Books like Cobra by Deon Meyer

In the picturesque Franschhoek wine valley, a celebrated English mathematician is abducted and his bodyguards are murdered in a distinct, symbolic hit marked by shell casings engraved with a spitting cobra. Meanwhile, in Cape Town, a young thief uses his skills to support his sister's education. When he steals a wallet belonging to an American visitor carrying highly valuable and dangerous information, the Cobra's reach expands—five more people die, the sister is kidnapped, and the thief must evade capture. Captain Benny Griessel of the Hawks, South Africa’s elite police unit, is tasked with locating the missing mathematician, rescuing the thief’s sister, and tracking the Cobra. As the investigation deepens, intelligence services pressure the Hawks to relinquish the case, hinting at powerful forces—possibly CIA interests—behind the murders. Faced with corruption and the threat to the new South Africa, the Hawks refuse to let the Cobra’s reign of violence continue.

First publish date: 2014