Blood Stone
Irna van Zyl
Penguin Random House
Review: Karen Watkins
In her third crime novel, award-winning journalist Irna van Zyl takes us from the murky streets of London to the diamond bourse in Antwerp and secluded Port Nolloth.
At the heart of the story is Detective Storm van der Merwe. Her mum was pushed under a train at Paddington Station and lies in a hospital in London in a coma.
Storm lives alone in Hermanus. She flies to London but soon returns because she’s in the middle of a murder investigation.
A well-known fashion designer, Beebee Bukelwa Babu, has been found dead in a luxury Hermanus hotel.
In the background, the town is riddled by protest action and a menacing power-hungry prophet who is suspected of inciting the crowds.
Other characters include Storm’s mum’s younger boyfriend. There’s also the bumbling Andreas Moerdyk, Storm’s former colleague who is now working as a private investigator. He is on the trail of a missing and very valuable red diamond.
Storm juggles the murder investigation while soon realising that her mum was a deliberate target. And so is she.
Initially the story skips between the past and present day. The dates could have been included, however, once I got into it, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
