Benny’s new mountain bike helps him get around the city quickly. VICTIMS: Erin:American tourist, found dead outside St. Martini’s Church. Rachel:American tourist, witnessed Erin’s murder, now being hunted. Adam Barnard:wealthy businessman, found dead in his home. Alexa Barnard:his wife, attempted suicide after his death. CRIMINALS: 7 men hunting Rachel. Their identities and motives are unknown. Metro Police:assist SAPS with policing the city. Some are corrupt. The city provides opportunities for both crime and crime-solving.

1. THIRTEEN HOURS
By Deon Meyer
CRIME FICTIONANDTHECITY
Week 1 – Part 1
THIRTEEN HOURS
By Deon Meyer
CRIME FICTIONANDTHECITY
Week 1 – Part 1
Fictional detectives “arestreetwise and knowledgeable of theirenvironment. The localebecomes an
essential asset for the detective as he endeavours to solve crimes and itoften becomesa crucial
element of thenovels.”
– ClaudiaDrawe(2013: 186).

2. CAPE TOWN: CRIME & CRIME POLICING
LONG STREET:
Backpackers’ Paradise
TAMBOERS-KLOOF:
Brownlow St
ORANGEZICHT
CARLUCCI’S,
Montrose Ave
CALEDONSQUARE,
Police HQ

3. A CITY AT THE FOOT OF TABLE MOUNTAIN
ORANGEZICHT
SIGNAL HILL/
LION’S HEAD
CALEDON SQUARE
TAMBOERS-KLOOF
SCENE OF THREE CRIMES &APOLICE STATION

4. The City versus Nature
Critic ClaudiaDrawesays:
“The fact that Cape Town is the most popular locale for crime fiction is perhaps ironic since the ‘mother-
city’ is usually perceived by outsiders as the safest South African city and a popular tourist destination
while Johannesburg is often seen as its dark, violent and brutal counterpart.”
• How does the characters experience of nature differ from their experience of the city?
• What technologies does the city offer the characters,
 To commit the crime?
 To flee from the crime?
 To pursue the criminals and find the victims?

5. CRIME CAPITAL(S) OF SOUTH AFRICA
CITY NAME NUMBER on MURDERS
listof most violentper
citiesin the world. 100,000 people
Durban:48 of 50 32.42
NelsonMandela
Bay (PE):41 of 50 35.76
Cape Town:20 of 50 50.94
San PedroSula
Honduras: 1 of 50 187.14
“The 50 Most Violent Cities In TheWorld,” Pamela Engel and ChristinaSterbenzpresented some statistics of urban crime in South Africa. (Business
Insider,10 November 2014.) Read morehttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-violent-cities-in-the-world-2014-11?op=1#ixzz3Zq4520DG

6. Cape Town: Cityand Race
During apartheideach city(and town) hada geography of segregationbased on race:
CapeTown, Johannesburg, Durban and others had white suburbs and black andcolouredtownships.
White suburbs:varying degrees of advantage – upper middle-class (Tamboerskloof [45]), middle-class (Sea Point) and lower-income (Parow, Observatory[349]).
Bennygrew up inParow(4).
Colouredtownships:Atlantis (low-income), whereDekker grewup (47); Mitchell’s Plain (more middle-class).
Black townships:Khayelitsha(Vusihas worked there previously) (pp. 10, 226; 148).

7. Cape Town metropolitan area:
Population: roughly 6 million people;
Size:400 squarekilometresfor the city itself;
2,445squarekilometresfor themetro.
Race in Cape Town:
 Black African – 15.84%
 Coloured– 44.57%
 Indian/Asian – 3.36%
 White – 32.31%
 Other – 3.91%
 Tourists – 1.8 million entered Cape Town
airport, 2013–2014

8. I
05:36: a girl runs up the steep slope of Lion’s Head. The sound of her running shoes urgent on the broad
footpath’s gravel.
At this moment, as the sun’s rays pick her out,like a searchlight against the mountain, she is the image of
carefree grace. Seen from behind, her dark plait bounces against the little rucksack. Her neck is deeply
tanned against the powder blue of her T-shirt. There is energy in the rhythmic stride of her long legs in denim
shorts. She personifies athletic youth – vigorous, healthy, focused.
Until she stops and looks back over her left shoulder. Then the illusion disintegrates. There is anxiety in her
face. And utter exhaustion.
How many references totimeare there in the opening passage?

