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    Mixed Blood: A Cape Town Thriller
    Mixed Blood: A Cape Town Thriller
    Mixed Blood: A Cape Town Thriller
    Audiobook8 hours

    Mixed Blood: A Cape Town Thriller

    Written by Roger Smith

    Narrated by John Lee

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Reluctant bank robber Jack Burn is on the run after a heist in the United States that left three million dollars missing and one cop dead. Hiding out in Cape Town, South Africa, he is desperate to build a new life for his pregnant wife and young son. But on a tranquil evening in their new suburban neighborhood, they are the victims of a random gangland break-in. Benny Mongrel, an ex-con night watchman, knows who went into Burn#8217;s house, and what the American did to them. Burn#8217;s actions soon trap them both in a cat-and-mouse game with Rudi #8220;Gatsby#8221; Barnard, a corrupt Afrikaner cop. Once Gatsby smells those missing American millions, the men are drawn into a web of murder and vengeance that builds to an unforgettable conclusion.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateApr 3, 2012
    ISBN9781615735273
    Author

    Roger Smith

    Roger Smith is an experienced writer and hillwalker and has written a number of books about walking and the outdoors.

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    Reviews for Mixed Blood

    3.5/5

    88 ratings25 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Blurb...... An American fugitive hides out in Cape Town—one of the world’s most beautiful and violent cities—in this riveting debut thriller that asks: Can you ever outrun your past?


      Reluctant bank robber Jack Burn is on the run after a heist in the United States that left $3 million missing and one cop dead. Hiding out in Cape Town, South Africa, he is desperate to build a new life for his pregnant wife and young son. But on a tranquil evening in their new suburban neighborhood they are the victims of a random gangland assault that changes everything.


      Benny Mongrel, an ex-con night watchman guarding a building site next to Burn’s home, is another man desperate to escape his past. After years in the ghetto gangs of Cape Town he knows who went into Burn’s house. And what the American did to them. He also knows his only chance to save his own brown skin is to forget what he saw.


      Burn’s actions on that night trap them both in a cat-and-mouse game with Rudi "Gatsby" Barnard—a corrupt Afrikaner cop who loves killing almost as much as he loves Jesus Christ—and Disaster Zondi, a fastidious Zulu detective who wishes to settle an old score. Once Gatsby smells those missing American millions, the four men are drawn into a web of murder and vengeance that builds to an unforgettable conclusion.


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      i I was unaware of Roger Smith, until a recent browse around a Waterstones had me scurrying to the till with Dust Devils. I was intrigued enough to dig through his back list and track down this copy of his first novel. I’m so glad I did.


      Smith has delivered a fast-paced, violent, gritty little book, peppered with intriguing characters from both sides of the tracks; Burn – an ex- US marine with a gambling Jones that forces him on the run, Mongrel - a survivor of the ghettos and some serious jail-time, now trying to move on with his life and leave the gangs behind and Gatsby – a corpulent, stinking, corrupt and zealous-Jesus loving cop, feared by all on the impoverished Cape Flats.


      With Burn fearful of losing his family and his liberty after dealing with a violent home invasion, witnessed by Mongrel and Gatsby under threat from an outside investigation, led by Zondi, their paths cross.


      Gatsby cracks Burn’s cover and senses opportunity to get out from under Zondi and mayhem follows.


      In addition to the strong characters Smith has drawn, none of them particularly likeable, but all memorable; his portrayal of a city of contrasting fortunes acts as an interesting back-drop for the book. Gangs, ghetto, drug use, tik-whores, poverty and apathy......it’s all in here.


      Having recently read both Deon Meyer and Mike Nicol, I would put Smith and Mixed Blood equal first with Nicol’s Payback and a little way ahead of Meyer’s Trackers, in my SA crime league table. I have further books to read from all three, which I’m hoping will enliven the months ahead.


      As this was Smith’s debut novel, can he possibly get better with his subsequent books?


      I’ll track down the others and find out,


      Cape Town
      1. Mixed Blood (2009)
      2. Wake Up Dead (2010)


      Novels
      Dust Devils (2011)
      Capture (2013)
      Novellas
      Ishmael Toffee (2012)


      Best book this month so far, 5 from 5.


      Highly recommended.
      I bought my copy on e-bay after a bit of bargain hunting.



