Devil’s Harvest

Praise for
Coldsleep Lullaby

‘Andrew Brown deftly weaves the unpunished crimes of the past into the troubled fabric of the present in a novel that is part expert police procedural, part elegy for a tainted Eden. A haunting read.’

– Margie Orford

‘A beautifully assured whodunit … The narrative segues between present-day and 17th-century Stellenbosch, until Brown bends the strands together like two electrical wires that flare up in revelation.’

– Michele Magwood,
Sunday Times

‘A cracker of a thriller … engagingly written with a real sense of drama and narrative tension.’

– Jennifer Crocker,
Cape Times

‘An excellent and gripping novel … This is not simply a murder mystery – it is an excellently presented chronicle of the complexities of the human experience.’

– Conrad Linström,
Pretoria News

‘This is a book to curl up with and devour way past bedtime, the rhythm of the plot well weighted, and always moving at a steady clip … this is a confident and thrilling second novel from an exciting literary talent.

– Tom Gray,
iafrica.com

‘A first-rate thriller.’

– Brian Joss, Community Newspapers, Cape Town

‘A finely crafted novel with an unstoppable plot.’

– Jenny Crwys-Williams,
Top Billing

Praise for
Inyenzi

‘One of the best novellas to come out of Africa in ages.’

–
Financial Mail

‘An extraordinary, well-researched book …
Inyenzi
is a brave, bold, confident and compassionate work.’

–
Cape Times

‘An intelligent, finely drawn evocation of a beautiful suffering country.’

–
Leadership

‘This is a valuable book in that it brings down to earth the facts of the post-holocaust century.’

–
Cape Argus

‘Andrew Brown is a graceful and eloquent narrator who crafts a delicate blend of devastating non-fiction and lucid story telling.’

–
Marie Claire

‘The novel is relevant and it is hoped that it will inspire observers and the people of Rwanda to document a history of what should never have been.

–
Sowetan

‘Read the book. It is a gripping, graphic and exciting story told by a gifted writer.’

–
Southern Cross

‘You will keep turning the pages to the very last one, so powerful is the love story.’

–
Cape Times

Praise for
Street Blues

‘
Street Blues
… is a must-read … At times hilarious, at others shocking, this compassionate and beautifully crafted book will draw you in and give you a unique portrait of South Africa.’

– Margie Orford,
Psychologies

‘Excellent … [Brown] knows how to tell a good story – in this case, several good stories – and he’s as good at humour as at pathos.’

– Barbara Ludman,
Mail & Guardian

‘
Street Blues
[has] an urgency, an immediacy that proves totally convincing … Brown has a wicked way with words.’

– James Mitchell,
Star

‘Fascinating … A riveting read.’

–
Mango Juice

‘Some of the stories will make your hair stand up while others will make you chuckle …
Street Blues
is highly recommended and Brown paints a disturbing picture of the life that the men and women in blue have to endure.’

– Brian Joss,
Southern Mail

‘Well written and filled with colourful, sometimes disturbing accounts of the people and cases [Brown] encountered.’

– Tymon Smith,
Sunday Times

‘As an imaginative novelist … and a beautiful writer, [Brown] is able to create a portrait of police work that leaves you with the smell of blood in your nostrils and the feel of someone’s slushy garbage under your feet … His book takes you on a roller-coaster ride which will sicken, terrify and amuse.’

–
Skyways

Praise for
Refuge

‘A gripping tour de force,
Refuge
is as honest as it is dramatic. Here is the life of a refugee revealed, here is Cape Town exposed. Powerful, fast, beautifully written.’

– Mike Nicol

‘If you want to know what the hottest issue is right now in our writing, then read this book. If you want to remember that feeling of amazement at the triumph of literature over the blindness of the establishment, get hold of this novel.’

– Leon de Kock,
Sunday Independent

‘Andrew Brown is probably one of the best of the new generation of South African writers … What is most pleasing about Brown is that he sacrifices neither a good plot nor social commentary. With writers like him, the South African crime novel is both coming of age and becoming a serious contender on the global literary stage.’

– Anthony Egan,
Mail & Guardian

‘This novel astonishes with the power and beauty of the writing, combined with sheer readability and page-turning compulsion … A startling, yet quietly powerful book whose reach will be immense.’