9. WHAT CLUES DOES THIS PASSAGE PROVIDE?
• The character:Rachel is young andathletic, graceful and feminine. Why is she run “blindly” and fearfully?
• Where is she running?up the lonely slopes of Signal Hill, dangerous in the early morning.
• What does her suntan indicate?She has been in a hot climate for a while; where has she come from?
• What does para. 2 reveal?denim shorts show she is not on a training run. Nature offers her nowhere to hide.
• We deduce from the facts:something has just happened to make her scared enough to runblindly. She knows neithercitynor mountain.
HAVE WE MISSEDANY CLUES?
To solve a crime, one must ask the right questions.
Hypothesis[theory]: she is running so fast and looks so scared, because she is fleeing. From whom?
Why doRachel’s hunters do not kill her rightaway? Note the backpack!
• Why would anyone want a girl’s rucksack?
• What has occurred before the scene opens?
• What knowledge (later evidence) does it contain?

10. p. 4: Detective Benny Griessel was asleep. […]
When his cell phone rang, the first shrill note was enough the first shrill note was enough to draw him
back to reality with a fleeting feeling of relief. He opened his eyes and checked the radio clock. It was
05:37.
He swung his feet of the single bed, dream forgotten. For an instant he perched motionless on the edge,
like a man hovering on a cliff. Then he stood and stumbled to the door, down the wooden stairs to the
living room below, to where he had left his phone last night. His hair was unkempt, too long between
trims. He wore only a pair of faded rugby shorts. His single thought was that a call at this time of the
morning could only be bad news.
• How many references totimeare there inthis passage?
• Why is time so important in the novel?

11. WHAT CLUES DOES THIS PASSAGE PROVIDE?
The Character:Why has police inspector Benny Griessel not slept with his cell phone next to his bed?
Question:is a policeman not likely to be called to a crime scene anywhere in the city at any time?
What do his sleeping arrangements suggest?
He is either unmarried or separated from his partner.
Therefore:What has happened the previous night?
What do we learn from his personal appearance?He does not take care of his grooming. Is it important that he may be an ex-rugby
player (and still a fan)?
Metaphors as clues:
“For an instant he perched motionless on the edge, like a man hovering on a cliff.”

12. Metaphors as clues:
• A man hovering on a cliff may well fall over into the sea orharm himselfon the rocks
below.
• What has happened in Benny’s life to warrant the use of this metaphor or implied
comparison?
 He is a recovering alcoholic.
 Will he slip back?
 He is separated from his wife, Anna.
 Will they reconcile?
 He spent the night with Bella, whom he has just met.
 Will they stay together?

13. p. 5: Suddenly she was on the tar of Signal Hill Road and spotted the woman and dog a hundred metres to the left. […]
She ran towards the woman and her dog. Itwas big, a Ridgeback. The woman looked about sixty,white, with a large pink sun hat, a walking stick and a small bag on her back.
The dog was unsettled now. Maybe it smelled her fear, sensed the panic inside her. Her soles slapped on the tar as she slowed. She stopped three metres fromthem.
‘Help me,’said the girl. Her accent was strong.
‘What’s wrong?’there was concern in the woman’s eyes.
‘They’re going to kill me.’
The woman looked around in fear. ‘But there’s nobody.’
The girl looked over her shoulder. ‘They’re coming.’
What information/clues does this encounter provide?

14. WHAT CLUES DOES THIS PASSAGE PROVIDE?
The Character:more clues aboutRachelare given–
 She fears forher life. Yet, do all her actions show fear?
 She is not South African.
 Something she finds dreadful has happened before the novel opens. When do we find out what
it is?
 What does she know that no one else knows?
Why is this encounter with the older lady important?
When the police still know very little about Rachel, this lady (Sybil Gravett, pp. 31, 110) isan eye
witnesswho later gives them valuable information.

15. LITERARY STYLE:How is the novel narrated?
In the novel, Meyer combinesthird-person narrationanddialogue(direct speech).
Effect:Direct speech (dialogue) gives us direct access to Rachel’s immediate fears, her origins
and culture.
Whyis anAmerican girlrunning up Signal Hill?
The third-person narrator interprets the event.
 Thenarratoruses the dog’s reactions to offer insight into her feelings. The dog seems to
smell her fear.
 Throughout the novel, the narrator provides just enough information to lead us to the next
clue.

