In a secluded valley, children vanish and ghostly warnings demand residents leave. A Private Investigator investigating is trapped by a freak storm and a deadly gas. Cut off, he must solve the supernatural mystery before the town is silenced forever.
Keywords8. DEATH CREEPS CLOSER - WANDERER DETECTIVE SERIES
In the secluded, tranquil valley of Wesselsdal, where life is predictable and peaceful, a nightmare strikes unexpectedly. A young boy, Jannie Botha, vanishes without a trace from his own backyard. The close-knit community’s panic-stricken search yields nothing. The child is gone, as if swallowed by the earth.
The true horror, however, begins in the middle of the night when Jannie’s parents hear his voice in their bedroom. It is a message from the darkness, a warning from the valley’s deceased founder, Jakob Wessels. Leave Wesselsdal, or you will never see your child again. When a second boy disappears under the same mysterious circumstances and his parents receive the same supernatural message, the town’s fear escalates into hysterical panic. The case attracts the attention of the legendary private detective, Obed de Swardt, also known as the wandering detective. He arrives in town discreetly, determined to unearth the truth behind the ghost stories and disappearances. But even he is unprepared for the malevolence brewing in the valley. His own nightmarish experience in the hotel, which leaves behind physical evidence, leads him to wonder whether he is dealing with a restless spirit or a brilliant, psychopathic human.
The tension reaches a breaking point when a strange rainstorm transforms the valley into a green hell. Plants grow at an unnatural, terrifying pace, and along with this grotesque life, an invisible, deadly gas begins to fill the low-lying parts of the basin. While most residents flee, Obed and a handful of allies, including a courageous reporter and the local sergeant, realize the gruesome truth. They are trapped! Cut off from the outside world, with telephone lines severed and the power station sabotaged, a desperate race against time begins. Is it the vengeance of Jakob Wessels’s spirit, or the work of a ruthless, deranged human mind with a shocking motive? Obed must unravel the valley’s deadly secret before the silence descends upon them for good.
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Gerrie Radlof is the pseudonym of Gerrit Lubbe van Zyl (27/11/1923 - 20/9/1971) and is another 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 (Raider) books (hardcover), but also achieved great heights with his well-known Oloff the Pirate (Oloff die Seerower) 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 the Wanderer Detective (Swerwer Speurder) series. Gerrie Radlof wrote nine stories in the Wanderer Detective series. In short, the series is about a private detective by the name of Obed de Swardt. He lives with his wolfhound named Jagter (Hunter) and his personal chef named Amos, in Drie Gewels (Three Gables), a comfortably large house in Linden, Johannesburg. Then there is also his charming girlfriend Tessa Brink, who supports him in much of his private detective work. From a young age, Obed has been interested in criminology, and it is precisely this challenge of measuring his strength against criminals that gives him the adventure and zest for life he craves. Due to his excellent record, Obed also very quickly became known as the top wanderer-detective in the country. Furthermore, he is also a keen rugby player who plays for Transvaal in the wing position. Obed inherited a Bushveld farm from his father, and a foreman farms on his behalf there. The income generated from it is more than enough for Obed to live luxuriously. Despite the fact that Obed does not need to work, he does private detective work and tracks down most of his cases himself, for which he usually does not receive payment. Sometimes his one police friend, Eddie, contacts him to help with an important case that the police are struggling to solve themselves. Then there is also Jan Wiese, a good friend of Obed, who is a member of the editorial staff of a large daily newspaper in the city, and Obed always provides him with the newsworthy stories first, in exchange for his help from time to time. Each story is unique and packed with suspense and intrigue that will keep the reader guessing throughout and provide great enjoyment to read.
