Paul Mendelson's early passion for storytelling led him to become the youngest playwright ever performed at the National Theatre. For two decades, he was the UK's best-selling author on mind sports before transitioning to acclaimed crime fiction. His debut novel earned a CWA Golden Dagger nomination, and subsequent works, often set in Southern Africa, garnered significant praise for their political resonance and gripping narratives. Mendelson's novels, now translated into multiple languages, showcase his distinctive voice and masterful plotting, drawing readers into compelling mysteries.
Any Lengths to Please is a uniquely entertaining compendium by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter and acclaimed novelist Paul A. Mendelson. A short story, a novella, a medium-sized novel and a brief literary ‘confection’, designed to whet any appetite.
Can 12 year old, Henry Jaffa, stop the evil, mad scientist Dr Arnold Cramp from stealing his dad’s superpowers?
When an acclaimed Scottish author, on a book tour to the US to promote his latest romantic novel, The Forever Moment, meets a young woman who looks strikingly similar to a long-lost love from a high-school exchange to Kentucky, he wonders if he left behind more than memories twenty-two years ago.
We used to get standing ovations. Now we get ovations for standing. The last place in which that great lady of the theatre Elspeth Quest wishes to spend her final years is Dustingford Hall, rest-home for retired actors and entertainers.
To get the girl of his dreams he needs a good sense of humour. To get a good sense of humour he needs a miracle.
Can you imagine growing up without a sense of humour?
Die Dunkelheit, die nicht vergehtEin Unbekannter tötet Polizisten. Polizisten, die vor über zwanzig Jahren ein Massaker an einer schwarzen Familie verübten. Auch Colonel Vaughn de Vries war damals dabei, als unfreiwilliger Zeuge des Verbrechens. Und schon damals kämpfte er gegen eine korrupte Hierarchie im Polizeiapparat.Höhere Stellen behindern ihn auch bei seinem neuen, seinem heikelsten Fall: Eine Milliardärin - grausam ermordet. Der Vater war eine Stütze des Apartheid-Regimes. Hauptverdächtiger: Ihr schwarzer Liebhaber, Sohn eines einflussreichen Politikers. Vaughn de Vries steht vor vielen Fragen: Geht es um Hautfarbe, Geld oder Macht? Wer hatte ein Interesse am Tod der Frau? Wer hat kein Interesse daran, dass die Wahrheit herauskommt?
Set against the richly described backdrop of Cape Town, this is the third chilling psychological thriller from Paul Mendelson
Even after the release of Nelson Mandela and the promise of free elections, extremist groups terrorized South Africa, bombing churches, opening fire in bars and restaurants. Nearly twenty-five years ago, as a young Captain, Vaughn de Vries finds himself in pursuit of the suspects of a fatal bombing in his precinct, under the command of one of the most feared white police officers of the time: Major Kobus Nel. Out of radio communication and without clear evidence, the SAPS barge into a township and set off a chain of events which will resonate for a quarter of a century. In Cape Town in 2015, the heiress of an Apartheid-era industrialist is found murdered, her body posed to suggest a racial hate crime. But, as Colonel Vaughn De Vries investigates, possible motives for her death abound: a highly controversial art exhibition, her sexual preferences, her relationship - as yet unknown by the press - with the son of one of the heroes of The Struggle.
Seven years ago, in Cape Town, South Africa, three schoolboys were abducted in broad daylight on consecutive days. They were never seen again. Now, a new case for the unpredictable Senior Superintendent Vaughn DeVries casts a light on the original enquiry; for him, a personal failure which has haunted and changed him. Struggling in a mire of departmental and racial rivalry, DeVries seeks the whole truth, and unravels a complex history of abuse, deception and murder. Encountering friends, colleagues and enemies, DeVries realises he doesn't know who he can trust.Set against the richly described backdrop of Cape Town, this chilling psychological thriller reveals its secrets one by one, each more shocking than the last.
