Nicky-Greenwall

A Short Life

Justine caught up with author Nicky Greenwall at the launch of her debut murder mystery novel, A Short Life.

By Justine Stafford

Book launches can be très serious affairs. Not this one. Last night, the cosy, book-lined Kentridge Room at The Alphen Boutique Hotel was abuzz with laughter, conversation and the clinking of wine glasses as friends, family and publishing peeps all congratulated a beaming Nicky Greenwall on her debut novel, A Short Life.

Photographs: Duane Smith

This superbly written murder mystery is South African fiction at its best. A smart plot, sexy but relatable characters, and drama, drama, drama until the very last page. It details the conflict between six Cape Town-based friends after two car accidents take place on the same night, on the same stretch of twisting valley road. One of them is left dead, one of them vows to stop at nothing to find out the truth, and more than one of them fears they may land up in jail.

‘I like books where the author gives something of themselves, so I dug deep to write a novel that interrogates what friendship, marriage, and even love would look like when you didn’t know who you could trust anymore,’ Nicky said.

Even more unsettling is the eerie sense that death is lurking around every corner. Not just for the protagonists’, but for us all. This key message hit me especially hard because I drive the same stretch of road where both cars crashed in the story every other day; and I have experienced the exact same mommy dilemma that proved to be the ultimate undoing of poor Charley. More than once, I turned a page and caught myself thinking, Oh my god, that could have been me! Gulp.

I put the book down determined to live more in the now. No mean feat for an obsessive planner. But it’s this relatable reality check that makes Nicky’s book unputdownable. And for a new author to have achieved that with their debut novel remarkable. I can’t wait for the next one.

Buy A Short Life in Paperback on Takealot or on Kindle on Amazon.

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