Michael Sears interviews Bryony Rheam about her new murder mystery

From: https: //www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/books/news/2021-12-06-michael-sears-interviews-bryony-rheam-about-her-new-murder-mystery/

Originally from The Big Thrill (1/12/21) Africa Scene: Bryony Rheam

Bryony Rheam is a Zimbabwean who lives in Bulawayo. Her debut novel This September Sun was named Best First Book in the Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association Awards and went to number 1 on the UK Kindle chart. She was one of the five Africans chosen for a Morland scholarship in 2018.

Rheam’s new book, All Come to Dust, was chosen as one of 10 top African thrillers in Publishers Weekly, who described it as a “stunning crime debut.” Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train, said it was “an intriguing, twisting murder mystery, a witty combination of old-fashioned detective story and keenly-observed portrait of life in suburban Bulawayo,” and chief inspector Edmund Dube was “a fictional detective as memorable as Hercule Poirot”.

In the story, Marcia Pullman is discovered dead in her Bulawayo home with a letter opener sticking out of her chest, but there’s not enough blood and it’s obvious that she was dead before she was stabbed. Edmund goes to the scene, having to wheedle a lift from Craig Martin, who is at the police station arguing a speeding fine. The pathologist, a friend of Marcia’s husband, says she died of natural causes, and the senior officers at the police station seem intent on thwarting Edmund’s efforts to get to the bottom of the case.

Superficially, the book seems to follow the tropes of the detective story genre, but soon we see it’s nothing like that. The rich characterisations and subtle surprises remind one more of PD James than Agatha Christie.

In this interview with The Big Thrill, Rheam shares further insight into her latest release and teases what she is working on next.

Bryony Rheam

Although your first book, This September Sun, also involves a murder, All Come To Dust is more of a murder mystery. Initially, the story seems to follow the framework of a typical detective story — the smart detective who is committed to the solution of the crime against the odds, the cast of suspects, the unreliable witnesses. It even has the final gathering of the suspects where everything is to be revealed. But you turn everything on its head. Was that always your plan, or did the context drive you in that direction?

I am a great Agatha Christie fan and always wanted to write a crime novel. Like Christie, I am not a great fan of a lot of violence; to me, unravelling the mystery is the most important thing. However, the classic Christie-type plot belongs very much to a time and a place, and it was obvious it would not work in Zimbabwe, despite our little English eccentricities that have survived 40 years after independence.

Many of the characters have some link to a type of crime writer: Craig, for example, reads an author called DP Radley (a fictional author) who chases fast cars and is surrounded by beautiful women; Mrs Whitstable reads Inspector Morse; Edmund reads The Saint. Yet none of these detectives seem to fit the location. They all seem to fall short in some way.

I suppose this is a reflection of the fact that I couldn’t use that same model of the detective story in the context of Bulawayo. The police are very unhelpful in Zimbabwe, and there is little in the way of forensic investigation, so I couldn’t rely on bringing in certain information in the same way. As I was writing, I became increasingly aware that the novel was not going to fit a certain model, and so I decided to undermine it instead.

Chief inspector Dube is an intriguing character. He’s smart and committed to solving the crime, but his back story suggests he has many deep issues of his own. We follow his childhood in Rhodesia as the son of a live-in maid whose apparently kindly white employers help him go to a good school and even with his homework every afternoon. How did you conceive him and his role in the novel?

A flame tree-lined street in Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwean police are not well-known for being either efficient or useful. During the Robert Mugabe days, they were synonymous with corruption. I thought there must be someone in the force who wanted to do a good job, someone who signed up with good intentions. That’s where Edmund came in.

The classic detective novel focuses on the crime at hand: who did it and why. There is not much detail about the investigator’s life. More recent crime novelists often present the investigator/police officer as a lonely person, someone who has given their life to solving crimes as an escape from the chaos of a dysfunctional family life, an unhappy marriage, or an inability to connect to others on a social level. In some ways, Edmund falls into this category as his marriage is not a happy one. However, he is also isolated at work, he is not taken seriously and is constantly put down. This forces him to go off on his own and work independently of the police force.

I am always drawn to the idea of an outsider. Edmund has never fitted in. He was one of a small group of black children who were let in to formerly white-only government schools in 1979. This was a very difficult time in the country’s history as it began to transition to majority rule. Edmund’s mother’s employers believe they are doing the right thing for Edmund by sending him there but are unaware of the challenges he faces. Later on in his life, Edmund again feels he does not belong when he joins the police force and is forced to take part in activities he does not agree with.

Edmund is intelligent and sensitive. He wants to do right in a country where everyone is very obviously doing wrong. He craves order and structure, hoping to put the world right by typing traffic offences and making sure forms are completed properly, yet outside is chaos and corruption. There is no room for people like him. It was very important for me to develop his back story and show how he came to be the sort of person he is. I liked the idea that he was solving a crime, and yet was also part of an unsolved mystery.

A house in Zimbabwe where the Pullmans may have lived

Marcia Pullman is the victim, but she and her husband are most unpleasant characters. Marcia dies in the first chapter, yet much of the book is about her and her impact on the people around her. By the end, we feel we know her well. Was it hard to build her character only through the eyes of the people who knew her?

I suppose in some ways I was unfair with Marcia, as, apart from the very beginning of the book, I don’t show her point of view. Everything the reader learns of her is through other people. However, I feel she is more symbolic than anything else. There is a new type of corruption in Zimbabwe which in some ways is quite difficult to explain. For years, people have pointed at the government as the main source of corruption, the implication being anyone else is not corrupt. I feel many white people in particular are like this. People fail to see how they themselves are drawn into the web of corruption. If they do acknowledge it, it is with the sense of “well, everyone else is doing it” or “how else are we supposed to survive?”

Perhaps ironically, there is no racism in this new type of corruption. Nigel Pullman teams up with the police, Marcia buys valuable antiques off old people (who would be mainly white) and gives them nothing for them.

