Nicol spoke about the structure of the book and how he wanted to experiment with building a non-fiction narrative out of news stories. Sears says that even though the book is a set of quotes, it “flows well and is hard to put down”. Nicol says that this is a testament to the reader’s ability to create linkages and a narrative out of disparate information:
You chose to structure the book as a set of quotes about the case from newspapers and internet reports and comments. What made you choose that format?
Two things, really. The first consideration was journalistic. I wanted to see if one could build a non-fiction narrative out of snippets of news from a variety of sources. When I was thinking about this book, I kept coming back to the point that the narrative already existed on the internet but in such widely dispersed places: websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter. If I could collate material from all these sources could a narrative be constructed? After a bit of experimentation it seemed that it could and on the basis of the first 10000 words Umuzi decided to commission the book.
Crime blog Murder by Type has released their list of 10 Best Books reviewed in 2011. The only two local authors to make it onto the list are Umuzi authors Jassy Mackenzie, for Stolen Lives, and Wessel Ebersohn, for The October Killings. Murder by Type recommends them as “books that went in a different direction or addressed a societal problem”.
Crime writer Mike Nicol spoke to LitNet’s Janet van Eeden about his “narrative non-fiction” book, Monkey Business: The Murder of Anni Dewani. In the interview, Nicol expresses his annoyance with journalists who have criticised his work as “nothing new”. Nicol says, “they miss the merit of narrative non-fiction and the way the book is constructed”:
Well done, Mike, for getting this book on to the shelves while the issue is still very topical. As the court case hasn’t come to South Africa yet, but is due to be heard here, this is a very clever move on your part. What prompted you to tap into the interest around the murder trial which has horrified South Africans and others, especially Britons?
Actually I was prompted by a suggestion from Frederik de Jager (the publisher at Umuzi) that I do something on the Anni Dewani murder. He first raised the issue in December last year and that got me thinking about it. At the time I couldn’t see a way to write up the murder in a way that would fit within the dictates of a fairly tight budget. However, while on holiday in Knysna, and after a lot of staring into the middle distance, I came up with the idea of running snippets out of the media as a way of piecing the narrative together. And Frederik and Umuzi liked the idea. I also have a fascination with narrative non-fiction and this seemed to be an interesting way to go about it. I don’t think it’s a form (the arrangement of discreet clippings from other sources) that is often used.
Crime writer Jassy Mackenzie spoke to East Coast Radio about her latest book, Worst Case, and plans for her next Jade de Jong thriller, Pale Horses. Mackenzie says a great thriller involves “a fast-moving, relevant plot, an engaging theme, intriguing characters, adrenaline-packed action and the inclusion of interesting facts and details.”:
Being a KZN girl, I thoroughly enjoyed reading such a fantastic thriller based in my part of the world! You wrote very knowledgably about St Lucia. That must have taken a great deal of research?
It did! Writing a convincing thriller is all about research and balancing – making the story convincing and the setting authentic while including fictional elements that do not exist in the real St Lucia and Richards Bay. It is the small details that make the difference and I was particularly fascinated by the amazing story of Huberta the hippo.
In an interview with Diane de Beer, Mike Nicol says he turned to a life of crime writing after his work in magical realism failed to take hold with an audience. Nicol, who has recently completed his crime trilogy, Killer Country, Payback and Black Heart, tells de Beer that he always thought of himself as “too superior” for crime writing, but discovered there is more to the genre than “meets the jaundiced eye”.
His earlier work in magic realism didn’t do well in this country, that is why Mike Nicol turned to crime.
In writing, of course, not reality.
He was fascinated by how well local author Deon Meyer was doing, but had always thought himself too superior for crime writing. Once he started delving deeper, he discovered there was far more to the genre than met his jaundiced eye.
And as Meyer sits across the table from now good friend Nicol, the then novice to crime writing tips a hat at the more seasoned author. In the meantime, Nicol has finished his first crime trilogy and might just have kept going with this particular gang if his partner hadn’t advised him to move on to something and someone else.
