Now You Suffer – A new thriller by bestselling South African author Gareth Crocker

6 Dec 2024

Detective Ruben Ellis wants to die. The only reason he hasn’t killed himself is because he first needs to hunt down the man who kidnapped and murdered his daughter.

Meanwhile, another victim is being held captive in a twisted underground dystopia. But does Ruben have enough will left to find her in time? Can his partner, Zander, and his brilliant therapist, Melissa, help him unravel a mystery as dark and unseen as the gold mines that run deep beneath the streets of Johannesburg? And will they discover the mind-bending truth about Thing — the deeply troubled figure in the basement?

Read an excerpt from Now You Suffer, a chilling and wholly unforgettable thriller — the first in bestselling author Gareth Crocker’s riveting new Ruben Ellis series.

***

An irritated Ruben sat in the waiting room of Melissa Grove’s office, thumbing through case notes on his phone. His appointment with the renowned but apparently unconventional counsellor was supposed to have started twenty minutes ago. Whether brilliant or not, Ruben was not a fan of her slapdash timekeeping and was rapidly running out of patience. The receptionist, an attractive brunette with piercing green eyes that seemed two sizes too large for her face, was staring intently at something on her laptop.

“Excuse me,” Ruben called out. “Do you know how much longer she’s going to be? My appointment was for twenty minutes ago.”

Big eyes looked up from her screen. “I’m sorry. Sometimes the sessions run over.”

“May I ask why?”

“Well, it’s mostly when Melissa’s made some kind of breakthrough. She can’t just end the session. It’s critical that she takes her time.”

Ruben raised an eyebrow. “A breakthrough? Does that happen a lot?”

“It does, actually. She’s very good at what she does.”

The receptionist turned to scratch her neck and Ruben noticed that the left side of her head was shaved. Given how long the rest of her hair was, it should have looked ridiculous but somehow it suited her, gave her an edge to offset the Disney-enhanced eyes.

“So I keep hearing,” Ruben replied. “So I take it you believe in all this?”

“You mean therapy? Oh, yes. Definitely. I’ve seen how clients are when they arrive for the first time and how they change. In the end, they’re completely different people.”

“You sure that’s a good thing? Maybe they’ve just been brainwashed?”

“Maybe,” she smiled. “But most look really happy. So it can’t be all bad.”

“Uh-huh,” Ruben replied, then decided to change gears. “So I hear she’s a little unconventional?”

“That’s true. Some of what she does you won’t find in any textbook. But she gets results.”

“Right,” he said. He was going to leave it at that, but then his curiosity got the better of him. “So what kind of things does she do?”

“Well, it depends on the client. She’ll often compile a detailed background on the individual ahead of time, which will include whatever it is they’re struggling with, and then she’ll work out a specific plan for them.”

“Such as?”

“Okay, well, let’s take you, for example. You’re a detective who spends his life observing people and scenarios. Looking for important details and clues that others miss. So what she might want to do is, say, replicate that… and pretend to be a receptionist so that she can study you in plain sight.”

Ruben flinched as the penny dropped. “You’re not the receptionist.”

“Welcome to the party,” Melissa Grove replied. “Frankly, I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t figure it out. I thought you were this hot-shot detective?”

Ruben felt his face flush. “So we’ve just met and the first thing you do is insult me?”

“No,” she said, then pointed to the camera in the ceiling. “You see that giant camera? The one that’s aimed directly at you?”

Ruben nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“It sends a live feed to my laptop. I’ve literally been observing you like some weird stalker chick for the past twenty minutes. That’s the first thing I did.”

Weird stalker chick, Ruben thought. Who was this woman? He could feel his feet sinking into the floor. “Okay. And what have you observed so far?”

“Lots of things.”

“Like?”

“Well, for a start, you’re a really impatient person. Borderline pathological. You’ve checked your watch fourteen times. That’s considered compulsive behaviour. You chose the chair behind the door which you feel gives you the element of surprise in the unlikely but not impossible event of a gunman bursting into the room. That talks to your training and spatial awareness. Not to mention your rampant paranoia. You’ve also been fixated on your phone. But mostly scrolling. Very little tapping. Which means you’re not playing a game. So unless you’re flipping through Instagram or doomscrolling the news, I’m assuming you’ve been reading something. Maybe case notes? How’m I doing so far?”

“Not terrible,” Ruben admitted. “Anything else?”

“Sure. Your hair’s freshly washed. Some kind of apple-scented shampoo. Not expensive, I’m guessing. Because that would be a waste of money, in your opinion. Your shirt has been ironed with military precision. Your boots are polished. They also have new laces. You like order, structure and routine. And yet the leather band on your nice watch is old and worn. It needs to be replaced. But you haven’t done so. That doesn’t align with your army background and meticulous personality. Which means that you don’t want to replace it. Which means that it’s important to you. Which means that, despite your apparent destructive tendencies, you still have the capacity for love. All of which means that there is some hope that I can fix you. Or brainwash you, at the very least.”

Ruben stared back at Melissa Grove, not quite knowing what to say. “So I’m broken?”

“Oh, yes. Extremely,” she replied. “But don’t worry. I’m really good at what I do. At least that’s what my receptionist keeps saying.”

As a silence fell over them, Ruben held out his hands. Partly to emphasise his question and partly to stop the room from spinning. “Okay. So what now? You going to put me on your couch? Ask me about my childhood?”

“Oh, hell no. You’re not ready for that. We’re going out to lunch and we’ll charge it to the department. Somewhere nice. Where there aren’t pictures of the food on the menu. Maybe a place with a piano.”

“Seriously?”

“Absolutely. And who knows? Maybe we’ll get fall-down drunk? Or don’t you ever allow yourself to let down your guard, Detective?” she asked, then made a prayer gesture with her hands. “Please tell me you’re not that boring and predictable. I’d like to enjoy our sessions. Life’s short. We could both have terminal cancer. Especially you, because cancer loves a workaholic. And I’m betting you work nine days a week. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong,” he lied.

“No, I’m not,” Melissa replied, then stood up and reached for her bag. “Shall we?” DM

Now You Suffer by Gareth Crocker is published by Penguin Random House SA (R280). Visit The Reading List for South African book news, daily — including excerpts!

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