Another view of the house

I based Marcia on someone I met who did this very thing. Back in 2000, when many people were leaving the country due to the farm invasions, she would buy up lots of valuable antiques and ship them to the UK. Many people had beautiful furniture that had been in their families for generations, but they did not really know what they were worth, tending to view them as old rather than antique. The same thing happened with old cars. You used to see lots of Morris Minors around, for example, typically driven by old ladies who had had them for years and years. Then buyers came from places like SA and bought them for a song. It was criminal.

Edmund identifies a cast of suspects: Marcia’s husband; the Pullmans’ maid and gardener; the peculiar neighbour; Janet Peters, who was bullied by her, and Janet’s invalid mother; a mysterious woman interested in her old records; and Craig Martin, who has threatened her. Each seems, in a way, to illustrate a different aspect of modern life in Bulawayo. Was that part of your plan for the novel?

Yes, it was. As well as writing a crime novel, I also wished to explore modern-day Zimbabwean society. We have all become increasingly isolated and lonely. This is due to politics and also the dire economic situation. There are those, like Marcia Pullman, who look after themselves at the expense of others, and there are those, like Dorcas, the maid, and like Janet Peters, who cannot stand up for themselves.

Craig is a handyman with poor business skills and low self-esteem. Edmund dragoons him to help with the investigation—staking out suspects, driving him around. Despite their wide differences, they seem to have features in common both in their adult lives and in their childhood pasts. Is this a yin and yang situation?

Craig and Edmund have much in common. They both had a traumatic event happen in their childhoods, and they are both essentially quite lonely characters, unable to connect to others.  However, Edmund is definitely much more organized and focused than Craig, who really is very lost. Somewhere along the line, they help each other. When Edmund asks Craig to do some investigating for him, it gives his life a sense of purpose, and he, in turn, can be of more practical help to Edmund.

Much of the story takes place in a historically white suburb near where the Pullmans live. Several of the inhabitants are hard up after the runaway inflation, but those that have access to hard currency—in one way or another—are doing much better. Did you set out to explore the effects of this modern dichotomy in the country?

Yes, definitely. Life in Zimbabwe has been very difficult over the last twenty years. Hyper inflation wiped out life savings and pensions for many people. The transition to the US dollar was very clumsily done as well, and many people lost money that way, too.  Sometimes it feels that almost everyone is doing something dodgy in order to earn US dollars! There is very little appeal in doing a conventional job as the salaries are so low. I think the older generation have been very badly hit. They struggle to survive on ridiculously small pensions, and really battle to understand the value of the currency as there is the official government rate of exchange and then the black market rate, which varies considerably. The divide between the haves and the have nots is widening considerably.

Would you tell us something about what you are working on now?

I have finished my third novel, The Dying of The Light, and it is at the editing stage. It is set in Bulawayo in the late 1930s and is told from the perspective of a house servant who works for a wealthy lawyer and his wife. I have started a book for young adults called Going Up.  It is set in modern-day Bulawayo and concerns a young man who has gotten into drinking and drugs. His wealthy grandfather gives him an ultimatum to get himself sorted out and hands him the responsibility of evicting vendors from an old department store that he owns and wishes to knock down. However, the young man soon begins to develop other plans for the building and sets out to restore it to its former glory.

Just lately, I have been thinking of another crime novel, and may even bring Edmund Dube back, this time as a private investigator. I think the crime genre is a perfect one in which to explore the decay at the heart of Zimbabwean society.

Michael Sears writes with Stanley Trollip under the name Michael Stanley. Their award-winning mystery series with Detective Kubu is set in Botswana, a fascinating country with magnificent conservation areas and varied peoples. The first book in a new series featuring Kubu as a young detective is Facets of Death, set when Kubu first becomes a detective and is faced with solving a diamond heist at the world’s richest diamond mine, Jwaneng. They also have a thriller Shoot the Bastards, which introduces Minnesotan environmental journalist Crystal Nguyen. Set mainly in South Africa, it has as backstory the vicious trade in rhino horn.

Michael has lived in South Africa, Kenya, Australia and the US.He now lives in Knysna on the Cape south coast of South Africa. 

All Come to Dust is published in Zimbabwe by amaBooks, co-published in the UK by amaBooks and Parthian Books and is available elsewhere throough the African Books Collective.

Bryony Rheam wins a 2021 Bulawayo Arts Award for All Come to Dust

All Come to Dust has won the Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction category at the 2021 Bulawayo Arts Awards. 

The Bulawayo Arts Awards are multi-disciplinary arts awards that recognise and honour exceptional individuals and collaborative artistic efforts in the city of Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South, as well as those from the region who are practicing arts elsewhere in the world.

This year there were over 24,000 submissions across all the categories of the awards, and Bryony is especially delighted to win the outstanding fiction award given the strength of all four of the shortlisted writers in that category.

The novel is published in Zimbabwe by amaBooks and is available in Bulawayo at Inganu Bookshop at the Orange Elephant, 12th Avenue Extension and in Harare at Bindu Books, 37 Victoria Drive, Newlands.

In the United Kingdom, it is co-published by amaBooks and Parthian Books and is available through all good bookshops as well as through www.parthianbooks.com/products/all-come-to-dust and online book outlets.

In North America and Australia/New Zealand it is available through www.africanbookscollective.com or Amazon.

