Bad Kids: South African Youngsters who Rob and Kill | Current Affairs & Issues

Chris Karsten

This new addition to Chris Karsten’s riveting TRUE CRIME series comes hot on the heels of Headline Murders and Unsolved and is published at the same time as Killer Women: Fatal South African females.

Bad kids tells ten true stories of youngsters involved in serious crime, often the worst possible crime: ending other people’s lives before their own have properly begun. There are tales of unspeakable malice: boys and girls who lie and steal to gain favours; learners from privileged backgrounds who brutally kill a homeless man; sixteen-year-olds who murder their parents and siblings. But sometimes heroism and hope flow from tragedy: Angeline Taljaard bravely sings in a musical the day after members of her immediate family have been murdered and maimed by two fifteen-year-old boys; and many people on both sides of the Atlantic still benefit from Amy Biehl’s legacy after she was stoned to death by teenagers coming from a political rally.

Chris Karsten once again follows the often bizarre twists and turns in the story behind the headline crime, masterfully recreating the suspense and action. He gets right inside the minds of the main characters and puts a human face to these perplexing crimes.