    • 4/5
      The action flows nicely, almost in a cinematic way. The author's use of broken sentences helps to provide some sense of immediacy and tension. Some of the characters, however, particularly the "bad guys," seem a bit over the top. The resolution of the book is out of the ordinary for many in this genre, the protagonist's actions unlike those we expect from the main character. All in all, an enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      In Mixed Blood Smith has a way of taking the most obnoxious, despicable character and painting them in such a fashion that you find yourself rooting for them, all of them. As each main character is introduced, each one worse than the previous one, you are able to find some unbidden trait that makes you want to see them succeed. From Jack Burn, the American bank robber, hiding out in Cape Town under an assumed name, to Benny Mongrel the ex-jail-bird and long time gang-banger to the slime-ball, power hungry Boer cop Rudi Barnard, each one reels you in.
      Jack's pregnant wife, coerced into his drama after the botched robbery, is wanting a divorce to move home and turn herself in. Benny has taken a real job and found a dog, the first thing he ever loved and is trying to stay on the straight and narrow. Rudi, for all the hard-nosed tactics he takes is just another Bible-thumping fat slob whose hemorrhoids ache and who never gets laid since his wife moved out. Something to feel for with each character, which makes the end result for each of them even more memorable.
      This in-you-face gritty crime drama will keep you turning pages until the book is done and well worth the time.
    • 4/5
      Roger Smith has written a gritty, violent thriller full of deeply-flawed people trapped in bad luck and the violence of Cape Town, South Africa. Some books slowly weave a tapestry of ideas. Mixed Blood is not one of those books. It’s rapid rollercoaster with scenes quickly moving through the ups and downs of his cast of characters. The background and flaws of the characters are fired with the staccato of a machine gun into the narrative. You probably won’t like any of the characters. Most of them are bad people. Jack Burn is bad gambler willing to kill. Benny is gang member who places little value on human life. “Gatsby” Barnard is evil cop, ruling the streets with violence. Even not liking the characters, you do care what happens to them. They are flawed, but incredibly human. Several are either fighting for survival or for a chance at a new life. Will they find redemption or death of both? You will keep turning the pages to find out.There is lots of death and violence in the book. It’s gripping, but not for the faint of heart.Mixed Blood is Roger Smith’s debut thriller. I read his second, Wake Up Dead, back in January. The publisher was nice enough to send me this copy.
    • 4/5
      If you're looking for an action-thriller read with film-like quick cuts, anti-heroes that wear mostly white-ish hats and fast enough pacing to keep the action moving, this is your book. Smith won't bog you down with anything too intricate or even mysteries that stay hidden for very long, but is that what you're really looking for when you're two bodies in by the end of an eight-page first chapter? I didn't think so?Smith's jacket bio lists the screenwriter-director-producer credit (no actual credits are given), and film influence is heavy throughout the book. There's meticulous detail in background elements as if Smith had envisioned a sort of "smarter" action film treatment for Mixed Blood when writing about the wildfires being fought by heliocopter or when describing visions of the dead for one character. At the same time, he also gives background sketches to even the briefest of bit players; where we could just learn about a watch one character wears, we are treated to how this character feels about the watch and why that influences his unfortunate choice around a dead body one hot afternoon. It could have just as easily been done without the description or the motivation, but Smith's extra touch is noticeable. Of course, there are times this detail comes across as an action thriller trying too hard to be more, but it works for the most part.A nice diversion, but don't expect high art.
    • 3/5
      Well, I have mixed feelings about "Mixed Blood." (Good grief, I apologize for that. Spider Robinson would have my head.) This is a thriller about an American on the run from his past who settles in Cape Town, South Africa with is pregnant wife. It is always frustrating when an author can't help his reader visualize locations, particularly when the reader is completely unfamiliar with them and in the regard, Smith does an excellent job. The book itself, however, is pretty standard. The plot is nothing new and, as a result, predictable. The characters are quite one dimensional and at times smack of "Mary Jane-ism." (He gets attacked in his home by a gang and manages to kill them all. Wow.) As for pacing, there are exciting moments, but its inconsistent. All in all, its not a bad book, but its not a very good one either.
    • 3/5