The Full List of Award Winners:

Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction: All Come To Dust by Bryony Rheam

Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction: Our Food, Our Heritage, Our Culture by Makhosi Mahlangu

Outstanding Ndebele Literary Work: Ngubani Owabulalala uDube by Mihla Sitsha

Outstanding Song of the Year: ‘For Me’ – DJ Zandimaz

Newcomer of the Year (All Genres): Sandra Sibanda

Outstanding Male Artist of the Year: Msizkay

Outstanding Female Artist of the Year: Vuyo Brown

Outstanding Hip Hop Artist/Act: Awa

Outstanding Kwaito/House/Gqom Act: Mawiza

Outstanding Alternative Music: Thandy Dlana

Outstanding Gospel Artist/Act: Mai Mwamuka

Outstanding Imbube/Acapella Group/Act: Focus Accapella

Outstanding Tshibilika/Rhumba Act: Insimbi Zezhwane

Outstanding Music Producer: Nashville 

Outstanding Music Video: ‘Induku Enhle’ – X Mile

Outstanding Radio DJ: Nomalanga Nyathi – ZIFM

Outstanding Club DJ: DJ Mzoe

Outstanding Dance Ensemble: Geek Twins

Outstanding Female Dancer: Dorcas Ngwenya

Outstanding Male Dancer: Hebson Ncube

Outstanding Arts Journalist: Mthabisi Tshuma – The Chronicle

Outstanding Arts Photographer: Sadee LensWorks

Outstanding Online Media: Ekasi Magazine

Outstanding Theatre Actress: Musawenkosi Sibanda

Outstanding Theatre Actor: Cadrick Msongelwa

Outstanding Theatre Production: Bhalagwe Is Burning by Victory Siyanqoba

Outstanding Comedian: Zwe Hlabangana

Outstanding Poet: Desire Moyo

Outstanding Fashion Designer/House: A Tribe Called Zimbabwe

Outstanding Model: Ben Chest

Outstanding Ambassador (worldwide): Vusa Mkhaya

Outstanding TV Production/Programme: Mjolo FM – Byo Memes

Outstanding Short Film: Figure It Out – Nkosilesisa Ncube

Outstanding Film/TV Actress: Lee Mchoney – Wadiwa Wepamoyo

Outstanding Film/TV Actor: Leroy Mthulisi Ndlovu – Figure it Out

Life Achievement Award: Ebba Chitambo

People's Choice Award: Mai Mwamuka

A Love Letter From Wales to Zimbabwe

Reproduced from https://nation.cymru/culture/a-love-letter-from-wales-to-zimbabwe/ 

by Ashley Eyvanaki

Authors Bryony Rheam, John Eppel, Mzana Mthimkhulu, and Tariro Ndoro, with interviewers Tinashe Tafirenyika and James Arnett, at Intwasa Arts Festival in the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. 

amaBooks is an independent publisher based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. They specialise in Zimbabwean poetry, short stories, and contemporary novels, as well as a selection of local history and heritage titles. In recent years its founders, Jane Morris and Brian Jones, have relocated to Wales – Jane having been born in Ebbw Vale.

Whilst continuing to publish in Zimbabwe, they have formed a working relationship with Parthian Books, to whom they have sold the rights to several of their titles: the short story anthologies Where to Now? and Moving On, and the novels The Maestro, The Magistrate and The Mathematician by Tendai Huchu, and This September Sun by Bryony Rheam. 

Their most recent venture together is to co-publish the novel All Come to Dust, also by Bryony Rheam, a Zimbabwean author whose mother was Welsh.

Sitting down to interview the pair, I am amazed by how passionate both are about African literature. Although amaBooks primarily publishes in English, there are sixteen official languages in Zimbabwe.

In the isiNdebele language, spoken in Bulawayo and the surrounding provinces of Matabeleland, “ama” placed at the start of a word is equivalent to an “s” at the end of a word in English. They chose the name amaBooks to indicate that they publish books in English in an Ndebele cultural environment.

When I ask the couple about their journey into publishing, they laugh fondly and explain that they “Just stumbled into publishing.” Jane, also a social worker and social work trainer, was working with volunteers for Childline, when raising funds locally was discussed. A local poet offered a selection of his poems, and Jane and Brian volunteered to organise the publication.

One thousand copies were sold by the group, with all proceeds donated to Childline, and so amaBooks began. amaBooks have been steadily publishing a selection of books since 2001, with many having won awards, and rights having been sold to publishers across the world. amaBooks, and other African publishers, are part of the African Books Collective, who print and distribute many of their publications outside of Africa.

Welshman

The couple go on to talk about the deep-rooted historic link between Wales and Zimbabwe. In the nineteenth century, several missionaries from Wales, including Thomas Morgan Thomas and Bowen Rees, travelled to Zimbabwe to set up mission schools in Matabeleland. These schools have been instrumental in educating people who have gone on to become significant figures in Zimbabwean society.

As a result, the first name “Welshman” is one you hear in Matabeleland. Thomas Morgan Thomas translated and published several books into isiNdebele, and his book Eleven Years in Central Africa, published in both English and Welsh in 1873, is rumoured to have become the second best-selling book, following the Bible, in Wales during that period.

The literary connection between Wales and Matabeleland was rejuvenated following a Wales Arts International visit to Bulawayo in 2006. The links created led to Welsh writers Owen Sheers, Lloyd Robson, Ian Rowlands, and Peter Finch visiting Bulawayo, and some of their work being included in amaBooks publications. Owen, Lloyd, and Ian went on to participate in the annual Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo.

There are also challenges to publishing in Zimbabwe. Brian and Jane explained that the state of the economy remains the major difficulty, with over 90% of the adult population not in formal employment, and the wages of the majority of those in work being too low for many potential readers to actually buy a book – especially if it is not a school text. Libraries rarely acquire books from local publishers, relying instead on book donations from international donors.

Problems

The couple commented that amaBooks started at “The wrong time, just as the economy began its steep decline to the total collapse in 2008, from which it has yet to recover.” That decline led to other problems for the population, including publishers – a lack of fuel in the garages resulting in queuing for up to a week for petrol, frequent cuts in electricity supplies and, after many breakdowns, the end of telephone communication from where amaBooks were situated.

The majority of bookstores closed or concentrated solely on school textbooks. The shortage of food in the stores at one point necessitated monthly overnight trips to neighbouring Botswana to buy basic supplies.

