Silent Valley in Aussie Readers

Apr 21, 2012 Brenda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-release, mystery, aussie-authors, own-read, crime

When Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper along with Detective Constable Samuel Shabalala was sent from Durban to the Drakensberg Mountains by Colonel van Niekerk to investigate a murder, they had no idea it would lead them deep into the racial wars between the black and white communities in the area. The beautiful Zulu teenager, seventeen year old Amahle looked almost like she was sleeping; covered in wildflowers with a blanket for her pillow. But Cooper knew she was dead; the wailing of the wome When Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper along with Detective Constable Samuel Shabalala was sent from Durban to the Drakensberg Mountains by Colonel van Niekerk to investigate a murder, they had no idea it would lead them deep into the racial wars between the black and white communities in the area. The beautiful Zulu teenager, seventeen year old Amahle looked almost like she was sleeping; covered in wildflowers with a blanket for her pillow. But Cooper knew she was dead; the wailing of the women keeping guard over her body; the threatening posture of the Zulu males with their spears and shields keeping watch – entering this private, grieving world had to be done with extreme care.

To discover who murdered this girl whose life had just begun meant delving into the white farming community where she worked, as well as her home kraal where the chief was all powerful; his son a protector who needed answers – blood for blood – and Amahle’s mother who was cowered and filled with grief. Shabalala by his side meant Cooper was able to interview the Zulu workers as well as the white farmers. But the frustrations kept mounting; the secrets were deep and the murderer even deeper. Would they find the answers? The divisions caused by apartheid filled the investigation with danger – danger to the police detectives; but danger also to the people of a lawless country if it were seen that they were helping the police. Would Cooper eventually find justice for Amahle?

I thoroughly enjoyed Blessed Are the Dead which is the third in the Detective Emmanuel Cooper series by Aussie author Malla Nunn. A fast paced novel with twists and turns throughout, the tension and suspense are gripping. I love the two main characters; Cooper and Shabalala, their easy friendship but also the knowledge by Shabalala that Cooper is his baas (in front of strangers anyway!) Blessed Are the Dead is a thoroughly enjoyable crime/mystery novel which I have no hesitation of recommending. I’m really looking forward to reading the fourth in the series; Present Darkness.
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Dec 21, 2011 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: provided-by-publisher, aussie-author

After finishing Let The Dead Lie I was eager to dive into Silent Valley, the third installment of Malla Nunn's Detective Emmanuel Copper series set in Southern Africa in the 1950's. Silent Valley picks up a short time after Let The Dead Lie ends with Emmanuel on his first real case since being reinstated to the force. Along with Native Constable Samuel Shabalala, Colonel van Niekerk has sent Emmanuel to a small rural town where a homicide has been reported, what they find is the posed body of a After finishing Let The Dead Lie I was eager to dive into Silent Valley, the third installment of Malla Nunn's Detective Emmanuel Copper series set in Southern Africa in the 1950's. Silent Valley picks up a short time after Let The Dead Lie ends with Emmanuel on his first real case since being reinstated to the force. Along with Native Constable Samuel Shabalala, Colonel van Niekerk has sent Emmanuel to a small rural town where a homicide has been reported, what they find is the posed body of a dead Zulu girl, the daughter of a local cheiftan, with no visible signs of injury. Though under orders to wrap the investigation quickly and return to Durban, solving the murder is proving to be difficult being as it is complicated by a lazy local cop, a corrupt station owner, an arrogant chief and a reluctant doctor. Finding Mr Insurance Policy might just crack the case wide open, but things are never quite that simple for Detective Emmanuel Cooper.

The plotting of Silent Valley is superb, there are numerous twists and turns that kept me guessing almost the entire way through the novel. Emmanuel and Shabalala have to use every bit of their combined knowledge and skills to find the murderer and, as usual, Emmanuel can't help but step on a few toes in the process. He puts the town's Constable offside almost immediately by questioning his competence, while a powerful white local family, the son of whom is a suspect, wants the whole matter quashed and pulls strings within the CID to place pressure on Emmanuel. It seems that everyone is this community has secrets that would prefer remain hidden and none take kindly to Emmanuel investigating them. Emmanuel is not willing to give up though and continues to follow leads even those that seem to pull him in opposite directions.
I really liked the way Shabalala's unique skills are brought the the fore in Silent Valley. The Zulu culture is an important feature of the story and as a Shangaan Zulu, Shabalala helps interpret the beliefs and motives of the local Zulu tribe. His tracking and keen observation abilities are also integral to Emmanuel considering and dismissing suspects and Shabalala gains more confidence in his partnership with Emmanuel in this more familiar setting.
It is Colonel Van Niekerk that insists on the involvement of Dr Zweigman in the case when the local medic, Dr Helen Dagliesh proves reluctant to assist with determining the cause of the girl's death. The three men, Emmanuel, Shabalala and the Doctor, are a formidable team as always, but on this case, their refusal to back down results in a life threatening injury to the 'old Jew'.

While solving the murder of Amahle remains the central focus of the novel, Nunn continues to explore the culture of Southern Africa in the 1950's. The stark realities of Apartheid are ever present and Nunn also explores the conflict between white Afrikaners and the English.
Tribalism and witchcraft also play a part as the investigation involves a local Zulu tribe.

Silent Valley is my favourite of this high quality crime series so far and leaves me eager for the next. With intelligent writing, intriguing story and appealing characters, the Detective Emmanuel series should be on everybody's reading list.

**Click here to listen to my chat with Malla Nunn about Silent Valley at my blog, Book'd Out**

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Jun 18, 2017 Kathryn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, reading-list-2017, australian-authors, added-because-part-of-series

3.5★ These are reliably good reads. I like Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper and Detective Constable Samuel Shabalala and I’m keen to finish the series (only one book to go). I feel sorry for DS Cooper having to play the game of keeping his superiors appeased while trying to track down murderers and employing methods that don’t always keep his superiors happy. He treats people with respect even if the apartheid system doesn’t class some people as worthy of a white man’s respect, which is anothe ...more

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