"Bullets, Booze and Bastards"

Capture by Roger Smith

ISBN: 9780989932325

As four-year-old Sunny Exley drowns in the icy waters off a luxury beach house, her father, Nick, smokes weed on the shore and her mother, Caroline, is lost in the arms of a lover. Hidden on nearby boulders, rent-a-cop Vernon Saul watches the child die and chooses to act only when it is too late. In the days following Sunny’s death, gutted by grief and guilt, Nick falls under the spell of Vernon who presents himself as a friend in time of need. When the sinister Vernon’s true motives are revealed, Nick is drawn into a spiral of manipulation and murder that leaves him fighting for his sanity and his life.

Raves for Capture

“Sends chills down your spine.”
—The Citizen

“A stark reflection on the insidious nature of guilt and grief. One of the most deeply satisfying books I’ve read this year.”
—Elizabeth A. White – Florida Times-Union

“Filled with dangerous, flawed people and dark delights.”
—Jack Ketchum, author of The Girl Next Door and The Woman

“A brutal, bloody portrait of a broken society.”
—Die Welt (Germany)

“The plot is operatic in its violence and tragedy and the characters are heartbreakingly real and immensely flawed. Smith’s impeccable prose hits you on a physical level.”
—Pete Dragovich – Spinetingler Magazine

“Violent, chilling and as black as sin. Smith is a master of suspense.”
—The Witness

“One of the most powerful reads you will find this year. Unmissable.”
—Crimesquad

“A chilling read written with great power.”
—Shotsmag

“The Best Crime Novel of 2012.”
—Benoît Lelièvre – Dead End Follies

“Excellent. Nobody can peel back the layers of damaged people and, indeed, a broken society, so poetically.”
—Crime Fiction Lover Top 5 Crime Novels of 2012

“Painfully realistic. Smith masterfully delves into the psychology of Cape Town like no other crime writer. Read it if you dare.”
—Melany Bendix – The Big Issue, Cape Town

“Murder, drugs, blood and horror are described in a style reminiscent of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.”
—Göttinger Tageblatt (Germany)

“A terrifying indictment of South African society.”
—Business Day

“Roger Smith writes like the bastard child of Patricia Highsmith.”
—Krimicouch (Germany)

“What neo-noir is all about: the same twisted, desperate characters found in original noir plus the faster pace and action usually found in thrillers. Tension ratchets up to a shattering and satisfying denouement.”
—Naomi Johnson – The Drowning Machine

“A masterful thriller.”
—Sonntagszeitung (Switzerland)

“Magnificently written. High volatge!”
—OÖN (Austria)

“A tough, captivating thriller. Not for the fainthearted.”
—DRS3 (Swiss Radio)

“The best thriller I’ve read this year.”
—Martin Stanley – The Gamblers Blog Top 5 Books of 2012

“A raw, emotional, intimate psychological thriller. One of my top books of 2012.”
—Mack Lundy – Africa Screams

“It features one of Smith’s most fascinating creations: Vernon Saul, a character full of self-loathing, venom and rage.”
—Dave Zeltserman, author of Small Crimes and Monster