BOOKS
Reviews of The Satanic Mechanic
‘Food heals, arouses, coerces, and kills in Andrew’s sublime second psychological cozy … which also offers an immersion course in a polyglot postApartheid culture. Afrikaans and Xhosa spice the luminous English sentences …’
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‘Utterly delicious. To the very last morsel.’
‘Rippling with humour and affection, salted with violence and dark themes, leavened by “moan-out-loud” food … A comforting, cosy whodunnit set in the magical Klein Karoo, and imbued with gentle wisdom and a longing for small communities. And cheesecake.’
‘There were times that I laughed ‘til tears ran down my face, but there was also a serious side to the book; tackling the subject of PTSD and how this can occur, not just in war-weary soldiers, but also in relationships where people are deeply hurt by their partner.’
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‘A beautiful book with a delightful protagonist, Satanic Mechanic is a feel-good whodunit … It very tactfully and gracefully discusses trauma in varying shades and with a myriad consequences …’
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‘In the midst of creating characters worth caring about, Sally manages also to weave political intrigue into the fabric of a tale that is riveting, provides insights into the nature of the human beast–in particular issues involving identity–and, just in case that’s not enough, makes me laugh out loud.’ – Professor Richard Walter, former Screenwriting Area Head, Associate and Interim Dean, UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television
‘Recipes for Love and Murder was a wonderful debut and The Satanic Mechanic is another winner. Now we see below Tannie Maria’s charming exterior to her doubts and motivations. It’s a deeper book than Recipes, but it has the same fun and flair. And recipes, of course!’
’Sally Andrew gives the reader a murder mystery with an original plot, a twist or two and quite a few red herrings … She laces it with plenty of humour, fills it with wonderful food, and wraps the whole thing in some gorgeous descriptive prose … [the] second Tannie Maria mystery is even better than the first.’
‘Sally Andrew … het oor taalgrense heen geslaag om lesers to harte to vermurwe … Die skrywer het die cosy subgenre, vervolmaak deur Agatha Christie, oorgeplant,en lewe gegee in ‘n uniek Suid-Afrikaanse landskap.’
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‘Joy! .. Don’t miss this great story. Trust me. It’s darn good.’
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‘I couldn’t resist diving into this book, almost as soon as I got the copy, and have read it twice since.’
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‘This friendly novel is something to savor’
‘Oh the joy of finding the familiar in another page turner! … 10/10’
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‘In a suspense fiction world filled with serial killers, dead girls and gratuitously detailed depravity, the intelligently written cozy is an increasingly rare bird.’
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