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Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended reading
Review: Deadly Truth keeps the reader engrossed right from the beginning. The authors paint a vivid picture of life in South Africa covering the years 1960 through the Truth and Reconciliation trial. This is a suspenseful novel based on fact, and a must-read for anyone who wants to have a better understanding of South African life during the Apartheid years.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling, Suspenseful Novel
Review: I probably would never have found this book had Amazon.com not recommended it - and I would have missed a hidden treasure. "Deadly Truth" is a gripping, "can't put it down," novel based in apartheid-era South Africa. David Bellon, the main character, is a liberal CEO of a food conglomerate in the Cape Province who tries, in his own way, to ameliorate the inequities of his society. Through a series of events which I won't describe here (I don't want to spoil the plot!), Bellon is forced to do more, and thus runs afoul of Police Captain Eichstadt, whose unique interrogation methods are described in gruesome detail. What makes this book so compelling is its honesty -- it is clearly based on a true story. "Ceresdal," the fictitious town in which events take place, sounds like the real town of Stellenbosch, and one of the authors was the CEO of an agribusiness in South Africa. What goes on in the Ceresdal police station is in accord with non-fiction reports about the South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS). Thus, there is more than a ring of truth here - you get the feeling that these events actually occurred, and only the names have been changed to protect the innocent (and guilty.) I have strong interests in South African history and in Jewish history, and hence was drawn to a story featuring Jews in South Africa. Those who share these interests, or those who just want a picture of apartheid-era South Africa, will enjoy this book. But you needn't care one way or the other about South Africa to enjoy "Deadly Truth." The book stands on its own as a compelling, fast-paced novel of danger and escape.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling, Suspenseful Novel
Review: I probably would never have found this book had Amazon.com not recommended it - and I would have missed a hidden treasure. "Deadly Truth" is a gripping, "can't put it down," novel based in apartheid-era South Africa. David Bellon, the main character, is a liberal CEO of a food conglomerate in the Cape Province who tries, in his own way, to ameliorate the inequities of his society. Through a series of events which I won't describe here (I don't want to spoil the plot!), Bellon is forced to do more, and thus runs afoul of Police Captain Eichstadt, whose unique interrogation methods are described in gruesome detail. What makes this book so compelling is its honesty -- it is clearly based on a true story. "Ceresdal," the fictitious town in which events take place, sounds like the real town of Stellenbosch, and one of the authors was the CEO of an agribusiness in South Africa. What goes on in the Ceresdal police station is in accord with non-fiction reports about the South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS). Thus, there is more than a ring of truth here - you get the feeling that these events actually occurred, and only the names have been changed to protect the innocent (and guilty.) I have strong interests in South African history and in Jewish history, and hence was drawn to a story featuring Jews in South Africa. Those who share these interests, or those who just want a picture of apartheid-era South Africa, will enjoy this book. But you needn't care one way or the other about South Africa to enjoy "Deadly Truth." The book stands on its own as a compelling, fast-paced novel of danger and escape.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth About Deadly Truth
Review: Kudos to the Hellers and Ms.Blumberg. A fast paced suspense novel based on a true incident, it kept me on the edge of my chair. It was also an education on apartheid South Africa which I couldn't help but compare to Nazi Germany. The authors' attention to detail about the physical beauty of the land provided a hypocritical contrast to the ugliness of the society it produced. A must read for those with a social conscience, and for those without,an opportunity to create one.
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