16. p. 6:At least he was sober, One hundred and fifty-sixdays now. More than five months of struggling against the bottle, dayafter day, hour after hour, till now.
God,Anna must never hear about last night. Not now. Less than a month before his termof exile was served, the punishment for his drinking. IfAnna was found out, he was fucked, all
the struggle and suffering for nothing.
He sighed and stood in front of the mirrored cabinet to brush his teeth. Had a good look at himself. Greying at the temples, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, the Slavic features. He
had never been much of an oil painting. […]
Whatever had she seen in him, that Bella?There had been a moment last night when he wondered if she was sleeping with himbecause she felt sorryfor him[…].
Howmany references totimeare there in this passage?

17. WHAT CLUES DOES THIS PASSAGE PROVIDE?
• Bennyhas struggled to deal with his alcoholism and has left the familyhome in order to do this.
• Apart from the three crimes, this novel is also about:
thegrowth of the protagonist, Benny.After the call, he triesto suspend his private lifeto deal with crime in hisworking life.What makes him uneasy?
“It had nothing to do with his sexlife, his finances or hunger. It was a premonition.As if the day had brought evil with it” (p. 18).
– Does he foresee his own death in the process while solving the crimes?

18. pp. 7–8: Bennyreaches the crime scene and remembers meeting Vusi Ndabeni for the first time.
[…] he was in the Commissioner’s large conference room, along with six of the best ‘new’people looking singularlyunimpressed, all seated in a rowon greygovernment-issue chairs.This
time JohnAfrica toned down his message: ‘Bennywill be your mentor. He’s been on the force for twenty-five years; he waspart of the old Murder and RobberySquad when most of you
were in primaryschool. Whathe’s forgotten, you still have to learn […]. Learn from him.You have beenhand picked– notmanyof you will get this opportunity. Griessel watched their faces.
Four lean black men, one fat black woman, and one broad-shoulderedcoloureddetective, all in their earlythirties.There was not much ungrudging gratitude, with the exception of Vusumuzi
(‘but everyone calls me Vusi’)Ndabeni.
What aspects of the staff he must mentor doesBennynotice?

19. Time:before Bennyreaches the crimescene, he hasa flashback(amemoryof) to his first meeting withVusi.At the meeting:
• CommissionerAfrica introduces Benny to the diverse set of younger officers whom he will mentor.
• “Twenty-five years”: Benny once served on the old apartheid police force and must nowadapt to dealing sensitivelywith colleagues in the post-apartheid force.
• Can he avoid the desire to take the lead (as a white policeman) and let his new colleagues run their cases?
• What are the tensions on the force? Howare they expressed? Who feels marginalised – and by whom?

20. CRIME AND THE CITY
This Detective Novel unfolds in Cape Town.
• Setting – Place:mostly the streets of central Cape Town and surrounding suburbs.
There seem to be two crime scenes:
– Outside St. Martini’s Church, near the top of Long St.
– The Tamboerskloof home of Alexa Barnard.
– Police Headquarters at Caledon Square.
 Setting – Time:2008/9. Tensions between various racial groups, and between male
and female employees abound.

21. THERE SEEM TO BE TWO CRIME SCENES:
Erin’s bodyis foundTamboerskloof– Brownlow
outsideSt. Martini’sStreet, whereAdam Barnard’s Church, Long Street. Bodyis discovered.

22. The two parts of the plot unfold simultaneously:
• The Erin/Rachel plot and theAdam/Alexa plot.
• Bennymoves from one plot to the other.
• Meantime,seven criminalsare chasing Rachel, theAmerican tourist who has evidence theywant.
• For police and criminals,knowing the cityis vital.
• The Police use technologyto help them solve crimes.
• The criminals also use technologyand topography[physicalfeatures of anarea, itsrivers,mountains].
• Rachelhas little access to technology, but does what she can to communicate with her parents and the police.
• Unknown to her, she also sends signals to the criminals.

