DAISY DE MELKER, hiding among killers in the City of Gold

326pp., illus., maps, paperback, Johannesburg, 2023

South African nurse Daisy de Melker (1886-1932) was accused of poisoning two husbands with strychnine for their life insurance money, and poisoning her only son with arsenic. Convicted for the murder of her son she was condemned to death and hanged on 30 December 1932 at Pretoria Central Prison.

"With excellent research, great writing and a whole parade of captivating criminal characters, Botha has created an instant classic. Much more than a fresh look at deadly Daisy, it brings to life a captivating time and place. Totally enthralling. I devoured it." Deon Meyer, author of the thrillers Icarus and The Last Hunt

"Ted Botha writes about terrible things with verve and compassion. Like the city of Joburg itself, this deep-dive into the history of South Africa’s most notorious female serial killer is a shiny, gutsy, gritty, and utterly electrifying thing." Lauren Beukes, author of Zoo City

Journalist and author Ted Botha has worked for Reuters in New York and has been published in The New York Times, Esquire, The Telegraph, Condé Nast Traveler and Outside. His books include Apartheid in my Rucksack, the forensic thriller The Girl with the Crooked Nose, and Flat/White, about living as an immigrant in a tenement building in Harlem, New York.