Mike Nicol, for all his other impressive inventions as an author and a journalist, finds himself in the vanguard of the recent rise and rise of the South African crime novel. And in 'Payback', more than 'Out to Score' which he co-wrote with Joanne Hitchens, one finds good reason for this growing reputation as a top rate crime writer. Deon Meyer, Margie Orford and Andrew Brown, inter alia, are together with Nicol attracting both local and international attention to the South African crime novel with their books being translated into other languages, including Polish.

'Payback' is as good as — if not the best of — what has been produced out of this bumper crop, mainly because of its originality. That, and a very fast plot soaked in suspense, makes it utterly compelling — so much so that one finds oneself (naughtily) skim reading to find out what's happened next to relieve the agony.

But unlike so many of the genre the world over, there is no "pissed off" lieutenant or boss and no booze-sodden brilliant cop who is about to throw his career away. In a sense to cliché (and force that into being a verb) these characters like that in such an original and refreshing local setting somehow undoes the very reality and novelty of that setting. It's fantastic to read a crime novel that talks of Long Street, for example — you know exactly what's being referred to and can take a position on it: good perspective, bad perspective and all that.

Set originally around the time of the Pagad-centred violence of ten years ago and with sharp insight into developments in our society over this decade, 'Payback', like a trendy designer, takes us to New York, Milan and Santiago before reveling in the unfettered, hedonistic Mother City. Oh, and post apocalyptic Luanda features too.

It's a trip only slightly undermined by the directness of Nichol's heroes' names: Mace and Pylon. To me they evoke images of two giant topless WWF wrestlers. There is also a quasi villain called Ducky Donald who is hard to take seriously. Quack.

Without giving too much away, Mace and Bishop are two former MK operatives (it is assumed, there are a few masked references to real characters, such as the Shaik brothers) who became gun runners. Someone is out to exact revenge — probably the shadowy, gloved Pagad lawyer Judith February. In the process Mace's (mixed race) daughter is crippled and it becomes his turn for, yes, Payback.

Throw in gay Milanese designers, ex lovers, international hitmen, drug traders, gamefarms, night club owners, arms dealers, mean bouncers, a discovered slave graveyard (ala Prestwich street and you have an eclectic cocktail with possibly an ingredient or two too many. It does make for a thoroughly entertaining ride, but like a loop on a roller coaster, you find yourself a bit breathless, wondering 'what happened there?'

But that is credit to Nicol and his fast-paced, entertaining style, with some dark humour to provoke a wry smile. Although there is hard-to-avoid cliché in some areas and, like his peers' works, it is very politically correct, his prose is not flowery, yet it is descriptive — much like the authentic dialogue.

'Payback' is gripping throughout; don't forget to buckle up.