The Golden Scales: A Makana Investigation (The Makana Mysteries) - Softcover

Bilal, Parker

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1608197964 ISBN 13: 9781608197965

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2013

Synopsis

In this fresh, absorbing Egyptian mystery, Makana, a former Sudanese police inspector forced to flee to Cairo, is now struggling to make ends meet as a private detective. In need of money, he takes a case from the notoriously corrupt mogul Saad Hanafi, owner of a Cairo soccer team, whose star player, Adil Romario, has gone missing. Soon, Makana is caught up in a mystery that takes him into the treacherous underbelly of his adopted city, encountering Muslim extremists, Russian gangsters, vengeful women, and a desperate mother hunting for her missing daughter-a trail that leads him back into his own story, stirring up painful personal memories and bringing him face-to-face with an old enemy from his past . . .

About this title

About the Author:

Parker Bilal is the pseudonym of Jamal Mahjoub. Born in London and brought up in Khartoum, Sudan, Mahjoub has published seven critically acclaimed literary novels, which have been widely translated. His works include In the Hour of Signs, Travelling with Djinns, The Carrier, and The Drift Latitudes. He currently lives in Barcelona.

Review:

Richly evocative mystery novel ... delivers much more than efficient intrigue. Via the experiences of a family exiled from Sudan, we see and feel all the drama of Egypt on the brink of change * Independent * The Golden Scales shows modern Cairo as a superbly exciting, edgy and dangerous setting for crime fiction. Parker Bilal has delivered an absorbing, complex lively novel to match * The Times * His prose has a subtlety that is rarely found in crime novels * Economist * Bilal's powers of description and his sensible, wryly compassionate leading man make this an enthralling read -- Laura Wilson * Guardian * Brilliant ... tremendously successful, satisfying ... and at the same time a deeply moving story of suffering and exile * Independent * A vivid, energetic work ... Set in 1998, the novel shows the extremes of wealth and poverty in Egypt before the Arab spring, while Makana's personal history offers heartbreaking insights into loss and exile -- Joan Smith * Sunday Times * A subtle and politically observant thriller. Makana is a highly original investigator who immediately engages our sympathies and whose future exploits I am keen to follow. Parker Bilal's character-driven storytelling is reminiscent of Simenon at his restrained best * Conor Fitzgerald * Bilal expertly delivers a wonderfully rich thriller, at once multi-layered and intriguing. His character, Makana, is a thoroughly self-assured and fascinating character, and it was a joy to have been so effortlessly engaged. A rare and special treat * R.J. Ellory * Bilal deftly weaves past and present in this complex and compelling mystery set in 1998 Cairo ... Wonderfully detailed, the narrative reveals Cairo as a teaming, chaotic, and ungovernable. One looks forward to the sequel * Publisher's Weekly * 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 ... an auspicious debut -- Declan Burke * Irish Times *

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1608197964
• ISBN 13: 9781608197965
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416