The political environment proved to be a challenge for all in the creative industries in Zimbabwe. Although publishing has been less affected than many other arts sectors, there were occasions when the ruling party press printed comments about publishers whose work they considered did not follow the government line, such as “If you see a snake in your house playing with your child, you first kill the snake and save your child.” However, it was worse for other sectors of the creative industries.

A rehearsal of a play, written by two amaBooks writers, was interrupted by ‘security officials’, with two backstage workers taken away to a remote area and threatened at gunpoint – the performances were then cancelled! An exhibition by a visual artist, who had contributed a painting for an amaBooks book cover, was shut down at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. The artist was then charged with undermining the authority of the President, which carried a twenty-year prison sentence, although charges were eventually dropped

Jane with authors Hosea Tokwe, Beaven Tapureta, Ignatius Mabasa, and Fungai Machirori, at Zimbabwe International Book Fair, Harare. 

Joy

It is when we begin discussing the joys of publishing in Zimbabwe, that both Jane and Brian’s faces light up. “It was the smiles on the faces of writers when their first stories or poems had been accepted for publication, and the enthusiasm of the audiences at the launches – many couldn’t afford to buy a book, but they came to hear the readings and to just enjoy the occasion. And just being a part of a vibrant creative community.”

The book launches, attracting up to three hundred people at times, became celebrations across the arts, with both local music and the visual arts featuring. The couple go on to reveal that the majority of amaBooks’ publications use the work of Zimbabwean artists as the basis of their covers.

As our interview winds down and talk turns to what we plan to do with our weekends, I ask the couple one last question: What is their most cherished memory from working in publishing? For the first time in our almost two-hour long talk, they pause. Lost in their thoughts, both agree that one of their most cherished memories is of standing on the veranda of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe after a book launch, sipping glasses of wine and watching the people mingling below.

Both believe that publishing through amaBooks has opened up a whole new world within their lives, allowing them to experience the joy and laughter of publishing pieces and meeting the talented people behind them.

The murder-mystery novel All Come to Dust by Bryony Rheam, co-published by amaBooks and Parthian Books is available from Parthian now.

Bulawayo Arts Awards 2021 - Outstanding Literary Work -Fiction: The Nominees

The Bulawayo Arts Awards judges have shortlisted four books for the Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction category.

 Congratulations to: 

Bryony Rheam for All Come to Dust 

Ericah Gwetai for Where Were You

Nathaniel Mpofu for Novoric & Suri

Violette Kee-Tui for Mulberry Dreams

The Bulawayo Arts Awards are the leading awards in southern Zimbabwe - this year attracting over 27,000 entries from across the arts, with 36 different categories. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in Bulawayo's Large City Hall on 6 November.

All Come to Dust is published by amaBooks in Zimbabwe, Parthian Books and amaBooks in the United Kingdom, Al Arabi in Egypt, and is available in North America, Australia and New Zealand through the African Books Collective and Amazon.

Video of the online UK launch of All Come to Dust

For those who weren't able to attend the launch of the novel on 8 September, the video contains the interview of Bryony Rheam by Drew Shaw about her murder mystery novel All Come to Dust. It includes a discussion of the book as 'more than simply a standard murder mystery, but set in Zimbabwe', the process of writing and readings from the novel by Bryony.

All Come to Dust is now available in the UK through https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/all-come-to-dust , as well as through good bookshops and websites; in North America through https://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/all-come-to-dust and, as an ebook, Amazon.com; as an ebook in Australia/New Zealand through Amazon.com.au; and in Zimbabwe through Bindu Books in Harare (sales@bindu.co.zw) or the Orange Elephant in Bulawayo.

 

Invitation to the online launch of Bryony Rheam's All Come to Dust

 

This Wednesday at 7pm BST, join Bryony Rheam in conversation with Drew Shaw to celebrate the launch of her fabulous detective novel All Come to Dust.

Parthian Books of Wales and amaBooks of Zimbabwe are proud to present the UK launch of All Come to Dust, by award-winning Zimbabwean author Bryony Rheam.

Join us for the online launch of this fantastic new murder mystery, as Bryony Rheam discusses her writing, characters and practice, and reads extracts from All Come to Dust. This event will premier on the Parthian YouTube channel on Wednesday 8th September at 7pm BST. Reserve your free ticket to receive a link on the day. There will be a live chat for audience interaction during the event screening. 

FREE tickets are available on this link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-all-come-to dust-by-bryony-rheam-tickets-168285669969

 

All Come to Dust is available to order from Parthian Books: https://www.parthianbooks.com/products/all-come-to-dust

Reviews of Bryony Rheam's All Come to Dust

 

Wow!  I haven’t had a book captivate me like this one in a long time.  I intended to just read a chapter to get a feel for it and 100 pages in I was in heaven.

This is a great plot for me personally.  At its most basic, this is a murder mystery set in current day Zimbabwe.  It evolves into something so much more to include issues of repressed memories, trauma, racism, colonialism, family and mental health.  Instead of telling us about these issues, we are shown through narrative, the effects of past decisions and events on current everyday lives of the individuals and their families.  I love books where I’m entertained as I learn that this is very well accomplished here.   There is often a bit of a philosophical tone which I quite enjoyed.  

Our main investigator is not the typical hunky detective type, rather an insecure male who is very aware of his flaws and is consciously working on his self-confidence.  I loved Edmund for the first half of this novel as he proves himself not to be as pathetic as he would have led us to believe.  There are some unexpected twists to his story that I did not anticipate, and I ended the book not quite as enamoured with him.  Human beings are not perfect and none of the characters in this book is without fault.  I love how real and flawed they are.  

 The plight of a poor white man in a newly independent African nation was engrossing.  We get to know Craig pretty well and his back story is most intriguing.   Rheam gradually reveals each player to the reader when his/her that perspective is revisited, and they all grow in complexity and the reader grows in understanding.   Mrs. Whitstable was the biggest surprise for me.  We get to know a few of the “good” characters quite well but none of the bad guys.  I’d have liked to see some of the story from Marcia or Mr Pullman’s perspective.  Many subplots were woven together for a satisfying ending.  I do have a few questions though, especially regarding the plight of the women who were transported over the border.  

