Mike Nicol is one of the brightest thriller writing talents to have emerged in the last decade, and the Mace and Pylon novels are as good as any being written in the field today. This is not just superb genre writing: it is superb writing, period, and proves that the thriller, at its best, can both entertain and provoke, while tackling serious issues with the lightest of touches. Read Mike Nicol now, before everyone else starts telling you how wonderful he is' JOHN CONNOLLY'If you have to spend a weekend with only one book for company, take Killer Country' Sunday Independent'Shady characters, twists, turns, murder, mayhem, humour, wonderful dialogue, white-knuckle pace -- everything I love about crime fiction in just the right amount' Deon Meyer'A magnificent thriller. Nicol strips his prose of ornamentation and achieves an extraordinary emotional energy out of his characters and their ordeals. This is language with muscle.' Rapport'World class . . . pace, wonderful characters and brilliant dialogue' Elle'Mike Nicol is a talent deserving wide international recognition' The Weekender'Watch out Elmore Leonard, here comes Mike Nicol' Southern Mail'A heady mix, and Nicol stirs it with vigour, inventiveness and wit . . . The laconic, street-smart style is so convincingly laid-back that it may blind readers to the artistry of the writing, which is taut and economical Independent'In the top rung . . . Nicol's clipped dialogue and sparse, high-impact prose recalls that of revered American recluse Cormac McCarthy' The CitizenMace Bishop and Pylon Buso run a security agency, protecting wealthy tourists from the violence on Cape Town's streets -- all the while hoping their own shady pasts won't catch up with them. But when they try to invest some dirty money in a lucrative property deal, they clash with a new and dangerous set of enemies: Obed Chocho, corrupt politician par excellence, and Spitz, a ruthless hitman who kills with mechanical efficiency. And somewhere behind it all is an old adversary, Sheemina February, looking to settle a score from the bad old days . . .