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Exciting news... in August 2010, Stolen Lives will be published by Random House Struik in South Africa. Readers in the USA will have to wait a little longer - the launch date for the Soho Press edition is 1 April 2011.
Stolen Lives is the sequel to Random Violence, and it features feisty P.I. Jade de Jong and her conflicted love interest, Superintendent David Patel. In Stolen Lives, Jade is hired as a bodyguard by bossy, wealthy Pamela Jordaan. Jade thinks the job will be relatively simple, but in a world of strip joints, sex work and human trafficking nothing could be further from the truth. After a determined shooter nearly kills them both, and she finds Pamela's missing husband brutally tortured and barely clinging to life, Jade realises that she has been drawn into a wicked game.
And when David's child is kidnapped and his wife blackmailed, the situation takes a dramatic turn for
the worse. More so when it becomes chillingly clear that all these crimes are connected. Jade must act, but her options are impossible. And for her this is much more than just another job.
You can read the first chapter of Stolen Lives here.
It's disturbing how truth can mirror fiction - there is a well known chain of strip clubs in Jo’burg called Teazers, which I visited to do research for my book. When Stolen Lives was in its final editing stage,
Lolly Jackson, Teazers' infamous multimillionaire owner, was brutally murdered by a business
associate.
On a happier note, there have been some wonderful reviews of Random Violence in the USA, most notably a write-up by Marilyn Stasio for the New York Times Book Review. This review describes Jade's activities, like her gun, as "illegal, unlicensed and dangerous". The review concludes with, "Even as Mackenzie captures Johannesburg’s “crazy boomtown energy,” she doesn’t shy away from the rough
stuff. None of which, it should be said, is quite rough enough to scare this remarkable new sleuth,
whose future exploits should be worth watching."
More good news is that the audiobook rights for Random Violence and Stolen Lives have been sold in
the USA after a bidding war between three different audiobook companies. I'm thrilled about this, and
I'll publish launch dates as soon as I have them.
