Land. Race. Murder. Betrayal. These Are Not Gentle People is the true story of a case that broke a South African town – by BBC Africa Correspondent Andrew Harding.

‘Look what the fucking dogs did to them, someone muttered. No-one mentioned the rope, or the monkey-wrench, or the gun, or the knife, or the stick, or the whip, or the blood-stained boots. In fact, no-one said much at all. It seemed simpler that way. There was no sense in pointing fingers.’

At dusk, on a warm evening in 2016, a group of 40 men gathered in the corner of a dusty field on a farm outside Parys in the Free State. Some were in fury. Others treated the whole thing as a joke – a game. The events of the next two hours would come to haunt them all. They would rip families apart, prompt suicide attempts, breakdowns, divorce, bankruptcy, threats of violent revenge and acts of unforgivable treachery.

These Are Not Gentle People is the story of that night, and of what happened next. It’s a murder story, a courtroom drama, a profound exploration of collective guilt and individual justice, and a fast-paced literary thriller.

When a whole community is on trial, who pays the price?

Listen to an excerpt from the audiobook, read by Roger Davis:

Categories International Non-fiction South Africa South African Current Affairs

Tags Andrew Harding Audiobooks Pan Macmillan SA These Are Not Gentle People