23. TECHNOLOGY(from Greek)tekhne– craft, art
–logia– study
NATURE:Thephenomena of the physical worldcollectively– plants, animals,landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or
humancreations.
TECHNOLOGYIN THE CITY:
In a city, everything is human made – even the gardens.

24. TECHNOLOGIES OF CRIME & CRIME-FIGHTING
The Criminals:
The Police:
Large vehicles
and trailers
Eben’sleatherman.
BINOCULARS
GUNS PHONES
CARS
Helicopter Benny’sMoutainBike
PHONES
Cameras:
CCTV
Internet/
email
Height: Buildings/
Mountain
Buildings:
Caledon Square/
Alfred Street

25. Rachel’s ignorance of the city makes her vulnerable
• She has little knowledge of where she is/ where to go.
• Road:she uses Signal Hill Road andTafelbergRoad to navigate her wayaround the mountains.
• Video Cameraplays a dual role: gathers evidence of the crime; makes her the target of the criminals hunt.
• Thevideotransforms her from Tourist toTarget.
• Thehigh wallsof most suburban houses exclude her.
• However, she finds shelter in the garden of the one house on Upper Orange St that has a lower wall.
• The kindness of the old man offers further shelter.

26. BENNY’S PRIVATE LIFE: THE CHARACTERS
• Bennyloves music. What does this tell us about him? How does music help him cope with the
stress of work?
• Anna Griessel,estranged wife: the question of whether she will let him come home bothers Benny
all day.
• Carla (daughter) is in London after a shocking incident (inDevil’s Peak, 2007): she was kidnapped
and raped.
• Fritz,son: still at school. Apassionaterock musician; dreams of opening for
hisfavouritegroup,Zinkplaat.
• Doc VictorBarkhuizen,AA sponsor: helped Benny stop drinking, buy a bicycle and learn to tackle
his problems. He also helpsAlexaBarnard after her suicide attempt.

27. The Investigation gets underway:
Four Other Groups of Characters Emerge
THE POLICE
VICTIMS – CRIME 1 VICTIM – CRIME 2
Erin & Rachel Adam Barnard
CRIMINALS (and Metro Police)
(CRIME 1 & CRIME 2)

28. The Police: Racial difference is still an issue
• JohnAfrica,Regional Commissioner. Oversees both cases.Appreciates Benny’s skills. (Male, Coloured, Senior)
• BennyGriessel,Detective Inspector (later Captain) mentors junior officers. (Male, White,Afrikaans, promoted)
• VusiNdabeni,fromKhayelitsha, first big case, needs confidence, experience. (Male, Black, Xhosa, proving himself)
• Fransman Dekker, “fronsman” [frowner]; angry over sidelining of Coloureds. “Plays away from home.” (M, C,A, temperamental challenges)
• MbaliKaleni,confident, very capable, maddens male colleagues because of this. (Female, Black, Zulu, rising star)

29. AlsoAttached to the Force:
FORENSICS:involves the application of scientific methods to solving crime.
• Prof. PhilPagel:given to quoting Shakespeare. This often gives Bennyinsight into the nature of the crime. He calls Benny‘Nikita’– why is this?
• ‘Thick’(Arnold)and‘Thin’(Jimmy)(pp. 8–9):“Forensicswill stand byyou throughThick andThin.” Theyassist at both crime scenes.Also called “Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern” byPagel. Why?
• Dr. TiffanyOctober:APathologist is a crucial figure in crime fiction; she works out the time and cause of death.

30. • Tinkie Kellerman:police social worker – dealswithAlexa Barnardcompassionately, but cannotstop her suicide
attempt.
• Metro Police –find Erin’s body (pp. 7, 33) and have a power struggle with the Provincial Task Force. When
isJeremyOerson(‘The Field Marshal’)’srolerevealed: a. to the reader (132)? b. to the police (Chap. 40)?
• Cloete: police liaison officer. Griesselsympathiseswith him, as both men are caught in a “no man’s land” (102)
on the Force,becausethey have to mentor people.
• Mat Joubert:hero of other Meyer novels.SeniorSuperintendent of the Provincial Task Force (264). Benny’s
mentor in his early days. Hehas grown dissatisfied with the way the new Police Service treats experienced
white officers and planstoresign to joinJack Fisher andAssociates. Is BennyGriesseltempted to do the same?

