‘Gripping, explosive . . . crafts a close sense of place that rivals the work of Katherine Boo’ New York Times

‘Beautifully written and carefully observed … a Truman Capote-style detective story in which Van der Leun rummages for clues through the detritus of modern South Africa’ Financial Times

‘A total page-turner, a gripping Serial-like true-crime story’ Vogue

‘Deeply researched and thought-provoking . . . an engaging take on a murder that might have derailed democracy’ Economist

'Unforgettable. A gripping narrative that examines the messiness of truth, the illusory nature of reconciliation, the all too often false promise of justice' Boston Globe

‘Extraordinary. A dense and nuanced portrait of a country whose confounding, convoluted past is never quite history’ Entertainment Weekly

‘Moving . . . necessary . . . A story of frustrated expectations, broken dreams, endemic greed and corruption, but also indomitable human spirit’ Minneapolis Star Tribune

‘A murder story told with the dramatic tension of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and the precision of the very best non-fiction reporting. Each page bursts with fresh insights’ Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy

‘Fascinating. Shatters convenient narratives about the end of apartheid and the nature of justice, and takes readers on a headlong chase for deeper truths’ Jill Leovy, author of Ghettoside

‘Suspenseful and engrossing. Van der Leun shows how a powerful desire for reconciliation can in fact obscure the truth, a truth we need in order to establish real equity and the justice that all people deserve’ Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black

‘A book I kept returning to. Van der Leun has a compassionate but admirably clear eye’ Michela Wrong, Spectator Books of the Year