Amanda Coetzee’s Bad Blood Launched in Rustenburg

by Tarryn on Mar 3rd, 2011

The first novel by Rustenburg author, Amanda Coetzee was launched at a function at Fields College in the city on Monday evening, where she is currently the deputy principal.

The book, Bad Blood, tells the story of undercover police detective Harry O’Connor, who was abandoned as a young boy and adopted by a clan of Irish Travellers. There he earns himself the nickname “Badger” while carving out a reputation as young, bare-knuckle boxer who never backs down in a fight. As an adult, Badger joins the London Metropolitan Police and severs all ties with the Irish band until the investigation of a missing child marks his return to the world he grew up in.

This gripping tale is described by fellow crime writer, Mike Nicol, as “a rollercoaster ride that’ll have your pulse pounding”.

Born in Bedford, England in 1967, Coetzee graduated from De Montfort University in Leicester with a BA (hons) degree in Performing Arts in 1989. During this time she performed in Italy, Russia and Bratislava in Slovakia where she was awarded first place in the female dramatic monologue category.

Amanda worked in adult education in London for several years, including a brief tenure at Holloway Women’s Prison before travelling and eventually falling in love with her husband and South Africa.

A member of a local book club for eleven years, Coetzee said that she is passionate about reading and her favourite novels generally include grisly murders and handsome but wounded detectives!

Bad Blood has also secured publishing rights in France for 2012. Congratulations to Coetzee!