree; a high-class tart; and a policeman who drinks to drown the screaming that's waiting inside his head: "One day it will come out and I am scared that I am the one who will hear it." It does come out and he is the one who hears it, winding up the tension to a gripping, shocking climax. Highly recommended.' (Jessica Mann, Literary Review, on DEVIL'S PEAK )

'A sombre but terrifying thriller, and some parts will ignite even those readers with the iciest of hearts...Meyer plays the best of mind games with his readers' (Mail & Guardian, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK )

'Tough in-your-face crime writing that spares nothing in language, visceral scenes of blood and mayhem (for Meyer is adroit at choreographing descriptions of slaughter), and never wavers from the compelling pace of the story. It also has a mean line in humour that comes through in the snappy dialogue.' (Sunday Independent, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK )

an explosive mixture (Peterborough Evening Telegraph )

'the staccato story slips back and forth between the various strands at a breathless clip, doling out huggest of plot in just the right amounts to have us salivating to know more' (Metro Scotland )

[Benny Griessel is] 'a gem of a protagonist... This is my favourite novel of the year so far.' (Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine )

Review

'A moving, expertly constructed story of a broken man's redemption' -- The Sunday Times on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070701 'One of the sharpest and most perceptive thriller writers around' -- Peter Millar, The Times, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070701 'Far and away the best crime writer in South Africa' -- Matthew Lewin, Guardian, on BLOOD SAFARI 20070701 'Blood Safari is my first exposure to the man billed by his publishers as the "king of South African crime thrillers". For once the publicity spinners are not guilty of hyperbole -- Meyer is simply excellent.' -- Business Day on BLOOD SAFARI 20070701 'Pulsating and gripping' -- The Sunday Times on BLOOD SAFARI 20070701 'I rushed through it like one of Meyer's beloved BMW motorbikes in overdrive. A fantastic read. I know Cape Town well and he did glorious justice to the city's mosaic' -- Tim Butcher, author of Richard and Judy bestseller BLOOD RIVER, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070701 'One of the most exciting thrillers I've read for a long time.' -- Lady Antonia Fraser 20070701 'Deon Meyer is the best known contemporary South African crime writer. His six books have won a number of awards, and he was the first to honestly reflect the current realities of the new South Africa in his books.' -- Michael Stanley in The Guardian 20100630 'Out of post-apartheid South Africa comes a thriller good enough to nip at the heels of le Carre' -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on HEART OF THE HUNTER 20100630 A Christmas Choice for best thrillers in 2007 -- The Times on DEVIL'S PEAK 20100630 'A glimpse of the soul of the new South Africa in all its glory, and with all the gory details of its problems and corruption...I marvelled at the intricacy of the plotting, I smiled at Christine's cheeky ingenuity, I felt Thobela's pain and Benny's desperation, and I was stunned by a denouement of awesome power and accomplishment' -- Guardian on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070721 'My favourite South African thriller writer' -- James Mitchell, Tonight, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070721 'Meyer is a gifted writer...believable and disturbing' -- Tangled Web on DEVIL'S PEAK 20080510 'Deon Meyer, who writes in Afrikaans, portrays a world of terrifying uncertainty, in which those who fought for liberation from apartheid are having to come to terms with the knowledge that freedom is not enough to wipe out cruelty. A thoughtful and exciting novel' -- Times Literary Supplement on DEVIL'S PEAK 20080510 'This guy is really good. Deon Meyer hooked me with this one right from the start. HEART OF THE HUNTER is a thriller with some weight attached and that is a rare find.' -- Michael Connelly on HEART OF THE HUNTER 20080510 'HEART OF THE HUNTER is a brilliant book. Deon Meyer does an excellent job of developing a whole range of characters who are affected by the changes in South Africa in different ways. And Thobela, a giant of a man in search of redemption, is a wonderful hero.' -- Michael Ridpath, author of THE PREDATOR, on HEART 20080510 'Meyer weaves an impressively tangled web and taut narrative keeps the reader guessing until the last couple of pages' -- Heat***, on DEAD AT DAYBREAK 20080510 'Like post-war Germany, post-apartheid South Africa offers fertile ground for reflective fiction ... Senior editor at Little, Brown, Judy Clain, a fellow South African, says, "Meyer has an extraordinary landscape - a changed world where the ghosts of the past play a huge role." ' -- Publishers Weekly, on HEART OF THE HUNTER 20041122 'With simmering racial tensions, a bounty of natural resources, and a government whose members worked both sides of the cold-war fence, South Africa should prove fertile ground for many fine spy thrillers to come. Don't be surprised if quite a few of them are written by Meyer.' -- Booklist (starred review) on HEART OF THE HUNTER 20041122 'A fascinating portrayal...a black, assegai-wielding former freedom fighter who turns into a vigilante and goes on a killing spree; a high-class tart; and a policeman who drinks to drown the screaming that's waiting inside his head: "One day it will come out and I am scared that I am the one who will hear it." It does come out and he is the one who hears it, winding up the tension to a gripping, shocking climax. Highly recommended.' -- Jessica Mann, Literary Review, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070601 'A sombre but terrifying thriller, and some parts will ignite even those readers with the iciest of hearts...Meyer plays the best of mind games with his readers' -- Mail & Guardian, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070810 'Tough in-your-face crime writing that spares nothing in language, visceral scenes of blood and mayhem (for Meyer is adroit at choreographing descriptions of slaughter), and never wavers from the compelling pace of the story. It also has a mean line in humour that comes through in the snappy dialogue.' -- Sunday Independent, South Africa, on DEVIL'S PEAK 20070810 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By Simon Clarke TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Deon Meyer's latest novel,his sixth to be translated
into English from Afrikaans,is an exhilarating read,and
shows him to be one of the best and most exciting of
crime writers.
As the title suggests,the story takes place within a
period of 13 hours.The engaging Detective Benny Griessel
is down on his luck.He is an alcoholic,struggling to stay
off the booze,his wife has left him,and he is uncertain
of his role and place within the new South African Police
Service.He is asked to mentor up and coming detective
inspectors,when two crimes occur.An American backpacker
is murdered,and her female companion is on the run from
the killers,and elsewhere a music executive is found shot
dead in his home.The former crime becomes a diplomatic
incident as Griessel has to save the young woman.
Amidst the unrelenting suspense,Meyer portrays some
interesting characters,and gives us a view of some of the
problems in South Africa.--A riveting ,well-plotted and
throughly enjoyable novel.
Comment | 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
CAPE FEAR 6 May 2010
By Diacha TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Deon Meyer's "Thirteen Hours" is a taut and finely written police thriller set in Cape Town. K.L. Seeger's translation is pitch perfect - though of course I cannot vouch for its accuracy - and achieves an attractive differentness by maintaining some expressions in the original Afrikaans.

