Before his death four years ago, the author wrote eight novels in this series, featuring a white CID lieutenant, Tromp Kramer, and his black assistant, Sgt. Zondi. The setting for “The Steam Pig” was apartheid South Africa, and the descriptions of that society are poignant and overwhelming, while the plot follows the unraveling of a murder investigation. Thanks to Soho Press, it is now back in print, along with one other in the series.
An attractive blonde is murdered in an unusual way: a bicycle spoke through to the heart, a signature method of the Bantus. Little by little Kramer and Zondi follow a mixed trail to find out shy she was killed and by whom. Along the way the reader is treated to subtle and not so subtle elements of the horrid aspects of apartheid in South Africa.
The interplay between Kramer and Zondi, stressing the advantages of each (the Bantu obviously is able to obtain information from his black counterparts more easily than his white superior), quietly demonstrates the inadequacies of apartheid, while the fact that the victim, who was reclassified “colored” from “white,” points up just one unfortunate aspect of the system.
The whole, of course, is more than the sum of its parts. A good, well-written mystery, interesting characters and a very different style makes for an excellent read, which brings this reviewer next to the second book made available by the publisher, The Caterpillar Cop. Recommended.
