Awarded the Zimbabwean National Arts Merit Award in the category Outstanding Fiction.
Awarded the Bulawayo Arts Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction).
‘All Come to Dust is an intriguing, twisting murder mystery, a witty combination of old-fashioned detective story and keenly-observed portrait of life in suburban Bulawayo. In DCI Edmund Dube, Bryony Rheam has created a fictional detective as memorable as Hercule Poirot.’ Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train
'All Come to Dust is one of the best African mysteries of the year.' Michael Sears, New York Journal of Books
'Bryony Rheam has written a ground-breaking book – a captivating detective story set entirely in present-day Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.' Britain-Zimbabwe Society Review
Bryony Rheam's interview with The Big Thrill can be read here.
'...a carefully structured novel that touches on issues of class, race and the colonial legacy in modern day Bulawayo ... will definitely appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven crime fiction with plenty of twists and a memorable and unusual detective figure.' BookerTalk
Marcia Pullman has been found dead at home in the leafy suburbs of Bulawayo. Chief Inspector Edmund Dube is onto the case at once, but it becomes increasingly clear that there are those, including the dead woman’s husband, who do not want him asking questions.
The case drags Edmund back into his childhood to when his mother’s employers disappeared one day and were never heard from again, an incident that has shadowed his life. As his investigation into the death progresses, Edmund realises the two mysteries are inextricably linked and that unravelling the past is a dangerous undertaking threatening his very sense of self.
THE ONLINE LAUNCH EVENT CAN BE ACCESSED HERE.
Praise for This September Sun (Parthian 2012):
Winner of Best First Book Award at Zimbabwe International Book Fair 2010
In May 2012, it reached number 1 on Amazon Kindle sales.
‘As she uncovers Evelyn’s secrets in the diaries, Ellie is forced to reconsider her relationship with her family and also to reexamine how she lives her own life...it’s the personal moments and conflicts that drive this narrative of family secrets and forgiveness.’ – Publishers Weekly
‘Brilliantly evokes the ennui of the pre-Independence settler community who measure out their lives in cups of tea, sundowners, and illicit affairs.’ – John Eppel
Bryony Rheam was born in Kadoma, Zimbabwe. Her debut novel This September Sun won Best First Book Award in 2010 and reached Number 1 on Amazon Kindle. She has also published a range of short stories in anthologies. In 2014, she won an international competition to write a chapter of an Agatha Christie novel. She has attended the Ake Book and Arts festival in Abeokuta, Nigeria and Africa Utopia at the Southbank Centre in London. Rheam is a recipient of the 2018 Miles Morland Writing scholarship. She is an English teacher at Girls’ College and lives in Bulawayo with her partner and their two children.