Books LIVE member, Fiona Snyckers, author of Trinity on Air, brought the launch to those who could not make it by livetweeting with the hashtag livebooks. Here are some of her tweets:
She was a bride for just twelve days. She was 28 years old. On a honeymoon to Cape Town she was murdered in a township hijacking. But was it a hijacking? Or was it a hit? Soon her husband was in the frame with two gunmen and the fixer.
Monkey Business records the murder of Anni Dewani and the incredible aftermath as told by a chorus of family, friends, lawyers, spin doctors, reporters, bloggers, politicians, cops, psychologists, even a kinky sex worker, a story that played out in the international media and on social network sites.
Seldom does a murder crack open such a devious world.
About the author
Mike Nicol is a fulltime writer. His works of non-fiction include A Good-Looking Corpse and Mandela: the Authorised Portrait. Most of his eight novels have been published in both the UK and the US, and his books have been translated into several languages. His most recent work is a trilogy of crime thrillers: Payback, Killer Country and Black Heart. He lives and works in Cape Town.
Join Umuzi at Exclusive Books Morningside for the launch of Jassy Mackenzie’s thrilling adventure, Worst Case, the latest in the Jade de Jong series. The launch takes place on Thursday 25 August, at 6.00 PM for 6.30 PM.
Crime writer Jassy Mackenzie spoke to Sue Grant-Marshall about her latest novel, Worst Case, and the intriguing, crime-solving, heroine Jade de Jong, who is making her fourth appearance in this book.
“Jade has always been the name of my alter ego and De Jong is my partner’s surname,” Mackenzie said. “She is a very complex character. When I first thought her up, I didn’t realise half of how complex she was actually going to be.” Listen to the podcast:
The Book Lounge launch of Jassy Mackenzie‘s fourth novel, Worst Case, was a thrilling event which saw an exchange of sparkling dialogue between the author and fellow crime-writer, Mike Nicol.
Nicol began by asking Mackenzie when the main characters, Jade de Jong and David Patel, had first come to her.
In response, Mackenzie spoke about her first novel, Random Violence: “When I started writing Random Violence,” she said, “I wanted to find a niche that hadn’t been done before. Female leads in crime fiction are slightly more rare than males. What I found missing in the line up of female heroines was the renegade, the equal of Jack Reacher, in terms of toughness and independence, not necessarily adhering to the law. Most female leads tend to have set occupations, police officers or lawyers, with good nine to five jobs, even if these lead them into difficulties at times. I wanted a heroine who as likely to go against the law as to do right by the law.”
“With Jade’s father as a cop, wouldn’t that push her in one direction?” asked Nicol.
“I wanted to create a reason for her to turn her back on everything her father stood for,” Mackenzie replied. “Firstly, I got her father murdered in a horrible way. So of course, Jade had to avenge his death. I also introduced some history with a mother she never knew so that genetically she gets something in the mix she never could have anticipated.”
In Mackenzie’s view there are times when every woman wishes she could stand up and “bliksem” somebody. “I wanted to create a character that allowed that side of me, and that side of readers, to be expressed. Jade is a woman who will get her own way, whether through deviousness or physical battle in order to make something happen. In doing that I managed to express a lot of my own inner frustration at being obliged because you’re physically weaker and because society expects that you won’t smash somebody’s face that deserves it!”
The research into the killing distance of the gun Jade uses – a Glock 19 – in a discussion with a (friendly) ex-boyfriend with firearm expertise had the audience amused. No thanks to Vodacom, the call Mackenzie had made to “Stefano” to enquire whether one shot would reliably kill her fictional victim was dropped midway. When his phone rang again, he continued the conversation where they’d left off, saying, “You could definitely kill with one shot but you must make sure the person isn’t more than four or five metres away…” at which point the person who’d made the call said, “Hellooooo?” It wasn’t in fact Jassy that had called back.
The rest of the evening was spent hearing similarly engaging tales – including those of Mackenzie travels to the UK to learn about the workings of Scotland Yard. A question and answer session with the audience rounded off the evening and the author signed copies for eager fans.
Mike Nicol, author of Payback, Killer Country and Black Heart, was recently interviewed by Michael Sears for the blog Murder is Everywhere, where he answered questions about his latest book, Monkey Business: The Murder of Anni Dewani, which is compiled from news stories and reports on the Anni Dewani murder trial. 
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