TITLE: descent
AUTHOR: Bruce Spilsbury
'Vividly described and rich in mayhem!' Brenda Spilsbury.
Upon leaving school, the talented Wayne Davids knew that the world was his oyster. But to everyone's surprise, he signed up immediately with the South African Police Services. He was not forthcoming as to why he did this. But it could have had something to do with the fact that as a young boy, he had witnessed his parents being brutally murdered by Cape Flats gangsters. It was thought that he had put this horror behind him, but as this compelling story unfolds, we soon find that nothing could have been further from the truth.
Davids tracks down the crime lord (Jerome Plaaitjies) who murdered his parents and a lucky break sees him selected for an undercover operation to apprehend the elusive gangster. When the two men eventually meet, Plaaitjies tells Davids something that shakes him to the core.
And throughout the unraveling of this mystery, Davids can't discount the possibility that he is receiving guidance from a beautiful slain woman, via his surreal lucid dreams.
When Jane Madarang's neighbor Natalie kills herself and leaves behind cryptic instructions, it's up to Jane and her classmates to unearth deadly secrets.
*****
Natalie Driscoll is dead.
She threw herself out a window and left her neighbor Jane to unravel their town's darkest secrets. Following Natalie's instructions leads Jane to three other high school students who all have something to hide. The four of them must carry out Natalie's final errand while solving the mysteries written in her diary. But the secrets they unearth may be far more dangerous than what they ever imagined.
Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of suicide, violence and murder that may be triggering for some readers.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]