Mike Nicol’s Revenge Trilogy: Black Heart is on Deck! Watch the Trailer, Help Decide a Crucial Question, and Win French Champagne

by Amanda on Mar 15th, 2011

Umuzi, an imprint of Random House Struik, is in doubt – and aquiver – all at once. Is Mike Nicol’s Revenge Trilogy the first ever trilogy to be published in South African literature? Various series have appeared, yes, but that’s hardly the same thing. Here the writer set out to create a sequence of three thrillers. Umuzi seeks help from readers to answer the question.

A prize of vintage French bubbly is on offer for the most interesting response received before the end of June 2011

Champagne of the vintage variety is an apt tipple with which to celebrate the publication, next month, of the final part of Nicol’s crime trilogy, Black Heart. It was preceded by Killer Country (published in 2010). The first part of the trilogy, Payback, appeared in 2008. This is fine, accessible and enormously entertaining writing at its very best that is powerfully sustained through all three novels.

Response from readers to Nicol’s first two books in the trilogy has been extremely positive. “Topical, gripping, scary, finely written, wonderful characters, a villain you cannot help but love to hate, exciting read, frighteningly real, compelling…”

In Black Heart it’s showtime for Sheemina February in her vendetta against private security man Mace Bishop. His partner, Pylon Buso has taken a bullet and a foreigner under their protection has been kidnapped. Bad to worse, the secret service want Mace to steal a weapons system from the only other client he has. As the jacket’s “shout line” suggests, it is time to “run as fast as you can”!

Your answers and comments on the question “Is Mike Nicol’s Revenge Trilogy the first ever trilogy published in South Africa” are welcome.

To qualify for the prize, please e-mail your responses to: kimr@randomstruik.co.za before June 30th 2011 with the words “REVENGE TRILOGY” in the subject line

The winner will be announced early in July on both the Mike Nicol Facebook page and also on the Random House Struik website.

Now, watch the Black Heart trailer: