Women and Crime in Post-Transitional South African Crime Fiction

In this ground-breaking study, Sabine Binder analyses the complex ways in which female crime fictional victims, detectives and perpetrators in South African crime fiction resonate with widespread and persistent real crimes against women in post-apartheid South Africa. Drawing on a wide range of crime novels written over the last decade, Binder emphasises the genre’s feminist potential and critically maps its political work at the intersection of gender and race. Her study challenges the perception of crime fiction as a trivial genre and shows how, in South Africa at least, it provides a vibrant platform for social, cultural and ethical debates, exposing violence, misogyny and racism and shedding light on the problematics of law and justice for women faced with crime.

Sabine Binder is a senior lecturer at the Zurich University of Teacher Education. She has published on South African crime fiction, gender and teaching methodology.

“Die vorliegende Analyse zeigt auf, dass der südafrikanische Kriminalroman sich als Plattform für eine soziale, kulturelle und ethische Debatte versteht.”
- Thomas Przybilka, BoKAS – Bonner Krimi Archiv Sekundärliteratur Germany, in Der Krimi-Tipp Sekundärliteratuur Vol. 71 2021 pp. 5-6