Present Darkness

A continuation of the Emmanuel Cooper books. Good, but I enjoyed the previous ones a bit more.

I can't wait for the next book.

Exciting. So captivating an author I cannot put Malla Nunn's books down. I lived in South Africa in the early 1960's and every sound and smell she writes in her books take me back there. Present Darkness is proof that Malla Nunn's books get better and better.

Present Darkness is the fourth superb installment in the author's Detective Emmanuel Cooper series. This unique crime series, set during the 1950's in apartheid ruled South Africa has become one of my favorites and this one did not disappoint. It would receive a 4.5 stars from me.

I'm anxiously waiting for the next book in this series!

This is one of my favorite series. A detective in 1950's South Africa, whose race is in question.

Love this series and hope there are more to come!

The Emmanuel Cooper books just might be my favorite ongoing mystery series. The series started in 2009 with A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE, set in 1952 South Africa. Although PRESENT DARKNESS comes three books later, it is only one year later in story time.The setting is incredibly important to these novels. Apartheid legislation started in 1948. It segregated people - white, black, mixed race, Indian - as well as services. It also made sexual relations and marriage between people of different races illegal. Cooper, a detective sergeant, grew up in a mixed-race slum, growing up as a "white kaffir." In the present, he seeks to hide his sympathies even as he helps find justice for those the law would ignore. It's becoming harder, especially since he has to hide all details of his private life. His girlfriend is mixed race and they have a daughter together.PRESENT DARKNESS starts with two separate crimes. A prostitute is kidnapped. A white couple is critically beaten, and their daughter names two black men as the attackers. The first crime takes a long time to tie into the story, although the updates on the girl's situation are quite harrowing and make one hope that she'll somehow escape a grisly fate. The second seems like an open and shut case. However, one of the men she names is the son of Cooper's good friend Detective Constable Samuel Shabalala. Cooper realizes that the crime is too neat and investigates on his own.The mystery weaves together slowly, taking several unpredictable turns, complicated at every step by the inescapable racial politics. Malla Nunn's hero might be impossibly progressive, but he does have his dark side, and as the case gets more personal it brings out his violence. I thought PRESENT DARKNESS hammered a bit too hard on Cooper's concern about his secret family being discovered, but I did like how the theme of family was woven through the climax.This series is good because Nunn's plotting is tight and twisted, the sense of place not a gimmick but an integral part of each mystery. It is also good because Nunn's writing is so good. Nunn got her start in screenwriting, and she has a real sense for laying out cinematic landscapes. You can practically see the geography rolling out before you. A new book in a favorite series is always cause for celebration, and PRESENT DARKNESS didn't let me down. I know I'll be back for book five.

The first is this series was very good. the second, OK. The third irritating.This is the worse of the four. Sloppily written, poor plot.It's too bad because the background is fascinating and the lead characters are interesting. But the author has run out of steam

Another enjoyable Det. Sgt. Emmanuel Cooper book "Present Darkness" by Malla Nunn (series). It involves a murder, a missing girl and the investigation uncovers a quite violent world of gangs, thieves and corrupt government official in Johannesburg (South Africa). I read this book within a few hours - very easy to relax and enjoy a well written book.........Annabel

Good reading. DS Cooper brings back memories of times past.