D are stories of relationships between a bodyguard and his client, it is not lacking in thrillers paper or cinema, and some of the syrupy Bodyguard Mick Jackson (1992) in soft-the-knee The Sentinel by Gerald Petievich (2006) brought to the screen under the same title by Clark Johnson (2006), do not fly much higher than the story between Daniel Ducruet and Stephanie of Monaco.
Suffice to say that I was a little suspicious of the idea of embarking in Blood Safari of Deon Meyer (published by Hodder & Stoughton, 2009, ISBN 978 - 0-340-95358-7, translated from Afrikaans into English by KL Seegers) after reading the back cover. Between Lemmer, the bodyguard with a troubled past, and Emma Le Roux, his client who wants to know if it was indeed his brother disappeared 20 years she has seen on TV I feared the trap with water-de-rose, so it is with caution that I flew to South Africa, its contrasts between cities and wilderness, its racial tensions, and young women distressed protected by bodyguards taciturn.
But I quickly abandoned my caution to immerse myself in this story led to a run, which leaves virtually no respite for the reader. Plus the novel progresses, the characters take on depth: there is the force behind the apparent weakness of Emma Le Roux, and the fragility behind the solid wall of Lemmer. I let myself get involved in this investigation where defenders of the wilderness seem ready to extremes to defend against the actions of men, where intrigue mix in a labyrinth in which one enjoys getting lost.
If I had, however, highlight an issue that left me lukewarm, what are some passages in the book when it comes to wildlife riches of South Africa and they gave me the Deon Meyer impression that failed to take distance with books and magazines that inspired naturalists for part of this novel, and he allowed himself to be the speaker, in a tone somewhat artificial, rather than the author of crime fiction. I regret that it has given almost no weight to it as reflections on how, possibly extreme, that some are tempted to resort to protect wildlife.
However, these few passages do not lose the overall quality of this novel, the social and political ideas it raises, and especially the wonderful plot that Deon Meyer gives us the smoke screen behind which we ride early in the novel.
A very good thriller that you can read in French under the title Lemmer invisible (Editions Points, Points collection Crime, 2010, ISBN 2757816349, you should read either the Afrikaans or English.
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