Caterpillar

Kramer and Zondi Mystery #2

by James McClure

Handsome twelve-year-old Boetie was strangled and stabbed. Was he the victim of a pedophile? On whom was he spying?

Genres: Mystery, South Africa, Fiction, Crime, Africa, Mystery Thriller, Procedural

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

James Howe McClure was a British author and journalist best known for his Kramer and Zondi mysteries set in South Africa.

James McClure was born and raised in South Africa and educated in Pietermaritzburg, Natal at Scottsville School (1947–51), Cowan House (1952–54), and Maritzburg College (1955–58). He worked first as a commercial photographer with Tom Sharpe, who later wrote a series of celebrated comic novels, and then as a teacher of English and art at Cowan House in 1959-63, before becoming a crime reporter and photographer for the Natal Witness in his hometown of Pietermaritzburg.

His journalistic career saw him headhunted first by the Natal Mercury and then by the Natal Daily News. After the birth of his first son, he moved to Britain with his family in 1965, where he joined the Scottish Daily Mail as a sub-editor. From there, he moved to the Oxford Mail and then to The Oxford Times.

His first crime novel, The Steam Pig, won the CWA Gold Dagger in 1971. He resigned as deputy editor in 1974 to write full time. He added to his series of police procedurals based on his experiences in South Africa, featuring the detective partnership of Afrikaner Lieutenant Tromp Kramer and Bantu Detective Sergeant Mickey Zondi.

McClure also wrote a spy novel set in Southern Africa - Rogue Eagle - which won the 1976 CWA Silver Dagger, a number of short stories, and two large non-fiction works that won wide acclaim: Spike Island: Portrait of a Police Division (Liverpool) and Copworld: Inside an American Police Force (San Diego).

After publishing 14 books, he returned to the bottom rung of "The Oxford Times" in 1986, as his police books had made him aware of how much he had missed working with others - his intention being to write in his spare time. What proved his most popular Kramer and Zondi novel then followed, The Song Dog, but journalism soon became all consuming. He became editor in 1994 and three years later The Oxford Times won the Weekly Newspaper of the Year award, beating all comers from across the United Kingdom.

He was promoted to editor of the Oxford Mail in 2000, and spent the next three years on a variety of objectives to enhance the quality and revenue of the county's daily paper. That done, he decided it was time to again step down, and retired to return to writing. He was working on a novel set in Oxford and had just started his own blog when he came down with a respiratory illness and died on 17 June 2006. He lived in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.

Reviews

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unpleasant young boy meets an unpleasant end in the second Kramer and Zondi. Zondi is amazed that nobody, but nobody, likes "the young master", but then it is revealed that he belongs to a "detective club" that encourages boys to sneak and spy and snitch on people, kind of like the Red Guards or the Hitler Youth. One case leads to another to make this novel rather more gruey than the first. Kramer encounters racism not only toward nonwhites, but non-Afrikaaners, and finds himself for the first time on the receiving end of racial hatred. On the other hand, while Kramer treats Zondi as a friend, he also reveals English residents as of-course-inferior to the Boers. South Africa must have been a strange place in the 1970s, apartheid aside. We are told that it was illegal for a woman to even go into a bar; that if a girl appeared on a movie poster or book cover ina bikini, a modest dress would be painted or pasted over her body; that nudie mags were not only frowned on but actually illegal (as in jail time). Sunbathers at a pool or beach had to sit at least 18 inches apart--by law! I'm assuming that little kids could sit closer to their parents, but who knows. Maybe not.
To alleviate the harshness, there's quite a lot of quiet cross-cultural humour in the book; in the house of an English family Kramer the cop is mystified by the "curious brass plates" on the beams (horse brasses to me and you) and wonders what they could possibly be for. The hapless constables serve as comic relief; I could almost imagine this novel as being written for television. I doubt that even today it would be filmed, though, with PC sensibilities in the way of admitting that yes, that was the way it was.

The pace is quite a lot quicker in this volume, though we are still treated to Kramer's sudden silences and dashing off. Again, the resolution is a bit wonky, and the murderer's motivation a bit odd--but was there ever a "sensible" motive for wanton murder of a child? When all is revealed, again there is no wrap--the novel simply stops, and yet I didn't feel cheated because it is well-written; the reader is given all they need. Like Oliver Twist, I'd like some more. Fortunately there are more.