There is a wonderful sense of place; smells, sounds, sights transported me to Bulawayo.  The writing is amazingly easy to read, and it moves everything along every quickly.  The use of some local language is perfectly integrated so that I never felt I had to look something up.   

I loved this book and look forward to more from a highly talented author.  I will be checking out her other novel, This September Sun, as soon as I can.  (Mary S. Educator, Netgalley)

All Come to Dust is a novel by a Zimbabwean set in modern Zimbabwe. On the surface it is a classic—and very complex—mystery. But I felt throughout as though there was a literary novel behind the scenes attempting to show itself behind the screen of a conventional mystery. The writing is often quite lovely, and the story is told from various points of view, each one shedding light not only on the diverse characters but also on the details of living in Zimbabwe. Add to this the fact that much of the suspense concerns the characters’ pasts, not the present murders of a disliked middle-class white woman, and you have a book that feels much more like literary fiction than a genre novel.

The mystery suffers somewhat. Its resolution is extremely clever, with one of those endings where you discover that every character’s story is an interlocking piece of the puzzle; but the clues leading up to the resolution are somewhat murky, often requiring cultural knowledge the average reader may not have (I didn’t). It takes a plot strategist and practiced writer like Agatha Christie to pull off the sleight of hand of showing the clues in such a way as to make them ignored but present enough in the subconscious for an “Aha—that was it!” moment at the end. This was not such a mystery, though it has enough of the trappings of a mystery to make the reader wonder exactly what it is trying to be. The reader who wants to be sure of the clues may need to reread the book—and this is a book that would stand up to rereading, primarily because of the vivid picture of Zimbabwe.

I found myself highlighting often, because of the vivid passages about Zimbabwe. Bryony Rheam’s slow, observant, and graceful writing calls to life the dusty roads, the smell of grasses, and the blossoms tossing in the trees, while limning an elderly generation of impoverished British non-leavers, a sleazy group of exploitative whites, and a mixed race underclass attempting only to find a job and make a contented life in a country where not even the electricity and water can be relied on. Bryony Rheam writes of this country with authority and astuteness. In Zimbabwe, she has found her ordained setting. I am not certain that the mystery is her genre. But I am sure she is a writer to watch; and I look forward to her next book with considerable eagerness. (Helen Aristar-dry - Goodreads)

Initially assuming that All Come To Dust was a straightforward murder mystery, I was impressed to find that actually Rheam is doing something much more intricate and important here. Rather than a No 1 Ladies Detective Agency-style southern African comic romp of a mystery novel, All Come To Dust instead grapples with difficult issues of colonialism, racism, mental health, and memory. The insights into the lives of the remaining white population of Zimbabwe were fascinating while clear-eyed: the reader is encouraged to sympathise with certain of them, but also reminded of their privilege. Highly recommended. (Janet B, Netgalley)

All Come to Dust is a long-simmering stew, with the raw-ingredients of an old-fashioned detective mystery and the mélange of spices of post-colonial Zimbabwe breaking down and melding together to offer up something far more than you might have expected when you started. The writing itself is incredibly patient, only revealing itself slowly and at its own measured pace. But within it Rheam is able to slowly develop an assortment of characters. Each time we revisit someone we learn more about them, forcing us to be patient as they reveal themselves. Similarly, the sense of place is intense. I have never visited Zimbabwe, but the writing instantly brought me to Bulawayo, from the scent of the flowers in the trees to the piles of utterly useless bureaucratic paperwork at the police station. Without ever being heavy handed, the occasional use of vernacular language combined with really specific sensory descriptions to really make the setting its own character, and one that affects every other character in their own way.

The characters are well drawn out, if slowly, just playing on enough of tropes or archetypes to let the reader assume they know something prematurely. The story itself is both riveting and small, or enclosed, at the same time. It takes its time unspooling, and offers enough red herrings mixed with its clues along the way that you want to keep reading and don’t feel cheated out of a proper resolution. All the while it is a portrait of how class, race, and gender still function in contemporary Zimbabwe, not as much an indictment as it is just a laying bare of how injustice and privilege are still baked into everyday life, and the efforts different people take to escape such social shackles. 

If you’re interested in a compelling detective story, you can find that here, and although surely this novel wraps itself in that affectation it is more than that. It was a joy to read, even as it slowed me down and insisted I take it at its own pace. Every aspect, from characters, to story, to writing, was deliberate and nothing felt rushed or hackneyed. The latter third of the book did feel a little more rushed than the first parts, though that is part and parcel with whodunits. There were some things that wrapped up a little too neatly, or quickly, again common in the genre but it didn’t feel entirely fitting with the rest of the story. It wasn’t enough to feel unearned, though, and the incredibly memorable primary character, who himself was more than just a copy-and-paste genre detective but actually someone who experienced growth and development throughout the story, was more than enough to give this novel high marks and a hearty recommendation. (Gyalten Lekden, Netgalley and Goodreads)

All Come to Dust is available:

 In the UK for pre-order from www.parthianbooks.com/products/all-come-to-dust  (UK Publication Date is September 2021). 

In Bulawayo  through Inganu Bookshop at the Orange Elephant, River Estate, 12th Avenue Extension, Bulawayo (WhatsApp 0772 851 609 or 0733 781 246).

In Harare through Bindu Books, 37 Victoria Drive, Newlands (0242 782720 or sales(at)bindu.co.zw).

in North America through the African Books Collective: https://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/all-come-to-dust

As as an ebook in North America: https://www.amazon.com/All-Come-Dust-Bryony-Rheam-ebook/dp/B094RJHMCJ

and in Australia and New Zealand: https://www.amazon.com.au/All-Come-Dust-Bryony-Rheam-ebook/dp/B094RJHMCJ

NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies to book advocates and industry professionals. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley community to discover, request, read, and review.

