Sally Andrew Books In Order

Publication Order of Tannie Maria Mystery Books

Sally Andrew is a bestselling South African mystery author who lives with her partner in the Klein Karoo, where secretive leopards and giant elands are an everyday thing. She went to the University of Cape Town from where she graduated with a master’s degree in Adult Education.

Before she became a full time author, she was an environmental and social activist and this background is often evident in her works. Her novels can be classified as cozy mysteries that try to shift away from the violence and grit of pure mystery novels.

Sally has said that this was because she has never respected or enjoyed gratuitous violence. Her novels are usually murder mysteries with a little violence, even though much of the emphasis is on finding healing and justice. The setting and characters provide humour, beauty and delight alongside personal journeys.

As to how she got the idea for her debut novel, Sally Andrew has said that she got it while she was sitting in the Brandenberg in Namibia. Bowen Boshier, her partner had taken her along in his land rover and they were spending several weeks in the remote wilderness.

On that trip, she had a close shave with a leopard and intrigued with a distant cave she decided to explore it and clambered over giant boulders and then a long march to reach it. It was from this experience that she wrote the outline for her debut.

She was tempted to write about love but as a person that always loved the old school mysteries from the likes of Erle Stanley Gardner, Dick Francis and Agatha Christie, mystery was just more attractive. Still she wrote love into her story but thought it would best be explored in an advice column since it had the potential for humor too.

As for her characters, she wanted a quirky but down to earth and lovable character in a funny and feel good story. It was from all these inspirations and ideas that was born Tannie Maria, the lead of “Recipes for Love and Murder.”

While writing was a breeze for Sally Andrew, unfortunately publishing was not that easy. At this time, she really wanted to become a full time author but she was getting nowhere and decided to join the online Mystery Writers course by Gotham.

The course provided what she needed in teaching a range of things about publishing from plotting to finding an agent or publisher. But the biggest plus was the direct feedback on her writing from her tutor which she found insightful and considered. She also got feedback from the other students and used it to improve her writing.

Once her tutor gave her the go ahead, she started querying agents once again and was lucky enough to land Blake Friedmann Literary Agency’s Isobel Dixon. In no time at all, he submitted the manuscript to the Frankfurt Book Fair and soon enough publishers began scrambling for the manuscript.
The critically acclaimed novel has now been published in more than fourteen languages across twenty one jurisdictions across the world. For her work, Sally Andrew won the Nielsen Booksellers Choice Award.

Sally Andrew’s “Recipe’s for Love and Murder” introduces Tannie Maria, a woman that works as a recipe column girl for the Klein Karoo Gazette, alongside Hattie the editor and Jessie the reporter. But then her bosses decided that they would rather have love advice on her column rather than recipes.
However Tannie manages to convince them to combine the two. Tannie finds it easy to combine her answers with a perfectly matched recipe that goes well with her love advice.

But when she got a letter from a victim of domestic violence who cannot leave her husband, she knows that she has a problem bigger than any she had ever tried to solve before. There is worse to come and Tannie Maria and Jessie now combine their skills and decide to investigate even if it puts them in perilous danger.

The novel is an entertaining and light murder mystery that keeps its readers guessing right up to the very end. The addition of delightful recipes beautifully add to the friendship and love the mystery and intrigue.

“The Satanic Mechanic” by Sallie Andrew is an interesting novel that continues to follow extraordinary chef Tannie Maria. She continues to dispense yummy and appropriate recipes alongside the responses she gives to people’s problems.

The good thing about Tannie is that she self administers her own medicine for her own problems too. But she is a sufferer of post traumatic stress disorder and this has interfered with her relationship with Henk, a police officer. As such, she seeks the help of eponymous Satanic Mechanic Ricus.
At the opening of the story, the bushmen led by Slimkat win the land rights that they had been fighting over with a cattle company named Agribeest and diamond mining company Hardocre. Slimkat has been threatened for several months and is finally poisoned.

Maria had been by his bedside when he died and is determined to investigate even though Henk is apprehensive as he thinks it is too dangerous. Maria is in agreement but investigative reporter Jessie, who is her colleague, will not let up on her investigations.
Jessie believes the murder was committed by either the cattle or diamond company.

Sallie Andrew’s novel “Death on the Limpopo” opens to Tannie working hard on the Agony Aunt column, offering her usual sensible advice combined with some mouth watering recipes.

Her relationship with the local chief of police Henk Kannemeyer has been getting better. But when he tells her that he loves her she is unable to tell him that she loves him too. She doesn’t know why she is so reluctant to reciprocate.

However, things get thick when a dark skinned and tall woman roars into Ladismith on a Ducati. Investigative journalist Zabanguni Kani is a controversial professional who works to expose political corruption.

She is best defined as a prickly man, but Marie likes her and asks her to come live with her only for a close associate to be murdered. Zaba and Tannie Maria head to Botswana’s Limpopo to investigate and coincidentally, the murder took place at the very place where Maria’s father had been killed three decades before.

4 Responses to “Sally Andrew”

1. Sarah Knight: 2 years ago

   Love the Tannie Maria series. I have the first four books and am hoping for more! I also have the dvd of recipes for love and murder. Hope there will be dvds of the next three also.

   Reply
2. Sheila Stokoe: 2 years ago

   Can you tell me if the latest Sally Andrew book The melk tart murders has been published yet and if so can it be bought on Anazon. Tks

   Reply
   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     It has although isn’t available on Amazon right now. appears to be only sold locally at this time.

     Reply
     • Caroline: 2 years ago

       I’m eagerly awaiting the kindle version. I’m a big fan of Tannie Maria 😊

       Reply