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Ian Patrick
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The Mashego File Kindle Edition

by Ian Patrick (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 170 ratings
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Heinous crime. Brutal and barbaric perpetrators. Overworked police and forensics investigators. Vigilante justice replaces the institutions of law and order. As things fall apart, Detective 'Nights' Mashego investigates. But he carries his own dark burden...
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  1. Print length
    197 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    October 1, 2016
  5. File size
    1356 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A selection of comments left by Amazon reviewers:

"As a retired big city homicide sergeant I am careful of praise and often stop reading a book as I've already figured out the ending. This book, however, superbly dealt with the issues of police everywhere... I look forward to reading the rest of this author's works"

"Shocking thriller with page-turning action all the way based on frontline research. Enjoyable and fast-paced reading"

"If you enjoy detective thrillers you will love The Mashego File. You will love Detective 'Nights' Mashego. He's a big man, tough, straight arrow. He is not to be fooled with."

"Excellent reading, and beautifully written by a very skilled and eloquent author who has a deep understanding of the nuances..."

"A superbly written book; exciting, current, couldn't put it down."

"Outstanding thriller. Intriguing and skilfully crafted."

"Refreshingly different. Not only interesting but educational. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish and found it very hard to put down."

From the Author

The Mashego File is inspired by one of the characters who appears in Plain Dealing, the third volume of The Ryder Quartet. Once again building on front-line research in the war against crime in Durban, South Africa, with assistance and guidance from detectives, forensics experts, and victims of crime, the author attempts to ensure meticulous attention to detail. He has explored the precise locations in which scenes are set, and has captured details of background, history, and actual crimes before adapting them for his purposes into fast-paced fiction thrillers. His intention is to create exciting crime stories steeped in authenticity of action, place and time. At the same time, he has endeavoured to capture the essence of some current debates on law, justice, crime and moral responsibility. Intrigued by the way the character Mashego evolved in Plain Dealing, he decided to trace back in the detective's past to explore the origins of his attitude and approach to police work. The Mashego File explores this earlier phase in the policeman's career.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01L8QV9YU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ian Patrick Books; 1st edition (October 1, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1356 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 197 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 170 ratings

About the author

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Ian Patrick

Ian Patrick

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After working as an actor, director and teacher in theatre, film and television, followed by a long academic career, Ian is now a full-time writer. His background plays a modest part in his writing, he says. 'My fiction is based to the best of my ability on research and field work. I have to believe the words my fictive characters speak, and the actions they undertake.' Which explains why he has accompanied detectives to the front line, interviewed victims of crime and forensics investigators, taken courses on forensics, crime scene management, and DNA analysis, and spent many hours scouring actual locations for his crime scenes: many of them based on actual events. 'I endeavour to make my fiction plausible and authentic. I can only hope that readers will also enjoy the journey of discovering my characters and their foibles, their actions and their experiences. I hope, too, that they will inform me about and forgive me for any lapses in my work or any errors of detail.'

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
170 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Charles A. Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars Hot and cold
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2018
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When a charred and mutilated corpse is found in the remains of a smoldering fire in a small community in Kwazulu-Natal, Detective Captain Nights Mashego, assigned to Durban North Police Agency is put on the case. Soon, another burned corpse is found in the same community, similarly abused. Mashego begins to suspect that he is seeking the same perpetrators but is unsure of their motives until he discovers a link between the victims and the step-son of a high-placed police official.
Mashego is then faced with a dilemma. With evidence of high placed police corruption, can he identify with the vigilante justice being meted out, especially considering his own actions after his daughter was raped and murdered just a few years earlier. Torn between keeping his oath to enforce the law and his understanding of the frustration of people who feel they have no other recourse, he plows ahead.
The Mashego File by Ian Patrick is a chilling narrative of crime, punishment, and corruption at the highest levels, and the responses of people who have decided to draw a fiery line in the sand. The author has created a compelling story with flawed heroes and irredeemable villains that will keep you reading and wondering until the somewhat anticlimactic ending. Most of all, you will wonder—what next for Mashego?
This is a not-to-be-missed story.
7 people found this helpful
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Sue Choppers-Wife
4.0 out of 5 stars Would like more of this character in his own story lines
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2018
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I really enjoyed this story development. I've not read this author's other books and was quite intrigued at the end of the book to read how he came to write this. I especially liked Night. I loved his vulnerable side that fit right in with his actual physical prowess. There really used to be something called street justice...not technical written laws that you'd go to jail for if you broke them, but consequences for crossing certain lines that fit the crime. This was not really a vigilante story which I usually don't care for because it's usually small minds out for revenge. This was approached quite differently and I really can believe Night whispered his secrets in the writer's ear as they went along. I also like that I learned a few things about a place different than where I live, with different measures of status and responsibility to ancestors. Good writing and will hopefully see more of the gentle giant. Oh...I only gave this a 4 star rating because I really almost did not get the book because of the weird cover art and I only got it because it was set in a different country and I hoped it would be interesting...it most surely was.
3 people found this helpful
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Chuck Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing crime thriller set in South Africa
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2022
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This was an excellent crime novel, not really a mystery because the reader is aware of much of the occurrences that the police are working to figure out. The real enjoyment for me was meeting and getting to know some of the characters involved, and also the bits of exposition on the culture of Kwazulu-Natal province in South Africa (this surprise setting had me clicking over to Maps frequently to check out the unfamiliar locations!).
2 people found this helpful
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Kate Pynch
5.0 out of 5 stars The best yet from Ian Patrick
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2017
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Patrick writes very good books, even though I felt and still feel, the Ryder series should have been one book.