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10 Thrilling African Noir Novels

 T.L. Huchu chooses his favourite African noir novels in Publishers Weekly.

He has this to say about Bryony Rheam's All Come to Dust:

'Murdered white people are problematic for detectives across the continent—they’re harder for law enforcement to ignore. In this stunning crime debut, Chief Inspector Edmund Dube must investigate the murder of Marcia Pullman, which dredges up a mystery from his own childhood. Interwoven into the narrative is the story of a nation that has lost its way. Agatha Christie readers will love this book, and that’s not just because Rheam won the “Write Your Own Christie” competition in 2015.'

The list is available from https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/86895-10-thrilling-african-noir-novels.html

All Come to Dust in the USA, Australia and New Zealand

 Bryony Rheam's All Come to Dust is now available as an ebook

in North America: https://www.amazon.com/All-Come-Dust-Bryony-Rheam-ebook/dp/B094RJHMCJ

and in Australia and New Zealand: https://www.amazon.com.au/All-Come-Dust-Bryony-Rheam-ebook/dp/B094RJHMCJ

The book is also available in print in North America through the African Books Collective: https://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/all-come-to-dust

More news of Bryony Rheam's All Come to Dust

The UK cover of All Come to Dust

The Zimbabwe cover of All Come to Dust

Firstly, a Netgalley review of All Come to Dust:

'Initially assuming that All Come to Dust was a straightforward murder mystery, I was impressed to find that actually Rheam is doing something much more intricate and important here. Rather than a No 1 Ladies Detective Agency-style southern African romp of a mystery novel, All Come to Dust instead grapples with difficult issues of colonialism, racism, mental health and memory. The insights into the lives of the remaining white population of Zimbabwe were fascinating while clear-eyed: the reader is encouraged to sympathise with certain of them, but also reminded of their privilege. Highly recommended.'

and, secondly, 

 Bryony Rheam's interview on  Bindu Books' Meet the Author is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=355420919375164

Bryony Rheam in conversation with Drew Shaw

 Reproduced from https://www.centre-for-english-excellence.com/articles/bryony-rheam-in-conversation-with-drew-shaw-in-bulawayo-may-2021

Congratulations, Bryony, on the launch of your latest novel, All Come to Dust (which was published by amaBooks in 2020)! It’s an intriguing, markedly different follow-up, in many ways, to your acclaimed debut novel This September Sun (published by amaBooks in 2009), which topped the Amazon UK charts, won the Best First Book at the Zimbabwe Publishers Awards, and later became an A-level English text in Zimbabwe. Both novels have also been published by Parthian in Wales. In 2006 you won the Intwasa Arts Festival Short Story Competition, and more recently you won a ‘Write your own Christie’ award and a Morland scholarship, so you have an accumulated list of achievements.  In addition to writing, you teach at Girls’ College where you are the head of the English Department, and I know you have a partner and two daughters and numerous other commitments. When do you find time to write, and have you got any tips for aspiring writers?

There is never enough time to write, but somewhere along the line, I manage to fit it in. I don’t do as much as I would like though. I think time is a funny thing – the more you have of it, the more you waste. I didn’t realise this until my eldest daughter was born. I used to write when she was asleep, and I really made use of the time. It’s surprising how much you can do in twenty minutes if you put your mind to it. There is a lot of wasted time in the day. At one time, I used to write while I was cooking. I’d sit at the kitchen table and just write whatever came to me in the few minutes it took for a pot to boil! I think you just have to do it. Don’t think: I have to sit down and write a novel; think, I have to write something. Even a couple of lines is a start.

 

I know you were born in Kadoma in 1974, moved to Bulawayo when you were young and attended Whitestone Primary School then Girls’ College, and you’ve lived in England, Singapore and Zambia before returning to Zimbabwe. Can you tell us about your journey to becoming an author. What was your earliest inspiration?

I have always wanted to be a writer and can remember putting together little books I had made when I was about six. They were about three tiny pages long! My biggest inspiration, I think, was Enid Blyton. I know some people don’t think much of her writing, particularly these days, but I loved her books. When I was about 13, I read her biography. She may not have been the nicest of people, but she was a very astute businesswoman. She was the first writer, never mind woman, to trademark her signature and her book sales made her into a very wealthy person.

You have written several short stories in addition to your novels: for example, in the Short Writings from Bulawayo series - stories such as ‘The Queue’, ‘Something about Tea’, ‘The Rhythm of Life’, ‘Miss Parker and the Tugboat' and ‘The Piano Tuner'. Then there is ‘The Reunion', for which you won the Intwasa Arts Festival competition in 2006, and also ‘Christmas’ in Weaver Press’s Laughing Now collection. Are there any plans to publish these as a collection? And do you prefer the short story or the novel form: is the writing process similar or quite different?

Parthian and amaBooks want to publish a collection, probably next year. I like writing short stories, especially if you just want to capture a particular moment or idea. It is still quite a lengthy process though, although sometimes I just get an idea and write it really quickly.

This September Sun is a novel about two main characters Ellie and Evelyn, a granddaughter and grandmother who form a close bond and have overlapping stories from different eras. The lives of both are lived mostly in Zimbabwe yet partly in the UK. Although it is fictional, many have remarked on how ‘real’ This September Sun reads - almost like a memoir. Who or what inspired Ellie and Evelyn, and were you able to draw on your own or other people’s real-life experiences in any way?

 

Yes, everyone thinks it is an autobiographical novel – and it is in many ways, but it also isn’t. I drew on many incidents from real life, for example the fact that Ellie doesn’t like swimming and doesn’t feel she fits into Zimbabwean society. That was very much me. Some of the incidents, I exaggerated or changed in some way.

