Description
'A wonderfully written, compelling thriller that gives an exhilarating depiction of contemporary Egypt' Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent When Marcus Winslow appears at Private Investigator Makana's door one April morning, Makana does not realize that soon he will risk losing everything he has built for himself in Cairo. A representative of the British government, Winslow has come with a mission, one impossible to turn down: Ayman Nizari, an Iraqi scientist specialising in biochemical nerve agents, a man whose work could kill thousands, is on the run and asking for asylum. He trusts only one man to bring him to safety: Makana. The scientist has gone to ground in Istanbul, and Makana quickly discovers that in this place nothing is as it appears, in a case that will see his past and present collide with fatal consequences. Review: Makana is a breath of fresh air, filled with humanity and empathy . . . An electrifying, psychological thriller, one that will keep you guessing right to the very last page * New York Journal of Books * One of crime fiction's most interesting and sympathetic detectives. Bilal's Cairo is a Los Angeles of yesteryear, Makana a wonderful Marlowe ... An author who gets better and better * Marcel Berlins, The Times * A wonderfully written, compelling thriller that gives an exhilarating depiction of contemporary Egypt * Sarah Perry, Guardian * This beautifully written series just gets better and better * Sunday Express * Paints a vivid picture of an effervescent Cairo, a city that could have been tailor-made as a crime-fiction backdrop. In Makana, Bilal has created a private detective who ticks all the usual boxes of doggedness, valour and ragged nobility, but it's his backstory, and the political ferment in neighbouring Sudan, that mark him out as a fascinating protagonist * Irish Times * For some time now, Parker Bilal has been writing superb crime novels set in Egypt * Sunday Times * Parker Bilal whisks the reader straight to the dark heart of Cairo ... His prose has a subtlety that is rarely found in crime novels * Economist * Richly evocative mystery ... It delivers much more than efficient intrigue ... We see and feel all the drama of Egypt on the brink of change * Independent * Bilal's powers of description and his sensible, wryly compassionate leading man make this an enthralling read * Guardian * Makana is a compelling, even an archetypal, hero ... A must-read series for fans of international crime fiction * Booklist *