BOOK CLUB
BOOK CLUB
BY CHARIS TORRANCE
CROSS AND SAMPSON by James Patterson
There is something deeply reassuring about Detectives Alex Cross and John Sampson in full flight. In Cross and Sampson, however, the formidable duo is forced to divide and conquer. Alex is frantically searching for his missing son, Damon, who has vanished from college. The brilliant psychologist-detective is sleep-deprived, distracted and, at times, reckless. Meanwhile, back in Washington DC, Sampson is hunting a serial bomber striking with terrifying speed. Without Cross beside him, Sampson must rely on instinct and stamina – though thankfully Nana Mama is on hand to steady the home front.
FALL THE SHADOW by Mike Nicol
Crime aficionados will relish this gritty, action-packed thriller set in a
South Africa where corruption runs deep. When a police officer murders his family and then himself, the gruesome tragedy initially looks like a domestic implosion. But a hidden cache of illegal weapons in his shed suggests something far more sinister. Enter Captain Zara Dewane of the Internal Crime Unit, a single mother nicknamed“ the Jackal” by colleagues who know she doesn’ t scare easily. As Zara digs deeper, she uncovers a network of police officers trafficking stolen guns to gangsters.
The rot stretches upwards, implicating powerful figures who would rather silence her than see the truth exposed.
WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT by Nicci French
In 1993, Tyler Green was convicted of murdering his friend Leo during a university graduation trip. Three decades later, his life sentence commuted, he remains adamant he was framed. Determined to unmask the real killer, Tyler summons eight former friends to a London reunion – the first since that fateful night. Wine flows. So do old resentments. By morning, one guest lies dead, throat slit in chilling mimicry of Leo’ s murder. Detective Inspector Maud O’ Connor is called to investigate, and she’ s not convinced Tyler is the monster everyone believes him to be. A classic locked-room set-up with modern psychological twists, this is a tense, compulsive read that will delight fans of clever, character-driven mysteries.
94 INBOUND SA / APRIL 2026