The author of this series was born in South Africa, but has lived in Sydney, Australia for a long time. PRESENT TENSE is the first, followed by SHADOW CITY (https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/shadow-city-natalie-conyer). Based around veteran cop Schalk Lourens these books are gritty and dark, tackling aspects of South Africa's past and present in a clear, concise and unflinching manner.

Having read the second book first, PRESENT TENSE provided the details for a lot of the important parts of Lourens past, as well as his present. A cop for many years, he has experienced the apartheid years, and got himself into trouble with his superiors because of his actions then. When retired Police Chief Piet Pieterse is murdered at his private farm, necklaced, a tyre forced around his neck, doused in petrol and set alight, Lourens is instantly pulled back to a time, when as a young cop, his relationship with Pieterse was very complicated. Referencing aspects of those years, and the subsequent Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Conyer has built a very real and quite confronting story about South Africa's troubled past, and the lines in the sand that some people stood either side of.

Along with the murder investigation, which is "solved" too conveniently, too quickly and just plain wrongly as far as Lourens is concerned, the country is on a knife-edge with an election due, one that's increasing the volatility and violence in a country that's got some very desperate people looking for a way forward and a massive problem with improper influence and corruption.

The underlying cultural and historical elements of this series are delivered in an unflinching yet careful manner. The fallout from the apartheid years, the treatment of people, those that got rich, and those for whom life never really improved is shown, never told. The characters are wonderfully evoked, again never shying away from the pluses and minuses, with the use of local terminology (phrases and words) that give a real feel for the people, without ever being difficult to follow. Schalk Lourens is a principled, and decent man, who has trouble trusting new colleagues, and devoted to those he knows. His wife is unwell, struggling with mental health issues and he's as supportive as he knows how, yet falls into an extra-marital affair without a backwards look. He's a loving father, and you can just see him shaping up to be a disapproving father-in-law (something that plays out more clearly in the second book).

This really is an excellent series, invoking a time and a country that you often hear just the bad stuff about. Clearly not pretending for one moment that it's not a homeland with considerable difficulties, it is drawing a portrait of a homeland with some sections of the community pretty clear-eyed about where they have been, and where they should be heading.

This book was okay in places. However, to truly enjoy it, I believe I would need a working understanding of the culture and lingo. Afrikaans words are used and, usually, not given an explanation.

The political climate plays a huge roll but it's not explained very well. Though, if I were a native or spent any time there, it would probably be basic knowledge. Having never left the U.S. there were lots of things I didn't understand and the author didnt explain much pf anything. For a book marketed on multiple continents, the author should have provided more background and explanations for her audience. I don't particularly want to have to Google my way through a pleasure novel..

The characters weren't very... 3 dimensional. Also, I didn't like the MC. I get the gritty detective trope, but some morals would be appreciated. I cannot root/care for a character to succeed when he has no redeeming qualities and does things like cheating on his wife with the spouse of a murder victim. Just no.


DNF. I did skip to the end to see if it was worth continuing. It wasn't. I'm even more disappointed with the characters than I was before.