The Afrikaans edition of Deon Meyer’s SKORPIO – the latest thrilling instalment of Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido’s investigations – has rocketed to the top of the South African charts, across each of the Fiction, Afrikaans-language, South African-writers and Overall bestseller lists. Published by Human & Rousseau, an imprint of Jonathan Ball, on 31 October 2025, the book is set to continue Deon’s domination of the South African charts, following his over ten-week run for his previous novel LEO, across both the Afrikaans and English-language editions.
Following two seemingly minor investigations which rapidly spiral to reveal international ramifications, SKORPIO marks an exciting new chapter for Deon, with English editions (translated by K.L. Seegers) forthcoming from Pan Macmillan in the UK, Grove Atlantic in the US and Canada, Aufbau in Germany, and A.W Bruna in the Netherlands.
In SKORPIO, as an international security forum convenes in the picturesque town of Stellenbosch, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido race against time to uncover a plot that could shake international foundations. With the threat looming over the prestigious gathering of global leaders, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Congratulations on this latest success, Deon!
About Deon Meyer
Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. His books are sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation, and LEO enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories, before going on to win Best Adult Fiction and Book of the Year at the 2024 SA Book Awards, and the ATKV-Woordveertjies Prize for best Afrikaans Thriller.
Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching international audiences. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe. His latest adaptation, THE INVISIBLE (from the novel BLOOD SAFARI), starring Abbie Cornish and Dougray Scott is currently in production through M-Net, Scene23, Berkeley Media Group (BMG), and ITV Studios.
Praise for SKORPIO
‘It’s the characters, the humanity and the humour that keeps me devouring Deon Meyer’s novels.’ – Deborah Steinmair, Netwerk24
Praise for Deon Meyer
‘He’s up there with the best in the world.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times
‘I love Deon Meyer novels. It’s global storytelling at its best, with the undeniable hallmarks of gritty realism and deep character building.’ – Michael Connelly
‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen
‘Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.’ – El Mundo
‘One of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday
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