Held Up

Name: Held Up
Brand: Hachette UK
Availability: InStock
Author: Christopher Radmann
ISBN: 9780755390656

Author: Christopher Radmann

Narrator: John Voce

Unabridged: 12 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Review

Published: 07/19/2012

Categories: Fiction, Suspense & Thriller, Crime, Nonfiction, Family & Relationships, Parenting

Synopsis

How far do you go to rescue your child?

Paul van Niekirk, a successful white South African is held up at gun-point when driving his new BMW. He's dragged out and his abductor drives off in his car. It's an everyday car jacking. Except his nine-month old daughter is in the back seat. As a pacifist, Paul is reluctant to carry a gun, but he descends into the heart of darkness of his country determined to find his child. He uncovers a criminal gang involved in people trafficking and discovers in himself a capacity for violence. When the trail goes cold, he is on the verge of losing everything but finds redemption in the most unlikely circumstances. Moving from the enclaves of Johannesburg's northern suburbs to the throbbing heart of Soweto's informal settlements, Paul is forced to confront the changing political and social landscape of the new South Africa, questioning his own values as his perfect life crumbles around him.

(P)2012 Headline Digital

About Christopher Radmann

Christopher Radmann is from South Africa, but has lived in the UK for the last twelve years. He is currently Head of Sixth Form and Head of English at a boarding school in Hampshire, England, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sharon on August 19, 2012

Held Up begins one second after the hijack. The reader is introduced to how life is - violence and mistrust are common experiences. One minute after the hijack, Paul is reflecting on how difficult Chantal’s conception was and how he felt at her birth. One hour afterwards he tells his wife, Claire (h......more

Goodreads review by Glenys on July 18, 2012

I received this book as an uncorrected proof copy- I had not heard of the author, so was intrigued to find out more. I started reading, and was hooked! It`s set in South Africa, an area that Christopher Radmann knows well, as he hails from there- his knowledge, & unique insight into the area, its b......more

Goodreads review by abc. on February 16, 2022

Absolutely major spoilers. This book comes across as a sloppily written faux-expose on life in South Africa. It tiptoes around injustices of black people (speaking about their struggles only as much as is necessary), shouting about "the new South Africa, our rainbow nation," it manages to just miss t......more

Goodreads review by Puddle on December 27, 2018

country 35: South Africa......more

Goodreads review by The Bookish Wombat on August 04, 2012

In late 1990s post-apartheid South Africa, white advertising executive Paul is on the way home in his new BMW when he is carjacked and the vehicle is stolen. In the shock of the moment Paul doesn’t instantly remember that his nine-month-old daughter Chantal was also in the car, but soon realises tha......more