Besides compelling, complex characters, like Benny Griessel and Tiny, Deon Meyer has a gift for describing the majesty and beauty of places as far ranging as South Africa, Bordeaux, and Amsterdam. (The way he captured the essence of Amsterdam was stunning.) In this sixth book, Benny Griessel seems on the rise: in love, exercising, and has stopped his destructive drinking. He and partner Vaughan Cupido are drawn into an apparent suicide of a P.I. and retired spook (Johnson Johnson - a silly name already taken by John Sandford in his Virgil Flowers series), whose body was found beside the tracks of the luxurious Rovos Rail train, where J.J. was accompanying a billionaire Dutch lady. When his last call was to a former colleague, who dodges the investigators and then tries to suppress the investigation, Benny knows there is more to the story. Then, the father of a close friend of his commander, who has always proudly followed protocol, decides to investigate another suicide, also with ties to a group protesting corruption of the South African government. And a retired assassin, working for a master woodworker in Bordeaux is approached by a friend to help cut off the head of the snake. He refuses, but then his friend immediately dies of a heart attack in the airport, changing his mind. Gripping as always, there is lots of mystery and intrigue here.

I especially liked Meyer's description of a Hawks detective as a "weapon of mass seduction" because of his charm with women, and a t-shirt that read: "The universe is made up of protons, neutrons, electrons and morons." We all need a good laugh or two in these times. ( )

Exciting police procedural/thriller set in present day South Africa and in France, with the duo Griessel and Cupido. Background is the ugly political situation in South Africa-with two disparate stories that come together near the end. One is the police trying to solve a violent murder and the other, an assassin talked into and trying to kill the corrupt president. A clue near a second murder?/suicide? leads the two policemen to the solution. The side story of Griessel's nervousness and worry at asking his girlfriend to marry him gives him a bit of of humanity. I could identify; haven't we all had some kind of anxious situation?

Recommended. ( )

I am generously giving this book a 3 star review. There were parts of this story that I found interesting and parts of it that didn’t work for me. This is the 6th book in a series, and since I haven’t read the first 5 books, I may be missing some background information. I did find the idea of a story at least partially set in South Africa interesting since I haven’t read very many books in set in that area. The story itself almost presents as three separate stories. Narrative one follows Benny Griessel and Vince Cupido as they investigate the mysterious death of an ex police officer turned private security. A man named Johnson Johnson who’s body is found along train tracks. Narrative 2 follows Daniel Darret, a slippery former special assassin who has gone into hiding, and story three follows a purportedly corrupt African Government who is working in coordination possibly with Russian special forces. This is definitely a slow burn as most of the narratives operate on their own, and it isn’t till the last 80-100 pages that the connections are made. I like the characters of Griessel and Cupido, 2 commited special forces police, both with flaws and both desperate to do the right thing. Perhaps if I had read the first 5 novels I would appreciate this more. Parts of this story were more engaging than others, and at almost 400 pages, it did drag for me a little. I can’t say I recommend this to everyone. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Last Hunt, book 6 in the Benny Griessel series is a return to form for Meyer after the variation taken in book 5. This book is the heart thumping combination of murder mystery and spy novel. This book is another exploration into the corruption that is rampant throughout South Africa, starting at the top with the President and the leadership of the ANC.

This is a classic locked room mystery that starts out on a moving train. A very fancy tourist train. It ends up in Paris, France in a wood working shop. In between the novel moves back and forth between that train murder in South Africa and the beautiful old city of Bordeaux and, if in France, of course, there has to be an appearance of La Belle Citie, Paris.

What didn't work for me was the problems that the main character has with his insecurities. The author is asking his readers to make a big stretch to understand that a police detective who is so good at his job would be reduced to a drinking heaving alcoholic state at the mere thought that he MUST provide the most romantic proposal ever for girl. Not happening. Not believable. It appears more and more that Benny drinks just so that he can fill the role of stock character; the alcoholic, depressed, insecure, man-who-cares-too-much role. Where this novel excels is in the supporting cast of characters. All of them, from the assassin and murders, to the victims are painted in words in such a way that they are important and it is important to figure out their role in the affair. It would be nice if the hero were as interesting.

Even with all the problems in the book, this is a great ride for a reader. It has elements that make the form familiar to readers, but a setting in a culture that is unfamiliar and exotic. It is a common murder mystery/spy thriller set in an uncommon part of the world. It has the familiar and plenty of the exotic unfamiliar with plenty of action and heart. This is a thriller that starts out so Agatha Christie and ends up so Robert Ludlum.

And what great dust jacket art! Outstanding. I want to ride that train. ( )

I have been a fan of Deon Meyer for several years, and I have read most of his novels, both stand-alones and the six books in the Benny series. I was first attracted to him because I wanted to read some crime fiction set in Africa, a continent I knew next to nothing about. Meyer’s books have subsequently taken me all over South Africa from Cape Town to Pretoria to awesome national parks. Meyer writes in Afrikaans, so there is usually a bit of a publishing delay to accommodate translation schedules, European release dates, etc.- a bit of a nuisance because I am always awaiting the Next Book.

Benny is an officer on an elite police force dubbed the Hawks. He is divorced, loves music and plays in a band on his off-hours. He has a drinking problem. The drinking flares up, often, seemingly in almost every book. I am impatient with it, and not at all sympathetic; for me it has been a huge negative for most of this series. I will add two other comments about Meyer’s books before addressing “The Last Hunt” (LH). I felt the previous book, #5, “Icarus” was perhaps the best in the series: a big plus was it’s featuring all of the officers in the unit and getting to know each, along with his/her special skills. Unfortunately, most of that cast was missing in LH. Finally, Meyer is, for me at least, unique in that I enjoyed his stand alone novels as much, probably more than, the anchor Benny series (try “Blood Safari” first!)….

LH begins with a new “hero”, Daniel Darret, who cannot sleep and takes a middle of the night walk in Bordeaux, France. Where he encounters a woman being chased by five screaming young men; they are not playing tag. Daniel saves the day. In the next chapters, Benny and partner Cupido, are picking up a new case, the apparent murder of a private investigator who may have been thrown off the luxury train to Pretoria; the case moves along. And suddenly we are back to Daniel in France. And like a tennis match, chapters flip characters back and forth, with no obvious connection….for a rather long time. Then Benny and partner get involved with another death, a personal matter involving their boss. Murder? Suicide? Let’s get into the evidence, and wow, do we get into the evidence. Maybe too much. For me, way too much. Got a bit yawny here. After too long, all three elements (Daniel, the train thing, and the murder/suicide) link up , and perhaps like me you will get a déjà vu sensation, like is this Meyer’s “Day of the Jackal”? Hmmm. Definite similarities in some respects. Bottomline, LH is good but it’s not another “Jackal”. Intriguing title “Last Hunt” Last Benny? OK by me, but I’d like to see a new Meyer series. ( )