THE DURBAN DROP
New client Mrs. Jansen hires private investigator Sol Nemo to look into the death of her unmarried sister in Durban. She believes the circumstances are suspicious, a view which Sol supports but is unable to share because on his return to Port Elizabeth he discovers his client has died at home.
Compelled to pursue further enquiries because he believes her life may be in danger, Sol searches for Aurora Duchene, the remaining sister. This soon leads him to Mrs. Jansen’s estranged husband, Daniel, who has interests in residential/commercial property and land development. What emerges about the relationship between the two of them though is far from clear and that’s before a stranger starts to dog Sol’s footsteps.
Pulled every which way by the case, Sol’s enquiries take him from the country house of a retired lawyer in the Free State to the dry and barren wastes of the Northern Province, and from a derelict dwelling by rail tracks in East London to a prestigious club along the coast in the Eastern Cape where a deal worth billions of Rand is being negotiated by multinational corporate raiders.
Gradually, step by step, Sol puts together all the pieces of the jigsaw to reveal a family disfigured by greed where ruthless self-interest is the key motivation.