My real grandmother was a lovely lady who had had a fairly troubled life. She was funny and clever, but had never really been given the chance to develop herself and her talents. Her son was killed in a car accident when he was 21 and she was, understandably, totally devastated by his death. This happened five years before I was born, but it dominated the early part of my life. I remember lots of tears, heated arguments, and various people trying to help her. I didn’t realise until I started writing This September Sun how much I had been affected by my uncle’s death and I had never met him. Sometimes I found myself crying whilst writing. It was the overwhelming sadness of the situation and the fact that, as a child, there was so much I didn’t understand.

Evelyn is quite different to my grandmother, yet I felt that in some way I was giving my grandmother an alternative story to live. It was a ‘what if she had done this instead of that?’

I’m sure you were delighted when This September Sun was chosen to become a set book in Zimbabwean schools, which means a wide spectrum of pupils are now reading it. 

Have you got any thoughts on why it was chosen; and what do you hope young readers will get out of it?

It's funny, I don’t actually know why it was chosen. I didn’t think that it would the kind of book ZIMSEC would like, but I am glad they did. A young reader once wrote to me and thanked me for writing This September Sun as it gave them an insight into white Zimbabwean society. I feel that in many African novels, white people are portrayed as ‘bad’ or, at best, very hard, unemotional people. What I hope readers will see is a common humanity, a life that we all share whatever our skin colour. People suffer loss, love, joy and hatred whoever they are and wherever they are.

Your two novels are quite different in terms of genre, yet there is some overlap in terms of Mystery. This September Sun is part epistolary, part Bildungsroman, Romance and Mystery, as John Eppel has described it. On the other hand All Come to Dust is mostly Murder Mystery, within the category of Crime Fiction. Did you always want to write a Whodunnit, and can you explain the transition to this genre?

I have always loved crime fiction. I don’t like violent crime or plots concerning psychopaths and that sort of thing! I enjoy the puzzle – working out a character’s motivation and trying to decide which clues are meaningful and which are red herrings. I therefore thought I would like to try writing my own. When I finished it, I thought ‘never again’, but now I have a couple of plot ideas for other mysteries. I think in future I would make them shorter though and more specifically ‘crime’. All Come to Dust is a crime novel, but it is also a comment on Zimbabwean society. I think I might be tempted to leave that out next time.

 

In fact both your novels are ‘two in one’ type stories. In This September Sun we have the separate yet linked narratives of Ellie and Evelyn. In All Come to Dust we have the mystery of ‘Who killed Marcia Pullman?’ but also the strange disappearance of Chief Inspector Edmund Dube’s adoptive parents. What attracted you to this ‘two-pronged’ approach? And was it hard to do?

I like the idea of different perspectives, how different people can view the same incident differently. I also like exploring the idea that the past is always with us, and that often, in order to understand the present, we need to go back to the past. I didn’t find it difficult to do, although with Ellie and Evelyn I had to always be aware of creating two different characters.

Why did you decide to set your fiction, most of it, in Bulawayo? Does the city hold special significance for you?

I think it’s always easier to write about a place you know and have a connection with. Some of This September sun was set in the UK, and I felt I could do that because I had lived there. I don’t know if I would be so confident about doing that now, having been away from it so long. Bulawayo is an interesting place, a real mix of people and different attitudes. When I was growing up, there were a lot of very strict, no nonsense, school teacher types. Many of them had come out to Africa at the end of the Second World War and they embodied the way of thinking of that time. However, as I got older, there was a growth in quite an arty, different sort of crowd. There was an influx of expats after 1980 and I think they influenced Bulawayo society which was generally very conservative. Bulawayo has always attracted rather different types. If you are looking for an expert on anything, from butterflies to 5th century Japanese architecture, you don’t have to go very far!

In This September Sun you explore travelling and belonging: Ellie can’t wait to ‘escape’ overseas, then ends back in Bulawayo, re-examining where she really belongs. In All Come to Dust, your diverse set of characters all struggle, to varying extents, to establish their place and purpose in a Bulawayo community. But it’s Chief Inspector Edmund Dube who perhaps grapples most with his own identity and sense of belonging - an outsider in so many respects. I’m very interested in these themes. Were you consciously exploring them?

Until I wrote This September Sun, I don’t think I appreciated how many people consider themselves to be outsiders – I thought I was the only one! I suppose it’s inevitable in a way when you have a mix of people from different countries and cultures in one place. I always found white society very narrow and one where you were expected very much to fit in. If you didn’t fit in, you were out. Simple. It was only when I came back to Bulawayo after being away for about eight years, that I began to realise that, in my own way, I had been equally as narrow. This is what Ellie discovers after her grandmother’s death. She had always thought Miles, Evelyn’s boyfriend, was a typical ‘Rhodie’, but actually he is the one who reads Shakespeare.

In All Come To Dust, all the main characters struggle with a sense of loss and a feeling of not being on the inside. Here, I was more open to the idea that even people who appear to fit in – Craig, the archetypal Bulawayo man, Edmund, the police officer – don’t. Marcia Pullman is the kind of person who lets you know whether you belong or not according to whether you are invited to her book club and bridge parties. Nobody particularly likes her, but they will never challenge her because they are afraid of being left out. I feel this is very relevant in Zimbabwean society. The people with money call the shots, even socially.

Edmund has never felt he really fitted in, but he does not appreciate this as a strength, which, of course, it is. He was the only black boy in a white school just before Independence, and he’s also determined to fight crime without getting involved in corruption. I think his early experience of being isolated prepares him to be able to stand alone as an adult.

I think you have a trademark style, in terms of Zimbabwean literature at least. Your descriptions of time and place, mood and character are incredibly detailed. There is a carefully-observed picture of what’s on the street or in a house, or what characters had for supper, a focus on every-day minutia - and one might call this a classic realist style. At the same time, your protagonists engage in quite detailed interior monologues - reflections, observations, and heightened self-reflexivity (Ellie, most notably, in This September Sun) that might be called modernist. So there’s a simultaneous exploration of the external and internal in your work. How did you develop this style and was it a conscious choice? It also seems you write longer books than most Zimbabwean authors - a joy for your reading fans, but probably time consuming on your part. What are the challenges, and were you inspired by any authors in particular?