31. CRIME 1:Two WhiteAmerican Girlsare attacked
• ErinRusselis killed: why?
• RachelAndersonis chased aroundOrangezicht: why?
• Who else is involved?
o Bill & JessAnderson (West Lafayette, Indiana)symbolisenaïve citizens who believe they are immune to crime.
o ‘Ollie’Sands,fromArizona, travels with the girls.Also naïve about crime. Provides important evidence to police.
o Piet van derLingen: first SouthAfrican to showRachel real compassion (around midday).
o Barry, Jason de Klerk, SteveChitsinga(AfricanAdventureTours) – Pursue Rachel in a terrifying, later violent, chase. Who isorganisingthem? Do they act alone?

32. IMPLICATIONS OF CRIME1
Two American Girlsenter South Africa as carefree tourists, but then become thetargets of violent
global crime, whichhas other international implications:
• Rachel’s father contacts US diplomats who contact the US Consul General in Cape Town.
• The Consul General contacts theSouth African DeputyMinister of Police, who telephones the
Acting National Police Commissioner (Pretoria).
• Why else is it vital for the Police (especially Benny andVusi)tofind Rachel and solve Erin’s
murder?

33. CRIME 2: In the World of Afrikaans Music
Chapter 4: AlexandraBarnard,a faded, intoxicated singer, awakes to findherhusband,Adam,deadon the
carpet (pp. 29ff) at 47 Brownlow St, Tamboerskloof.
• Did she commit the crime? Does she remember?
• Why is D. I. Benny Griessel immediately drawn to her?
Who else is involved?
o Adam Barnard:owned music production company,Afrisound. Was hiswomanisingthe only reason for
Alexa’s drinking?For which other psychological reasons does she drink? Who else mayhave
wanted Adam dead?
o Sylvia Buys:the ‘maid.’ Finds Adam. Could she be a suspect? What about Adam’s work
colleagues?

34. o WillieMouton:Adam’s partner, “middle-agedZorro”(66).Aggressive and defensive;tells police to
investigateGospel singers, Josh and Melinda Geyser.
o RegardtGroenewald:Mouton’s lawyer. Dekker thinks he and Willie are “like those guys in the old
‘black-and-whitefilms […]‘LaurelandHardy’” (78).
o Why does Meyer liken Adam’s two partners to characters from old films?
Stan Laurel(British)andOliver Hardy
(American):Stars of classic slapstick
American comedies from 1920s to 1950s.
Why do Mouton andGroenewald
remind Dekker of these comedians?

35. Zorro:fictional hero of novels aboutaCalifornian nobleman during Spanish rule of California.Zorro, a
masked, caped crusader, dresses all in black!
Why does Meyer compare Mouton
Zorro?
•Joshand Melinda Geyser:Afrikaans Gospel Stars. Willie says Josh,aformer fighter named
“WhiteLightning” on Gladiators, wanted “to kill [Adam]” (79) for sleeping with Melinda! Did he kill Adam?
Is Dekker right to suspect him?
•NatashaAbader:Willie Mouton’s personal assistant (PA) atAfrisound. Helpful with inquiries. Dekker is
very attracted to her, but shocked that she slept with Adam. Will Dekker take his attraction further?

36. SOLVINGBennyGriessel
THE CASE:
VusiMbaliFransman
NdabeniKaleniDekker
VICTIMS
ErinRusselAdamRachel AndersonBarnard
(Long St/ (BrownlowSt./
Orangezicht)Tamboerskloof)
Isthe scene where the body is found
the scene of the crime?

37. CRIME 1: LONG STREET –
WHERE ERIN’S BODY IS FOUND
LONG STREET:
St Martini’s Church

38. CRIME 1:ORANGEZICHT–
WHERE RACHELIS CHASED
CARLUCCI’S
RUGBY RD
MONTROSE AVE

39. CRIME 1: TAMBOERSKLOOF – WHERE ADAM BARNARD IS FOUND, NOT FAR FROM HIS
OFFICE
BROWNLOW ST
BUITENST
LONG STREET:
Backpackers’ Paradise

40. CRIME 1: THE POLICE HEADQUARTERS
IN DOWNTOWN CAPE TOWN
CALEDON SQUARE
THE CASTLE
STATION
“Van Hunks” Nightclub