      Struggling with gambling debts, security specialist Jack Burn agrees to help with a bank robbery. A cop is killed and now Jack and his family are fugitives living in Cape Town, South Africa. When local thugs attack his family, Jack instinctively reacts and kills them. Now he's trapped in a cat and mouse game between an ex-con security guard who saw what happened and a corrupt local cop who is looking for a way to retire rich. Gritty and realistic language and situations give the reader a look at the `real` South African culture. Fast-paced and well-plotted. Not for the squeamish. Highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      Another book from LT early reviewers, "Mixed Blood" was more than a read-and-toss thriller, it reached me at intellectual and emotional levels as well. Mixed Blood is a solid thriller with the plot, action, and violence that make this type of thriller enjoyable. But while I thoroughly enjoyed it as a thriller, there is something much more that makes it stand out for me. This is the role South Africa plays in the story. Cape Town itself is a character in the story. I enjoyed Mixed Blood as a straight-up thriller and also for the intense sense of place that Roger was able to weave into the story. Recommended highly for readers who like thrillers and don't mind a bit of stomach churning violence. Looking foward to reading more of Roger Smith's books.
    • 3/5
      Fast-paced, nearly brutal, but a real page-turner - reminded me of film noir and gave a very interesting look at some down-and-dirty characters as well as of the complex (also dark) society of Cape Town.
    • 4/5
      This thriller is not so much a roller coaster ride as a free fall - there are no "ups". Beginning with Jack Burn, an American who was involved in a bank robbery in Milwaukee that resulted in the death of a police officer. Never mind that he was a reluctant participant, he is now on the run. And he has run, together with is 4-year old son and heavily pregnant wife, to Cape Town, South Africa. Of course, with the millions from the bank robbery (he was reluctant to participate in the robbery, but all too willing to accept the booty), they live comfortably and peacefully in the most exclusive part of town. The rest of the city is a cess pool. Crime and corruption are rampant. So bad, in fact, that the new house being built next door to the Burn's has an overnight security guard to watch the property when there are no workers on site. This guard, an ex-con gang member trying to go straight, sees quite a lot - including the 2 men from a rival gang entering the back of the Burn's house just as they are sitting down to dinner. But they don't come back out. He hears a shot, then later an ambulance drives up and takes Mrs Burn away. Mr Burn and the boy follow in their car and all is quiet. For a while.Meanwhile, Inspector Rudi Barnard, the most disgusting and corrupt character I've come across in a long time, is looking for these same 2 intruders - wanting to collect his share of the money from their drug sales. When he doesn't find them where they should be, he begins to become suspicious. Later, their car is discovered on the street next to the Burn house and Barnard begins to investigate Jack.There are no nice people in this book. Everyone has something to hide, but Smith does a good job making several of them sympathetic, in spite of their backgrounds. I found myself rooting for both Jack and the night watchman. As I said, Barnard was a filthy, disguisting person - and Smith never let us forget it - commenting in every scene about his obesity, or halitosis, or corruption, or racist beliefs, or something. A very satisfying villian. The setting is grim, but Smith is South African and makes it believable - however awful. The book reads quickly, and is hard to put down. Kind of like a traffic accident - there's nothing you really want to see, but you can't keep from looking all the same. Very good for what it is - a fast paced thriller, with lots of violence, strong language, and drug use.
    • 3/5
      This graphic tale of murder and mayhem in South Africa depicted a difficult and traumatizing culture of violence and death. The main characters were well defined and displayed the mayhem of vile behavior that poverty and fear often precipate.
    • 5/5
      This book was nothing less than the nitty gritty of the squaller, poverty and hatred found in Cape Tow, South Africa. It reminded me of the 40's film noir crime movies. I requested copies for two friends and will recommend this author to others.
    • 4/5
      What an excellent read. Smith is going to take his place among my favorite new Authors Charlie Huston and Don Winslow. The setting of this story is Cape Town South Africa and it's as big a character in this book as anyone. The local flavor really seeps through. The other characters are spot on and three dimensional. You really get a sense of their lives and what brought them to this place. Strongly recommend.
    • 5/5
      From the first page to the last its a roller-coaster ride,,,starting when two men with guns come over the deck and shatters the quiet life of a America family in Cape Town.It becomes a race to keep there secrets and to put things right.Mixed Blood will take you to a world of colorfully character and a life I did not know existed ... well worth your time and money.... :+}
    • 5/5
      Roger Smith caught my attention on the first page and did not let go. He captures the sweaty grit of Cape Town and southern California’s Santa Anas with ease. Jack Burn is on the run from his criminal past and wishes he could love his family more than himself. He loves his wife and child, yet he puts them in harms way with little thought for anything other than his own freedom. Benny Mongrel is reconciled with his fate, yet he opens his heart to an aging, devoted watchdog past her prime. Rudi Barnard is a cop and a dinosaur from South Africa’s apartheid past, believing just a bit too much in God’s plan. He is oblivious to the changes around him and lives in the reality of his youth, openly abusing Cape Town’s power to satisfy his own need to feel superior and powerful. Their lives cross in a random, most unfortunate way in Smith’s thriller. I found it difficult to put down. Each man follows the path ordained for him even though each could step out of his respective story line at several points. Their insistence on staying the course is fully supported by the characters Smith develops and the story lines end with a logical satisfaction. I’m looking forward to his next book, Wake Up Dead.