Thank you for saying I have a trademark style – that is quite a compliment! There are times when I look at the size of my books and think, ‘Bryony, you need to stop writing.’ To me, a setting is very important – that and atmosphere. I like little details because I think they can tell the reader so much, and when I write I have a picture in my mind. I can see the person stirring the tea and the tea whirling round. I don’t know if I could write differently. It may take more time, but I don’t think I would feel it was me if I didn’t write like this. I have taken parts out though when editing. An author I love is Scott Fitzgerald. I wouldn’t claim to write like him, but he has definitely been an influence. Another writer is Virginia Woolf – I like the attention she gives to the small, everyday details that are part of our lives.

All Come to Dust has struck chords with a wide age range in Bulawayo. I met an eighty-nine-year-old lady who loved it, as did my twelve-year-old nephew who commandeered his mother’s copy and got similarly engrossed. Do you have any thoughts on why the detective genre has a broad appeal? What appeals about the Whodunnit and does it allow you to explore society in a particular way?

I met someone once who told me she had no interest at all in murder mysteries. She said she really did not care who ‘did it’. I believe she is the exception to the rule; so many people enjoy trying to work out who ‘the murderer is’. There are those who can just read or watch something for pure entertainment and never think about twists and turns and how you as a reader/viewer are being manipulated, and there are others who enjoy the challenge of trying to work it out. Once you get into a habit of reading crime, you realise you are also actively involved in the novel. Your understanding and interpretation of events is part of the novel’s success or failure. I think that can be quite fun.

As a writer, I think crime does allow you to explore society in a different way. What I love about Agatha Christie is that she creates these beautiful quaint English villages that are seething with murderers. She believed everyone is capable of murder, and that’s a very frightening thought. Modern crime suggests that murderers are psychopaths and easily identifiable as such. That’s where it all goes wrong. You finish the book and feel separate from the murderer: he was just some nut case who had an unhealthy relationship with his mother. It’s much more unsettling to discover the nice old lady who serves tea and biscuits every Sunday at church has been slowly knocking off members of the congregation because she didn’t want her past to come to light.

Who or what was the inspiration for Chief Inspector Edmund Dube in All Come to Dust and are we likely to see him again?

I was drawn to the idea of a policeman who wanted to do a good job. He wanted to solve a crime and was tired of the police force being something of a laughing stock. I also like the idea of a policeman with his own issues, his own darkness that needs healing. A couple of people have asked me if I would write another book with him in it, and initially I said no, but now I am thinking he could go out on his own as a private investigator. That might be an idea.

The hapless Craig Martin, in All Come to Dust, my nephew’s favourite character, provides a certain amount of comic relief. Who or what inspired him?

I love Craig! I am so glad I gave him a haircut at the end. Craig was initially in a short story I was developing. He wasn’t as lonely in the story as he did have friends, but they were all married with children and he couldn’t seem to get his life together. I had a boyfriend when I was about 18, who drove a Renault. It was a slightly different model to Craig’s. He also had a mullet (but it was OK then because it was 1992!) He had a very different character to Craig though.

Both your novels are about solving mysteries and uncovering secrets, which seems to drive the plot. Can you talk about your interest in mysteries and secrets, and how easy or difficult is it to structure a novel around them?

I have always absolutely loved mysteries and secrets. I think it all started with reading The Secret Garden as a child, and all those Famous Five books where they discovered treasure and secret passageways!

I think every family has secrets, and those secrets only come out over a period of time. You get different versions of the truth from different people and, of course, the very idea of an absolute truth is flawed. Memories change, feelings change, motivation changes. We all have family myths, stories that are handed down as truths, but have inevitably been changed. However, it is important to know these. I think they are part of who we are.

Can you tell us about what you are working on at present? What’s it called and what will it be about?

Earlier on in the year, I finished The Dying of the Light, a novel set in Bulawayo in the late 1930s, which involves around an incident at a place called Bisset Hall, an institution moulded loosely on Ingutsheni. I have now started a novel which I think will be more for young adults, although I hope it is the type of book that everyone will enjoy. It is about a young man who has ruined his life through drink and drugs. His very well-off grandfather gives him a challenge which is to manage a very big, old departmental store in Bulawayo that is currently divided into little shops. He is told he can do anything with it, as long as he clears everyone out. What he doesn’t know is that his grandfather is essentially using him to empty the building, which he has other plans for. Meanwhile, the young man sets about restoring the shop to its former glory, even going as far as trying to recruit some of the old staff or their family members.

Have you got any thoughts about other Zimbabwean writers and writing at the present moment?

I think Zimbabwean writing has been a bit in the doldrums and needs some sort of boost. One of the most promising writers at the moment is Siphiwe Ndlovu. I just loved her book, The History of Man. I find it frustrating, however, that the best writing often comes from outside the country. It’s hard to be a writer here. It’s impossible to make enough money to live on. I really feel we need things like competitions with big prizes, scholarships and sponsorship.

That would be nice. I think there's nevertheless a lot of excellent writing coming out of Zimbabwe as well as the Diaspora. Conventional publishing opportunities seem to have shrunk here... But it's nevertheless nice to see award winners such as Siphiwe Ndlovu coming back to Bulawayo to work on new writing. It was a real achievement for you both to win Morland Scholarships to continue your work, and I very much enjoyed our discussion about the City of Kings as a character in your novels. It's wonderful also that you yourself returned from several years in the Diaspora, and I have an idea there's symbiotic overlap and interchange between those writing from within Zimbabwe and without (a topic perhaps for another discussion). Let’s hope we can continue promoting the value of literature in Bulawayo and beyond. Bryony, thank you very much for the conversation.