25 November 2013
Starting with her first novel, Red Ink (2007), a psychological thriller,
Angela Makholwa occupies an interesting space in South African writing - a
black woman writing crime fiction.
Her second novel The 30th Candle (2009) took as its theme the entertaining sexual escapades of four aspirant women in the new South Africa. Now Makholwa has in a sense married the two subjects in Black Widow Society. It is based on a delightful premise: three established businesswomen - Talullah Ntuli, Edna Whithead and Nkosazana Dlamini - form a secret organisation that assassinates abusive husbands to liberate their long-suffering wives. But after operating undetected for fifteen years, the society is under threat of imploding and becoming exposed.
Well-known crime writer Mike Nicol describes the book as, ‘everything that makes a crime thriller smoke: strong sexy characters, jazzy settings . It has suspense, violence, murder . one of those novels you can’t put down.’
Extract:
He was fantasizing about the beauty of the heir that could spring from Charza’s loins as he leisurely took a left turn into the back route that lead to his home, when he noticed a gold VW Passat idling by the side of the quiet road. Instinctively his guard went up.
He had never really favoured the route because of its seclusion, but had lulled himself into a sense of complacency as this road was a short cut to his house.
He pressed his foot onto the accelerator; deciding to just pass the idling car without casting as much as a glance at its inhabitants.
Just as he neared the stationery vehicle, two gun-wielding men emerged from either side of the road.
All of a sudden, the idling car swerved from the side of the road and purposefully blocked the way.
He was ambushed.
He stopped his car, raised his hands and pressed down both of his windows.
“Guys”, he said, as calmly as he could manage.
“If you want the car, you can have it. I have my wallet here. It’s got about 3000 bucks in cash. You can have all that also,’ he said in his rational, fail proof tone.
The two men on either side of his car were silent masks of balaclavas.
Suddenly, a tall man emerged from the VW Passat that had been idling on the side of the road and came up to the driver’s side of the car to speak to him.
He was long and lean with a distinguished looking face. A confident face. No need for disguises.
“China? Unjani broer? “
China was in shock.
“Hayi! Where do you know me from wena?”’
The tall man took out a gun.
“This one is not from me baba. This one is from Nokuthula”, said the man as he fired four shots into China’s short muscled body.
Black Widow Society by Angela Makholwa
EAN: 9781770103122 eBook EAN: 9781770103139 Pages: 256