The truth is just the lie you believe the mostAs four-year-old Sunny Exley drowns in the icy waters off a luxury beach house, her father, Nick, smokes weed on the shore and her mother, Caroline, is lost in the arms of a lover. Hidden on nearby boulders, rent-a-cop Vernon Saul watches the child die and chooses to act only when it is too late. In the days following Sunny’s death, gutted by grief … act only when it is too late.
In the days following Sunny’s death, gutted by grief and guilt, Nick falls under the spell of Vernon who presents himself as a friend in time of need. When the sinister Vernon’s true motives are revealed, Nick is drawn into a spiral of manipulation and murder that leaves him fighting for his sanity and his life.
Praise for Capture
“A harrowing psychological page-turner. Gripping.” The Times
“A stark reflection on the insidious nature of guilt and grief. One of the most deeply satisfying books I’ve read this year.” Florida Times-Union
“The plot is operatic in its violence and tragedy and the characters are heartbreakingly real and immensely flawed. Smith’s impeccable prose hits you on a physical level.” Spinetingler Magazine
“Violent, chilling and as black as sin. Smith is a master of suspense.” The Witness
“One of the most powerful reads you will find this year. Unmissable.” Crimesquad
“A chilling read written with great power.” Shotsmag
“An explosive, diabolical thriller.” Paris-Match (France)
“Plunges us into a sea of suffering and brutality. Terrifying.” Le Figaro (France)
“Venomous and haunting.” Liberation (France)
“A wild ride. Fasten your seat belts.” Marianne Magazine (France)
“Excellent. Nobody can peel back the layers of damaged people and, indeed, a broken society, so poetically.” crimefictionlover.com Top 5 Crime Novels of 2012
“Painfully realistic. Read it if you dare.” The Big Issue
“Terrifying.” Business Day
“Sends chills down your spine.” The Citizen
“A brutal, bloody portrait of a broken society.” Die Welt (Germany)
“A novel of existential force. Smith’s best book to date.” Title Magazine
“Roger Smith writes like the bastard child of Patricia Highsmith.” Krimicouch(Germany)
“Murder, drugs, blood and horror are described in a style reminiscent of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.” Göttinger Tageblatt (Germany)
“A masterful thriller.” Sonntagszeitung (Switzerland)
“A tough,captivating thriller. Not for the fainthearted.” DRS3 (Swiss Radio)
“Magnificently written. High voltage!” Oön (Austria)
“The Best Crime Novel of 2012.” Dead End Follies
“The best thriller I’ve read this year.” The Gamblers Blog Top 5 Books of 2012
Praise for Roger Smith
“Smith writes with brutal beauty.” The Washington Post
“The master of the coolly-described nightmare.” Der Spiegel
“Smith’s writing is astonishing.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A master of suspense.” The Sunday Times
“The shooting star of the crime scene.” Radio Europe
“Smith has a unique ability to grab readers and plunge them headlong into his nightmare visions.” The Times
“The crime genre’s greatest tragedian.” Spinetingler Magazine
“Smith captures a world where nothing is certain, least of all the rules of coexistence.” Arte
“A leader in dark, relentless fiction.” Marianne Magazine
“Smith writes coolly and with grace about unspeakable horror.” The Argus
“He portrays a world that has lost all hope of redemption.” Le Monde
“Nobody can peel back the layers of damaged people and a broken society so poetically.” crimefictionlover.com
Roger Smith’s novels are published in nine languages and two are in development as movies in the U.S. He has won the German Crime Fiction Award and been nominated for France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. He also writes espionage as James Rayburn and horror as Max Wilde. rogersmithbooks.com
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A different kind of book–you might want to give it a try!
Loved this book! Kept me turning pages all night. Great writing! Realistic characters. Had me looking for other books by this author to read.
This book is twisted one of the best (horrifying) villains I’ve read in a long time. Good fun and great character and plot development. Jaw dropping twist… I won’t say WHERE in the book I wouldn’t want to ruin it for others. 🙂
Violent, foul language.
I’ve read MANY books; many of them true crime, thrillers and horror. With that being said, this one was a tough read. The author makes Cape Town sound like a horrible, hate filled, pedophile playground where there is no hope. This one haunted me. Just a little dark, in my opinion.
The book starts with a terrible tragedy. 4-year old Sunny drowns in the ocean in Capetown. Her parents Caroline and Nick Exley are too busy with their own personal stuff to be watching after the little girl. Vernon Saul is a conniving, sleazy cop who watches the tragedy unfold and then tries to make out like he is the hero of the day for his own …
Kept me turning pages to see how it was going to end
It started out bad, and I thought it would get better. I got about halfway and ended up skipping to the end. I just couldn’t do it! Twisted and took way too long to get to the end of the story.
Disturbing — but great! Hard to put down!
This was a great book and each character was well developed and tragic in a twisted way.
Edge of the seat story!
I liked nothing about this book. It was pure filth. Nasty language, so I only read 1/4 of it.
Couldn’t finish, very raw.
Chapters are short which keeps me interested. Written as you expect the characters to think. Not full of typos and grammar errors which so many of the books today are!
Dark character but believable. Good writing style I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next and I wasn’t disappointed. Great storyline.
Put it down after a few chapters. Way too violent .
Intriguing story and good character development, but be prepared for some really shocking racist language from one of the central characters. The story is set in South Africa.
Well written and an interesting story line. My only complaint would be that it was too sexually graphic.
Did not like it. Stopped before end of second chapter
This book has very surprising twists and turns and heartache. Highly recommend.