Who Killed Piet Barol?: A Novel

Piet Barol is impersonating a French aristocrat and runs a furniture business along with his wife, despite his humble Dutch beginnings. When the household experiences severe financial trouble, Piet manipulates a personal rival into offering him a job so he can keep his status. After enlisting the help of two house hands, Ntisina and Luvo, Piet sets off deep into the forest to Ntsina’s home village in search of quality wood he can use at no cost. The village is struggling with its own internal chaos, however, and Piet realizes that his “simple” request will be more problematic than he thought.

There was a lot to unpack, and the plot was very involved. While the title question alone was an interesting hook to keep interest, the story hit a point of chaos, maintained to the end. In a novel that not only tells a story about a man trying to save his family, it also tells a story about the Xhosi people and their culture. Piet wants their sacred ancestor trees, and Who Killed Piet Barol tells us what happens to the con man who will not take no for an answer.