Angela Makholwa: The Reed Dance Stalker

"And in breaking news, convicted serial killer and rapist, Napoleon Dingiswayo, escaped from Pretoria’s C-Max Prison at twelve-fifteen this afternoon, along with serial rapist and armed robber Andries Mathe, and heist kingpin Sifiso Khumalo.’ The voice of the newsreader rings crisp and cool while announcing the earth-shattering news."Angela Makholwa is one of South Africa’s more eminent crime writers. In Red Ink, we were introduced to the characters of Lucy Khambule and Napoleon Dingiswayo and left on the edge as we wondered what happened next. In her latest novel, Makholwa revisits the chapters we thought were long closed. The book opens with Napoleon’s escape from prison and Lucy’s subsequent terror begins. We sat down with Makholwa to discuss what it means to write crime fiction in South Africa, Lucy Khambule and how our preoccupations drive us towards the truth. We laughed, we introspected and walked away with a newfound appreciation for the art of crime fiction writing.