This outstanding debut novel got a well-deserved nomination for an Edgar award for best novel of the year (2010). Nunn creates a vivid portrait of South Africa in 1952, and sets into that world a memorable cast of characters.

The main protagonist, Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper, is sent to a small town to investigate the murder of the local police captain who is also the head of a prominent local family. Cooper soon finds himself up against the captain's family and the national security police as he confronts the baffling mystery of the captain's murder.

The security police soon settle on an expedient and politically useful solution to the crime. But Cooper is skeptical and believes that the murder is tied to a Peeping Tom case that the captain had been investigating. At great risk to his career and to his own physical well-being, Cooper defies the security police and continues his own investigation that takes him deep into the world of the complex racial and social relationships that existed in the South Africa of the early 1950s.

This is a beautifully written and very engaging book that continues to deliver surprises to the very end. Happily, it is the first of a series and readers can look forward eagerly to the next book from this very talented writer.