– Arja Salafranca,
Pretoria News

‘
Refuge
is everything that a reader could want from a book. It’s well written, thought provoking and compelling. This is a book that you really don’t want to miss.’

– Wordsworth Books

‘Andrew Brown is that rare breed of crime writer who can make you question society while still remaining riveted in the pages of his story …
Refuge
is fast, sometimes witty, sometimes tragic, and always very, very good.’

– Bianca Capazorio,
Cape Argus

‘Andrew Brown once again delves into the underbelly of our society and reveals the not-so-pretty parts that we’d prefer to keep hidden … [A] fine, fast-paced and intriguing read.’

– Lydia Boeddinghaus,
FairLady

‘A Cape Town lawyer, a Nigerian beauty and a Russian thug are the leading characters in a story that is fast moving, well written and sobering …

The plight of Nigerian refugees, the cultural values of a refugee group trying to retain social values of their homeland and their ruthless exploitation and maltreatment, form both an interesting background picture and a blemish on our own society.

Brown, himself a practicing lawyer, feeds the text with courthouse drama.’

– Dries Brunt,
Citizen

‘One of the finest pieces of local writing that I have read in years,
Refuge
is brilliantly constructed and is compulsive reading. When criminal lawyer Richard meets a breathtakingly beautiful Nigerian masseuse, his life changes in ways he never thought possible. He is pulled into a dark, exotic underworld of deception and brutality. The book portrays the Nigerian/South African condition in a truly incisive way. A must-read.’

–
True Love

‘With xenophobia a key part of the landscape,
Refuge
explores many issues thrust into the South African consciousness. As an expose of cruel and disdainful human nature,
Refuge
is an emotionally gut-wrenching and gripping fictional tale of crisis and betrayal, with story threads so intricately woven every character is affected; criminals, police, judges, the man in the street, are all caught in a web of deceit – the vicious cycle of abuse and exploitation is continued …
Refuge
grips from the first line.’

– Joanne Hichens,
Cape Times

‘I loved this book and will read it again and again … It is a riveting read from one of South Africa’s most compelling authors.’

– Lindi Obose,
Sowetan

‘
Refuge
is not only a first class thriller that sweeps you along from page 1, it is also a commentary on xenophobia, organised crime and the sameness of suburbia that seamlessly comes together in a gut-wrenching climax … Beg, borrow or steal it, but read it, you will not be disappointed.’

– Brian Joss,
Tygertalk

Praise for
Solace

‘Eberard Februarie is the new cop on the Cape Town block, and he’s as tough, troubled and interesting as they come. Brown is brilliant as usual;
Solace
is sheer reading pleasure.’

– Deon Meyer

‘Andrew Brown brings a compelling perspective to the crime genre … This is as solidly enjoyable a crime thriller as it is a cautionary piece of futurist writing.’

– William Saunderson-Meyer,
Business Day

‘This gritty novel is a good read and an intriguing look at religious intolerance.’

– Trish Beaver,
Witness

‘The novel is intelligent in its exposition and keeps one guessing.’

– Jonathan Amid, Stellenbosch Literary Project

‘Andrew Brown has leapt into a literary bonfire with his latest novel, and emerged triumphant … Brown’s gift lies in taking disturbing topics and infusing them with delicious characters and sublime prose that leaps off the page.’

– Sue Grant-Marshall,
Financial Mail

‘There are no one-dimensional characters in
Solace
: they’re so real that they’ll bleed if you prick them … It is a gripping thriller that will keep you reading into the small hours.’

– Brian Joss,
Atlantic Sun

‘
Solace
has enough grit, wit and intelligent pacing to keep you guessing, right up to the very end.’

– Luso Mnthali,
The Times

Published by Zebra Press

an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd

Reg. No. 1966/003153/07

Wembley Square, First Floor, Solan Road, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001

PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa

www.zebrapress.co.za

First published 2014

Publication © Zebra Press 2014

Text © Andrew Brown 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.

Cover design: Gretchen van der Byl

ISBN 978 1 77022 704 0 (print)

ISBN 978 1 77022 705 7 (ePub)

ISBN 978 1 77022 706 4 (PDF)

For Mo

Slaughter always comes first … You can put an apple in the mouth of the roast suckling-pig and serve it up on a Napoleon platter and everybody can wear bow ties or high heels and clap hands, but first the pig has to buckle before the butcher.