    • 2/5
      This book was a breeze to read but much harder to enjoy. Not even a single character is truly likable, most have killed, tortured or lied, and the main female character, Jack's wife Susan, follows her wanted husband halfway across the globe only to abandon her 4-yr-old son to have her labor induced, alone. Without one character to root for, I found myself racing through the story, enjoying the considerable suspense and action without really caring one way or the other about what happened to the characters. The ending preview of Smith's next book, Wake Up Dead, promises more of the same.I did enjoy the Cape Town setting and the political backdrop of the story.
    • 4/5
      When one looks for a fast-paced, violent international thriller, with fugitives, one does not expect an ending that leaves the reader heavy-hearted, lonely, and happily depressed. Mixed Blood leaves the reader feeling lonely with a smirk. This dark and bloody novel stars Jack Burn, a bank robber turned murderer, who flees the country with his pregnant wife and young son. The action boils over when they are all caught up in the local Cape Town gang violence. In the end all of the reader's vengeful cravings are fulfilled, yet the reader is left in a pool of pity and guilt.What makes this book good is that it moves quickly. The action is not supplanted with long dramatic tirades of character over-development. It reads like an action drama. At the same time, it is extremely violent and dark. Violence is committed without discrimination of gender, race, or age. At times this becomes too heavy. On several occasions I had to stop, set the book down, and take a deep breath. It is clear that Roger Smith intimately understands and perhaps identifies with the book's setting, Cape Town.In the end I would not recommend the book to just anyone, but if you enjoy a good hard-boiled, violent, and vengeful, then Mixed Blood is for you.
    • 2/5
      This is a typical fast moving thriller in many ways. However I found it more violent than most. There's not a socially redeemable character in the entire book. And it's sure not an incentive to visit Cape Town.
    • 2/5
      Smith is a screenwriter, and you can tell reading this book-it's very cinematic. This book makes you want to keep reading, and it's fastpaced. However, there are several very disturbing images, and it's hard to tell if the characters really redeem themselves. Maybe they're not supposed to. I didn't dislike this book, but I was relieved to finally finish it.
    • 3/5
      Roger Smith has written a tough, gritty, dark depiction of life in South Africa Cape Town. A family has moved to Cape Town to escape the law and some bad choices. Rather than getting a new start they find themselves immersed in more bad decisions that send them plummeting downward. Characters are flawed and beaten down by life. The life Smith paints is grim and the characters are flawed and dangerous. Mixed Blood was a tough read for me, I tend to look for sparks of light in books I read and it was hard to find any in this one.
    • 1/5
      I should start of by stating that this is not my usual genre of novel. I don't really care for the mystery/thriller that much and tend to steer clear.This book however must be bad even for such a category -- the premise seems unlikely to begin with and there are simply no real characters in the book at all.The story is based in Cape Town, South Africa and I've no doubt that that city has it's sordid sections and could believe that it would be dangerous to find yourself in those neighborhoods and of course such a tale would be worthy of telling precisely because it would be out of the norm. But just the chain of events leading up to the main plot is incredulous.There are essentially three main characters - the hero, the hardened convict with the heart of gold, and -- of course -- the crooked cop. And there are a few secondary characters to keep the plot moving -- the hapless wife who -- of course -- is pregnant and on the verge of giving birth, the young son, the "tik" (crack) whore, the sexually repressed uptight police inspector, and the mangy old guard dog with the heart of gold.To try and make interesting characters, the author has created some glaring personality conflicts within some of these characters, but there is no evidence in the writing, their actions, speech or motivation to convince us of any of these characteristics -- they are the flattest of flat characters, though the author keeps trying to insist to us that they are interesting.Take for example the crooked cop -- of course he's crooked, we know this from the get-go as he is described as being physically grotesque in so many ways. The author wants us to see that his crookedness infuses his whole person in a most cliched way. Not only is he obese and ugly, he chews with his mouth open, he abuses the waitress, he stinks badly. But then we are told of the conflict... He is a Devout Christian. We are told over and over what a Devout Christian he is. He even owns a bible. No really -- Devout Christian. But his Devoutness does not influence his thought or action in the slightest. He doesn't exhibit one shred of Christianity. We are merely drilled in the fact that he is a Devout Christian by the author until you feel like if you don't at least pretend to believe it someone will pull out your finger nails.The hero is a Decent Man who has made some mistakes -- but again there is no actual evidence of his being a decent man. He gambles his family's future away, commits a murder, forces his family to a dangerous and violent city, commits another murder (in self-defence?), and continues to keep his family in danger rather than put himself at risk -- but the author keeps insisting to us that he is a decent man.Things roll along and take some twists and turns, until finally everyone gets their come-uppance. Not to exciting all told and to make sure that there are no loose ends remaining the final twist eliminates all of the main characters conveniently.There is a decent amount of violence if that is what you want and a as much suspense as one can muster when you can't bring yourself to care what happens to any of the people. A dog is killed and then everything is wrapped up. Not much more to ask for except some real writing and at least one person that sparks your interest or concern.