Benny Griessel is a veteran of the South African Police, reborn post-apartheid as the more politically correct South African Police Service. In this book, he is promoted and assigned to "mentor" up and coming black and colored detectives. He immediately ends up covering two cases and as his superiors become increasingly concerned about their political and PR ramifications his role moves from advisor to officer in charge. The first involves two American backpackers fleeing for their lives from a ruthless, well-organized and well-connected gang. The other involves the murder of a record company executive and the attempted framing of his alcoholic wife. Meyer shifts the close-to-real-time narrative back and forth between the cases at approximately two-page intervals, building up a sort of "24" sense of suspense.

Meyer is strong on characterization. Both his minor and major characters are three-dimensional. Griessel is well developed and despite being burdened with the overworked baggage of the fictional cop - alcohol issues, collapsing marriage, difficulties with authority, and a bathetic effort to connect with his long distance, grown up daughter - has a special individuality. One of the missing girls' parents speaks with him on the phone from Indiana and immediately knows he can trust him. This is not simply a matter of integrity but of commitment and competence. Griessel believes in what he is doing and what he is going to do and the reader believes in him.

Meyer's writing reminded me of Peter Temple's Australian novels. The style is less spare and the plotting less complex, but the characterization and the worldview are similar, and there is the same buildup of narrative tension. The two authors also achieve an appealing blend of familiarity and differentness in their Australian and South African settings.

Meyer's backdrop of the new South Africa is a special feature of this book. The SAPS is trying to find itself in the new world; elderly whites make a brave fist of seeing the best in the transition; Xhosas fear a purge as Zulus move into ascendancy with the succession of Jacob Zuma; coloreds find that they are just as stuck in the middle under the black regime as they were under apartheid and that it is up to them to come to terms with it; there is the ever present tension of sexual attraction across racial divides; and insecure people of all stripes take comfort in the protective dumbness of sullen bureaucracy. Somehow, though, despite his novel's setting in the under-belly of society, Meyer communicates a sense of optimism and excitement about his country. Thirteen Hours is gripping for sure, but it is also uplifting.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Race Against Time 16 July 2011
Format:Paperback
Post-Apartheid South Africa has undergone many traumatic changes. But for homicide detective Benny Griessel, nothing much changes except for the murder victims, the politics, unsettled race relations and his own personal problems. Benny is saddled with "mentoring" newly promoted black, or "colored," detectives. Of course, he is the only experienced white.

The plot involves two murders and a kidnapping, each a potential PR disaster for the SA government. It is up to Benny and his untested troops to save a captive American girl who witnessed the murder of her fellow tourist. Meanwhile, a well-known music executive is found shot in his home with his pistol lying at his feet, his alcoholic wife asleep in a chair.

Deon Meyer has written six novels and "Thirteen Hours" is probably the best (not taking anything away from its predecessors). It is taut, moving and deeply memorable, and is highly recommended.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great fast paced book
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing style, shifting between the two main threads, often in short sharp paragraphs added to the whole excitement of the book for me. Read more
Published 2 months ago by kindletime
Great Book
Nice story, lots of suspense. Well written with believable characters and interesting twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Published 3 months ago by Annette
Muddled
I am sure many people found this a good thriller. Very sadly I couldn't get into it.The characters did not speak to me and although I tried I didn't find them interesting enough to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sharpshooter
Careful if in Cape Town...
Not sure it does much to reduce South Africa's crime-ridden image. However, it is a well-written and fast-paced thriller. Worth a go.
Published 4 months ago by EagerReader
Great book but....
Another brilliant book by Deon Meyer. But really, how can the paperback be cheaper than the Kindle version? Read more
Published 5 months ago by lizm
A great find
There are enough reviews here telling you that this is a book worth reading so i think all I need do is endorse the recommendations; you will not be disappointed.
Published 6 months ago by Gerry McCaffrey
Half a day in the Life (and death) ...
Coming to this from having discovered Trackers set a challenge: would this be as good? Have no fear. Read more
Published 8 months ago by G. M. Sinstadt
Just won the Barry award
The Barry Award is a crime literary prize awarded annually since 1997 by the editors of Deadly Pleasures, an American quarterly publication for crime fiction readers. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. Andrew Taylor
Excellent
I stumbled across this book on the daily kindle sale. Wow - a gripping, edge of your seat, can't put it down read. Read more
Published 8 months ago by AfricanTech
A good thrill
A thrilling read as we follow a tourist that tries to escape her followers and the police trying to find her in time.
Very good read.
Published 9 months ago by Flixor
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