Jeffery Deaver? Yes, Jeffery Deaver, no small accomplishment for a young writer who has only just completed her second novel and has not yet given up her day job, which consists - incongruously enough for a crime writer - of editing a hair and beauty magazine.
And for once I agree with the ringing endorsements on the cover: as Deaver says, "My Brother's Keeper is a smart, page-turning thriller populated with living, breathing characters, one of the most memorable being Joburg itself."
This is a thrilling story of intricate connectivity, packed with sophisticated clues and doubtful coincidences that hint at something deeper, a sinister puppet master with a hidden agenda and ingenious subplots, which make it a rare delight to read.
At the heart of the book are two sets of brothers, Sipho and Khani, and Nick and Paul, and how their lives collide when Nick, a paramedic, is called out to an accident and assists the injured Natasha, agreeing to pass on a warning to a friend of hers.
The friend is Khani, whom Nick learns was murdered at about the same time Natasha had her "accident": the following day, her throat is slashed as she lies helpless in the Joburg Gen.
A series of further incidents convince Nick that not only has he inadvertently stumbled into something very dangerous but that, inexplicably, he is being targeted himself.
When he discovers his elder brother Paul has been released from prison, things become a little clearer because the siblings have never been friends: Nick gave damning testimony against Paul at his most recent trial - now big bro is out for revenge.
Although local readers have welcomed the recent spate of quality thrillers by South African writers, most crime stories are set in the Western Cape and it was a rare treat to read of Norwood, Northcliff and Newtown, of Alberton and Lonehill, Houghton and Germiston, Sandton City and Eastgate for a change.
It never seemed fair that Cape Town had the mountain and the sea as well as being the setting for local literary murders, while Joburg, widely touted as the "murder capital" and the "most violent city in Africa" was largely ignored by novelists.
Mackenzie deserves a vote of thanks from Jozi residents for restoring their city to its rightful position at the top of the crime pile.
This is a truly South African story, with its cash-in-transit heists, ludicrously short sentences for brutal murder, secure housing compounds cheek by jowl with shacks, security companies and armed guards, violent crime and mindless cruelty - juxtaposed with decent people working hard and making sacrifices to ensure the prosperity of this nation.
A clever book, excellently written, lean, spare and tight, My Brother's Keeper is an intriguing and exciting page-turner by a major new talent who could, if she wanted, put Jozi on the literary map.
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