[ion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I started reading The Caterpillar Cop in October because the cover promised a “novel of subtle horror.” What I got instead was a mystery whodunit set in apartheid South Africa. The format reminded me of tv crime procedurals with the cold open where the body is discovered, multiple possible suspects and lots of red herring, lab/morgue reports, and deduction. So much so that at every break the Law & Order “chung chung” sound bite played in my head.

[Contrarywise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the other Kramer/Zondi mysteries, this presents an unvarnished look at life in South Africa under Apartheid. The humor is coarse, and the milieu is not for the squeamish. The author was a crime reporter in S.A. during the 70's and knew what he was writing about. What makes the books so successful is the two detectives, who in the midst of the most appalling injustice and squalor, pursue murderers with total ruthlessness, yet remain lovable because of their utter lack of cant and their deep loyalty to each other. I have trouble remembering which book contains which events, though the actual events are unforgettable, since plotting is secondary here to character and setting. These are the best detective novels written since the "Golden Age" in my opinion.

[Jenine · Rating 3 out of 5]

These titles are all at an angle, not the obvious sort of thing I expect. This had its moments. As in most detective fiction the criminal psychology is the weakest link. Sorry Miss Louw! But you're better off without the bugger.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating cultural snap shot of a long ago era. The place is South Africa. The time is 1972 during the height of Apartheid. The author provides a glimpse into a time when white detectives interviewed white witnesses and suspects and black detectives did the same with black witnesses and suspects. The division of race is 100% enforced and racial terms are bandied about quite frequently, enough so that any snow flake attempting to read this book would probably melt. Our protagonist finds himself investigating a pair of seemingly unconnected murders, but as the investigation unfolds he becomes convinced (correctly) both deaths are indeed connected. While a well written detective novel at times it gets just a little bit bogged down in its complication. One factor that helps is the book is not overly long. I really enjoyed McClure's 1984 book Cop World and it helped nudge me into a career in law enforcement. For readers who want an interesting take on 1972 in South Africa I recommend this book.

[Bob Deysach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 2nd Kramer/Zondi book I've read recently and the 2nd in the series itself. It was an interesting story, although it required some "leaps of (good) faith in McClure and an understanding that cultural differences between apartheid South Africa and contemporary USA had to be accepted. I personally found he did not do as good a job is "spinning the yarn" as in The Artful Egg. Taken together, these considerations summed to make it more work to read than was satisfying.

[gwen graves · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not at a good

First the vernacular of the language, if you were from South Africa you would understand what was being said. Two the characters were boring and three it was really not well written.

[Randal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than the first in the series. Looking forward to reading the other six.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Difficult to follow

[Unwisely · Rating 3 out of 5]

My father really likes this series, so when I was up visiting he handed me one that I'd already read. When I figured that out (24 pages in), he said this one was his favorite. So I read this one. The series is set in apartheid South Africa (which was contemporary, I think they're mostly from the 70's). The protagonist is Afrikaaner, and the afrikaans words are a bit thick and undefined, which if that bothers you will bother you. I wasn't that taken with it, but didn't hate it - would read another if presented to me, but won't go out of my way to look for more.

[Kamas Kirian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little crime novel. I thought I knew which participants were responsible for the various actions, but I just couldn't figure out how they were going to prove it. The pace of the story was quick. Zondi was better developed in this story. The side story didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular until the end. Even though we have extremely large variances here in the US, the contrasts between the different parts of the culture in SA are so striking, it's such a foreign thing to me.

The eBook was formatted well with no obvious spelling or grammatical errors.

[Peter Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

James McClure's detective books are set in Pietermaritzburg in Apartheid South Africa, featuring two policemen, Kramer and Zondi. The plots are OK, and the writing not bad, what is excellent, though, is how they capture the zeitgeist.

The relationship between the white Afrikaans Kramer, and the black Zulu Zondi is brilliantly explored. The town, too, appears almost as a character.

[Harley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kraemer and Zondi, Afrikaaner (I think) and Bantu (I think) cops, partners. These are gritty South African police detective books, and I read every one I could find. McClure moved to England because finally he could no longer bear South Africa and apartheid. Or so I read, somewhere.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting second book in this police procedural series set in South Africa and first published in 1972. The plotting was fine, perhaps a bit over complicated, but the characterizations and writing were very well done.

[Pam]

04/11/08 rec via bookmooch

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent series.

[Avary Doubleday · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story. It's hard to read of the racial and class discrimnation in apartheid South Africa -- but it's probably accurate.

[Janet Williams]

These books are relatively hard to find in public libraries in South Africa. Wish they were available in audio as well.

[Donald Schopflocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

South Africa in the 70s; quite the place.