Transvaal farmer vanishes with Tokkelos warning. Detective Roode probes medicine murders linked to a chief and witch doctor. Kobus becomes prey in deadly traps, racing to stop ritual killings.
Keywords11. VICTIM OF THE TOKKELOS - SA POLICE SERIES
In the remote, dust-trodden world of the Western Transvaal, where old superstitions and the harsh reality of the veld intertwine, the farmer Hennie Vermeulen vanishes without a trace. The only clue is the ominous warning from his long-serving housekeeper, Jantjie. “The Tokkelos has walked… the Tokkelos seeks the medicine that is in you.”
The case lands in the capable hands of Detective Sergeant Kobus Roode, a young, energetic detective with a profound knowledge of the Bushveld and its people. Together with the local sergeant, Gustav Eygler, he begins an investigation that draws him deep into a web of fear and secrets. The trail leads to the homestead of Chief Mafaku, where a strange sickness prevails and the charismatic, yet sinister, witch doctor, Maroeti, rules with an iron fist.
Kobus soon suspects that Hennie’s disappearance is more than just an accident. It appears to be the opening scene of a series of gruesome medicine murders involving a cruel ritual for which a human sacrifice must be made. As Kobus delves deeper, he himself becomes the prey. He is led into deadly ambushes by a band of shadowy, painted assailants who operate with unprecedented cunning and brutality. From a devastating rockslide in a solitary mountain ravine to a cunning trap at a crocodile-infested river drift, Kobus must use every ounce of his training and courage to survive. The witch doctor and his mysterious followers are always one step ahead, and the number of victims begins to rise rapidly. Kobus realizes he is no longer just the hunter, he has now become the grand prize in a bloody game. In a desperate race against time, where ancient superstition collides with modern law enforcement, Kobus must put everything on the line. But can one man outwit a cunning mastermind and his fanatical followers before he himself becomes the next sacrifice on the blood-stained stone slab?
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Gerrie Radlof is the pseudonym of Gerrit Lubbe van Zyl (27/11/1923 - 20/9/1971) and is another one of South Africa's top writers who died at a relatively young age in a car accident outside Melkbosstrand. He is especially known for his extremely popular Buiter books (hardcover), but also reached great heights with his well-known Oloff the Pirate paperback series of stories. Then there is also his slightly lesser-known Ramala series, which is, however, his longest series of books, and also the Tamar series, which consists of only two books. Under Gerrie Radlof, he also wrote several books in the SA Police series and also the Swerwer Speurder (Wanderer Detective) series. Gerrie Radlof wrote six stories in the SA Police series. In short, the SA Police series is about a constable by the name of Kobus Roode. He is a strongly built man with brown hair that is always cut short, so that it looks like a crew cut. His story begins as a student when he and two of his best friends went camping in the Drakensberg. There they uncover a secret weapons arsenal and weapons factory hidden deep underground. In the process, Kobus's two friends die, but Kobus manages to apprehend the villains and thus bring the organization's illegal activities to a halt. These events had such a great impact on Kobus's life that he decided there and then to dedicate himself to becoming a constable. Kobus's career takes off quickly and he solves one major international case after another. He deals with kidnappers, murderers, animal smugglers, dagga (cannabis) smugglers and many more. Most of the time he finds himself in Natal, but at times he is also transferred to Pretoria and Johannesburg, to solve cases there that others before him could not solve. Many times Kobus refuses promotion, because it would mean that he would have to do office work. There is nothing he enjoys more than working in nature, on the back of a horse. It is precisely this love of his that leads him to discover the secret places of villains and to surprise and expose them there. Each of these stories is full of action, drama, suspense and also a little bit of romance in between. Every excellently written detective story captivates you from beginning to end and the stories stay with you long after you have finished reading them.