    • 4/5
      Although the book started off fast and kept up a good pace with twists and turns, I had a hard time getting into it. First of all, the language was difficult for me. Don't get me wrong, I have a potty mouth from time to time, but it was pretty pronounced and hard for me to ignore. The author also used the slang dialect of the area which was hard to get used to, but not as distracting toward the end of the book as it was during the beginning. I did find that the further I read, the harder it was to put down. I did want to find out what was happening and how everything was going to tie together in the end. However, I will tell you that the last chapter, which provided "closure" for a few of the characters, was not at all what I expected. My immediate reaction to the last few sentences was anger. It seemed like an abrupt ending to a story that had woven itself into so much more.
    • 4/5
      Roger Smith's debut thriller is a fast-paced book with many twists and turns. The character's actions, ever the minor ones, have great influence on the course of the book. The connections between the characters and well done and believable. Sometimes in mysteries things come together a little to conveniently, and I didn't have that feeling with this book.The characters aren't really deep, but in a mystery the attraction is the action, and there is plenty of that here. The setting of South Africa is also interesting. It lent an air of unfamiliarity that added some extra spark to the book. Some of the slang didn't make complete sense to me, but I was always able to get the general idea. If you prefer your mysteries to by cozy, this may not be the book for you. There is some violence and foul language. I like my mysteries gritty, and this one fit the bill. Smith is working on another book set in South Africa and I will be on the lookout for it.
    • 4/5
      This is not a pretty book, but it is a good book. This is a story set in post-Apartheid South Africa, and the racial lines are still thickly drawn. The Mixed Bloods of the titles are throughout the book, and even though they are not the main focus of the story, they are the most heroic characters of the book. The characters are mostly believeable, although when the most dislikeable characters are almost over the top. However, the majority of them are believable. The story itself is well told, and draws you easily from one scene to the next; it was a difficult book to put down.The ending was a mixed bag. And if you don't want to know anything, skip the rest of this paragraph. The main character's action almost seems out of character for him, although it is an indicator of his selfishness. The final resolutions of each person's story is almost exactly what you would guess from a few chapters in. However, the story is told well enough that it does take a few chapters to really get a grasp on those characters.Overall, I would recommend it. As I started off, this is not a pretty book. There is violence, drug abuse, foul language, and a completely unredeemable character. But it was a very good read.
    • 4/5
      From the first chapter to the last sentence of this book , the author takes you through one wild ride through the streets and countryside of Cape Town. I found myself having to slow my reading down at moments, as the plot was getting more and more exciting, and found myself not being able to wait to see what was going to happen next. This was quite a thrilling mystery/action-packed novel. I found it amusing that the Americans had such boring names as Jack, Susan and Matt Burn. But the characters from South Africa had the most beautiful and interesting names, Berenice September and Disaster Zondi being my favorites. The plot was well thought out, and I can see where the author is a screenwriter...the book read like an action packed movie. I am very thankful that the conclusion of this book was pretty much completed with giving the reader some idea of how each of these characters resolved themselves (if that makes sense....I hate novels that leave holes and makes you wonder what ever happened to so-and-so. All of his major characters (the ones you really care about) were given resolutions of some sort, enough to let you know their final fates. The only thing that really bothered me was a consistent amount of penis, hemorrhoid, and dirty butt references that seemed a little juvenile at times. There was even one description of Barnard's finger described like a penis in a condom while sticking out to ring a doorbell (can't find the reference now that I am thinking about it...will edit this if I misquoted) - And also a couple of times of the application of hemorrhoidal cream with a little TOO much detail. (YIKES!!!) No wonder Barnard was always in a foul mood! :-) Butt (pun intended) overall, I really enjoyed this book! I am so looking forward to the authors next book...and thanks to early reviewers for sending me this book!