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Sacrifices
Roger Smith's crime novels set in the environs of Cape Town paint a picture of dystopia and income inequality every bit as riveting as those in the science fiction works of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, or the ever popular Hunger Games of Suzanne Collins.Unfortunately, Smith's work is taken from present day reality, and in this world the light of a cell phone turned on in the Cape Flat slums works as a beacon to attract thieves. The gnawing disparity of living conditions corrodes the inner lives of nearly all the characters, slowly, like the steady drip of a leaking faucet.Sacrifices examines the steady corruption of two sets of choices, choices of guilt and lifestyle preservation for the white characters, and choices of survival, despair, rage, and need for the black ones.These choices all stem from Lane and Beverly's choice to cover up a crime and blame their black housekeeper's son, and the consequences that the human psyche delivers (to different degrees) to those who do so. Unlike crime narratives where coincidence is a driving factor, nearly every outcome in Sacrifices feels driven and caused by earlier choices. Quite a few time while reading I found myself thinking, "Of course."This book proceeds at a less frenetic pace than some of Smith's previous thrillers, but the pace is still beguiling. It thrums, slowly and steadily, spiralling towards its inevitable outcome. While prior Smith works reminded me of Ludlum, Stark, Thompson or Simenon, this one, by its end felt reminiscent of Hitchcock's Vertigo in its searing portrayal of psychological devastation and obsession. And it's ending is perfect. So buy it. Read it. Now.