Nights Mashego is a far more accessible character than Ryder, and more likable. This book deals with some extreme material but it does it with heart and it does it with a bit of wisdom into man's inhumanity and quite a bit more about self compassion.

I would live to see a series about this character, I want to know more about him I'd go out for coffee with Mashego but not Ryder. Mashegos sense of morality and justice isn't about self righteousness it's about not being afraid to be flawed or fully human.

Don't misunderstand me, Patrick writes truly good police procedurals that I recommend but Ryder is the kind of cop I see over and over. Mashego is fresh and vibrant.
4 people found this helpful
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Don Kidwell
4.0 out of 5 stars "You the kind of policeman who submits to a leader who lives in a palace and who makes her own laws with corrupt rich people ---
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2017
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Or are you the kind of policeman who serves the people of the street who believes in real justice?" Hard-boiled police procedural involving high-level corruption, rampant street crimes and frontier justice that could happen anywhere, tho here it happens to be Johannesburg together with a deeply African flair. Extremely brutal at times, characters were very well-developed such that you came to really care for the victims, and book oozes despair as ordinary citizens have more or less given up on the police and have taken it on themselves to mete out "better ways to deal with rapists." Caught in the middle is Detective Mashego trying to act as a bridge between both sides while confronting the overall futility of the situation. A very good tho grim read that will have you question just how far one side should be allowed to take it...
8 people found this helpful
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Banana K8
5.0 out of 5 stars Total serendipity!
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2019
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I am not ordinarily a big fan of mysteries, though I do generally enjoy them, so I'm not entirely sure why I bought this book. I am, however entirely grateful I did. This was a well-written, fascinating, at times gut-wrenching tale, that had me crying for the victims of horrific crimes, as well as the families, and laughing as well as joining in the great huzzahs for the formidable great strength of the young. I felt a great sense of satisfaction, I have to admit, for the sense of justice dispensed, though perhaps I should have been appalled. A great story, which I am sure I will revisit several times, and I am putting Ian Patrick atop my list of tbf!
2 people found this helpful
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IBL
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best thrillers I have ever read
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2020
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Ian Patrick really is up there with the best of them ... Grisham, Conelly, Coban et al .. and puts an authentic South African spin on this page turner. I live in the area where the book is posited and Patrick's descriptions of the various places where the action occurs is spot on. His characters are also well drawn from the real life inhabitants of these places. I highly recommend The Mashego Files to all whodunnit devotees.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 26, 2018
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Ok read
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Viragored
5.0 out of 5 stars A really good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2019
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This story is well written, and delves into the moral maze of punishment fitting the crime - literally. Against a background of a generally corrupt police and justice system, detective Mashego ploughs a lonely but effective furrow.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will soon be reading some more of this author's work.
(PS - if you don't like violence, African style, you may not enjoy the book as much as I did)
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Peter Dare
4.0 out of 5 stars Vigilante Justice
Reviewed in Spain on June 9, 2019
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Some might read this book and think it is highly exaggerated and unbelievable, but having lived in South Africa and having experience of various scenarios in Soweto and Johannesburg, it is almost as if it is based on inside knowledge. The gruesome events described are hardly outside the bounds of possibility. It is set in Durban and the characters are well drawn. The political corruption is well described. One criticism I have is the football match at the end which I thought was unnecessary and, to be brutal, corny. Apart from that well researched and worth reading.
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Sarah Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read detective novel of the year!
Reviewed in Australia on November 26, 2018
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‘The Mashego File’ by Ian Patrick is this season’s ‘must read’ detective novel. I was drawn in the second I started it.
Patrick sets in the scene early on, providing an in-depth social commentary on township life and the justice system in South Africa. Protagonist Nights Mashego may seem like a gentle giant, but this hard-nosed detective isn’t afraid to take the law into his own hands to defend the righteous. He’s a Harry Callahan with more appealing traits. He knows when to stretch the law, and when to abandon it completely. Mashego works to find a fine balance between the corruption of the judicial system and the harsh realties of community justice. This is a story that challenges the reader’s perceptions of law and justice. The story flows well, the plot engaging, and the characters believable. If you like detective novels, then the tales of Nights Mashego are for you. Do yourself a favour and get a copy.
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Seb Barrow
5.0 out of 5 stars A very different novel but excellent.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2017
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Really good read based on revenge murders for rapists. Also set in Africa, near Durban, which means tribal traditions get involved. Detective Mashego is tasked with finding the truth even though higher authorities try to prevent him. Justice is served but not the way you expect. Side plots make this an exciting book.
2 people found this helpful
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