Just another killing in a country where murder is a national passtime . . . Wealth insulates Michael Lane and his family from South Africa's violent crime epidemic until trouble comes from within the high walls of their Cape Town mansion one night when his teenage son commits an act of unspeakable savagery. Lane, joining his wife in a desperate lie to protect their boy--a lie involving the sacrifice of an innocent--encounters no opposition from cops and courts burdened by chaos and corruption, but he sets in motion a bloody train of revenge and retribution that threatens to destroy him and everything he loves.
Praise for Sacrifices
"Smith is the crime genre's greatest tragedian and Sacrifices might just be his masterpiece. The downfall of these characters is especially Shakespearean." Spinetingler Magazine
"Perceptive, bloody and gut-wrenching. Another brilliantly crafted piece of noir from Smith." crimefictionlover.com
"Brilliant writing. A fascinating, very sophisticated and very dark story." Radio 702
"Violent and brilliant! It's Crime and Punishment in South Africa." Le Monde (France)
"A frightening thriller. Machiavellian until the very last line." Le Figaro (France)
"A whirlwind of death and vengeance. Breathless!" Advantages (France)
"A mercilessly moralimageof South African society. Purgatory with sea views. This thriller bites like a pit bull." Kölnische Rundschau (Germany)
"One's own sense ofinjusticeisput to the test. Smith blurs theboundaries betweengood and eviland shatters thestereotypesofrich and poor." Aachener Zeitung(Germany)
"A thriller that is both brutal and subtle." Sonntagszeitung (Switzerland) Crime Novel of the Month
"An excellent, violent crime thriller with real depth." Der Standard (Austria)
"Validates Smith's reputation as a master of suspense, setting the reader on a trip so shocking that you're afraid to put the book down." Sunday Times
"Smith writes coolly and with grace about unspeakable horror." Cape Argus
"In the complex dynamics of South Africa today this is a shockingly credible scenario." The Citizen
"So satisfying drawn, a tragedy in which we watch, compelled, the destruction of lives that crash amid deception and guilt." Cape Times
"Compulsive reading. Smith plots his tale with a master's hand." The Gamblers Blog
"Smith's bleakest, most twisted and very best novel yet." Dead End Follies
Praise for Roger Smith
"Smith writes with brutal beauty." The Washington Post
"The master of the coolly-described nightmare." Der Spiegel
"Smith's writing is astonishing." The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"A master of suspense." The Sunday Times
"The shooting star of the crime scene." Radio Europe
"Smith has a unique ability to grab readers and plunge them headlong into his nightmare visions." The Times
"The crime genre's greatest tragedian." Spinetingler Magazine
"Smith captures a world where nothing is certain, least of all the rules of coexistence." Arte "A leader in dark, relentless fiction." Marianne Magazine
"Smith writes coolly and with grace about unspeakable horror." The Argus
"Smith portrays a world that has lost all hope of redemption." Le Monde
"Nobody can peel back the layers of damaged people and a broken society so poetically." crimefictionlover.com
Roger Smith's thrillers Man Down, Sacrifices, Capture, Dust Devils, Wake Up Dead, Mixed Blood & Ishmael Toffeeare published in eight languages and two are in development as movies. He also writes horror under the pen name Max Wilde. Website: rogersmithbooks.com