When Abigail Bukula, a young lawyer in the South African Justice Department, learns that the secret son of her aunt, who died in a massacre years ago, has been arrested by the Zimbabwean government, she races to his aid. She’s as determined as ever but perhaps a bit naive as well. Accused of being a part of the so-called Harare Seven, her cousin is being held as a political prisoner in the country’s most brutal prison.
With only an eager young lawyer as an ally and a director of the country’s intelligence agency either helping her or setting her up, Bukula will not leave without winning her cousin’s freedom and learning what really happened to her aunt so many years ago. By cunning, by bribery, by sheer audacity—and with the help of her friend prison psychologist Yudel Gordon—Abigail is determined to prevail in Those Who Love Night, Wessel Ebersohn’s explosive follow-up to his critically acclaimed series debut.
From Booklist
Abigail Bukula, introduced in The October Killings (2011), returns in this intense story that reaches back into Zimbabwe’s violent past. An accomplished lawyer and rising star in the South African Justice Department, Abigail is shocked to learn that she has a cousin, Tony, whom she never knew existed and that he has been imprisoned in Zimbabwe as part of the activist Harare Seven. With the aid of an idealistic lawyer, she determines the best course of action to procure the young activists’ release from one of the government’s most notorious prisons, but government and prison officials claim they are not even holding the group. She is joined in her efforts by brilliant prison psychologist Yudel Gordon and seems to have gained the favor of one of the secret police’s high-level bureaucrats, Jonas Chunga. But what does Chunga really want from her, and why is she so willing to put her marriage vows aside? Like fellow South African Deon Meyer, Ebersohn excels at depicting the treacherous politics of an unstable country, one in which the search for justice is always fraught. --Joanne Wilkinson
Review
Praise for _The October Killings
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“A brilliant novel of memory, reconciliation, and revenge. Ebersohn was always one of South Africa’s best, and this new book—the beginning of, I hope, a series—shows why…. Ebersohn never loses the narrative thread, and there isn’t an extraneous syllable in this tight, intelligent novel that weaves history and politics. Definitely one of the best mysteries of the year.”
— The Globe and Mail(Toronto)
“His horrors, rooted so closely in history, have a nightmare quality that’s hard to shake.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Deftly mixing past and present in a complex plot that pits justice against moral ambiguity…he vividly portrays a divided nation… .Highly recommended.”
— Library Journal (starred review)
“South African author Ebersohn kicks off a promising new series... .The complexities of South Africa a decade after the end of white rule help fuel a compelling plot that builds to several dramatic climaxes.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)