Dark Traces
Dark Traces is Martin Steyn's English-language and North American debut novel.
Dark Traces delves deep into the psychology of both a serial killer and the detective who seeks to find him. Though fast-paced, it exposes violence against women as a men's issue, one that all men should consider.
This novel deals with two sides of homicide: sadistic murder and euthanasia. Killing for pleasure and killing for love.
In the tradition of hard boiled American detectives, but set in Cape Town, South Africa.
Detective novels set in South Africa--particularly Cape Town, a city featuring a unique Euro-African cultural mix--do very well both internationally and in the United States. From Deon Meyer to Jassy McKenzie, they have earned a special place in the hearts of mystery fans.
Though the novel features a fast-paced mystery, Dark Traces also touches on themes of father-son relationships, the psychological problems faced by murder detectives, and the meaning of love, friendship, and companionship.
Martin Steyn has written two companion crime novels featuring related characters. They are in the process of being translated.
Martin Steyn began writing Stephen King-inspired horror stories in his teens. Given his interest in the darker recesses of human beings, it was probably unavoidable that he would become fascinated by serial killers. After obtaining degrees in Psychology and Criminology, he studied serial killers and profiling. He also wrote seven true crime articles for the Crime Library website.
But the dream was always to write fiction, particularly realistic crime fiction. This led to much research into the South African Police Service and its forensic units. In 2014 Donker Spoor was published by LAPA Uitgewers, and was awarded the ATKV-Woordveertjie for Suspense Fiction the following year. In 2017 it will be published in English as Dark Traces. Steyn is the translator for Dark Traces.
Steyn prefers to tell the story through the eyes of the detective, that individual with the extraordinary task of finding justice for those whose final chapter ends up being written in a murder docket.
