Dead Before Dying

Written by Deon Meyer

Narrated by Simon Vance

Three men who have nothing in common are found murdered in Cape Town, and the string of vicious killings pushes the city toward panic. Captain Mat Joubert is left scrambling for answers in a case that might be his last chance to prove that his life#8217;s slow spiral will not pull him under.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Jul 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781611748048

Deon Meyer

Internasionaal bekende skrywer Deon Meyer woon op Stellenbosch. Sy publikasies sluit in dertien misdaadromans (onder meer Spoor, 2010, 7 Dae, 2011, Kobra, 2013, Ikarus, 2015, Koors, 2016, Prooi, 2018, en Donkerdrif, 2020). Orion, Proteus en Infanta is met die ATKV-prosaprys bekroon en Prooi met die ATKV-prys vir Spanningsfiksie.

Reviews for Dead Before Dying

[candacevan_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Moody mystery set in Cape Town, South Africa. Mat is an appealing widower.

[icewineanne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book took awhile to get going but I'm glad that I stuck with it. It's more than just a mystery. The book central character's personal and professional life is the central focus, the mystery is secondary. The African setting is interesting. It gave me a glimpse into a culture that I know very little about. I look forward to reading Deon Meyer's next book.

[ameise1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was my first Meyer's but definitely not my last one. The story is taking place in Cape Town with all its problems as violence, difficulties of racism, politic etc.. M.A.T. Joubert working as a Captain at the Murder and Robbery department is the main character. He struggles with the murder of his wife as well with his smoking habit, his bad shape and his heaviness. With his team he has to solve a series of murders and in a side show to stop a series of bank hold-up. He has got some good colleagues which are helping him. I've got familiar very quickly with all the protagonists and liked their character as well. It's a fast-paced and gripping reading and kept me guessing until the very last page.

[maneekuhi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mat Joubert has a lot of troubles. The mid-30's Capetown police captain has been a widower for two years, following the on-duty murder of his undercover police wife - and he still has difficulties dealing with the void in his life. Mat has a new boss who makes it clear that he wants a fit team, and before he knows it Mat has visits scheduled with a physician, dietician and psychologist. His good friend Benny has problems with the bottle and Mat questions his own manhood since he has been out of practice ever since......Then there is the serial killer on the loose using a rather distinctive handgun more than 100 years old. Is this random, or is there a tie that unites all the victims. Oh, and there's the bank robber with all the odd disguises. As you might imagine the story is fast paced and continues to switch between Mat's job and his personal issues - but both are deliciously intertwined. This is Deon Meyer's first book, written in the late 1990's. It is a stand-alone of sorts since there isn't a Joubert #2 but other characters such as Benny reappear in future books. I'm a big fan of Meyer and I had the impression that his first books weren't quite as good as the current ones, but in my book (pun) if there are quality differences, they are small. I thought the ending of this one could have been a bit better and a tad less obvious but I still rated this 4.5 stars. My biggest disappointment is nothaving another Mat book.

[magentaflake · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

captain marcus joubert, large Africaaner. very enjoyable read.

[ebyrne41_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My recent introduction to South African Deon Meyer was his newest crime novel (Trackers), and second up was this, his debut novel 'Dead before Dying' (published in the 1990s). A police procedural, I thought it just ok for a debut novel; not as good as Trackers, the ending was too much of a coincidence and somewhat unbelievable, and I didn't see much point to the bank robbery story. The characters and interactions were a positive though. Based more on what I thought of Trackers, I will read another.