Dogstar Rising
A Makana Investigation
Published on 14. February 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-4088-2785-7 (ISBN)
Description
It is the summer of 2001 and in Cairo's crowded streets the heat is rising...
The unsolved murders of young homeless boys are fanning the embers of religious hatred.As tensions mount, Makana - who fled his home in Sudan a decade ago - has a premonition that history may be about to repeat itself.
Hired to investigate threats that have been made to a hapless travel agent Makana finds himself drawn to Meera, a woman who knows what it is like to lose everything and who needs his help. But Makana's troubled past is trying to lay claim to him once again, this time in the form of a dubious businessman who possesses a powerful secret.
When Makana witnesses a brutal killing he attracts the attention of both the state security services and a dangerous gangster family. His search for answers takes him from the labyrinths of Cairo to the ancient city of Luxor and an abandoned monastery in the desert, into a web of intrigue and violence.
The unsolved murders of young homeless boys are fanning the embers of religious hatred.As tensions mount, Makana - who fled his home in Sudan a decade ago - has a premonition that history may be about to repeat itself.
Hired to investigate threats that have been made to a hapless travel agent Makana finds himself drawn to Meera, a woman who knows what it is like to lose everything and who needs his help. But Makana's troubled past is trying to lay claim to him once again, this time in the form of a dubious businessman who possesses a powerful secret.
When Makana witnesses a brutal killing he attracts the attention of both the state security services and a dangerous gangster family. His search for answers takes him from the labyrinths of Cairo to the ancient city of Luxor and an abandoned monastery in the desert, into a web of intrigue and violence.
Reviews / Votes
Excellent crime novel ... The pleasure the book offers is the realistic, eye-opening picture of a place and a lifestyle. Parker Bilal has written several novels but this is only his second mystery. More please * <B><I>Literary Review</I></B> * His second novel set in Egypt, is as gripping as the first ... His skills are evident in the pace, confidence and emotional truth of this brilliant novel * <B><I>The Sunday Times</I></B> * All the satisfying complexities of his first ... A superb novelist's eye for detail ... Like all the best crime fiction, Bilal's story has a depth and resonance which stretches far beyond its cast of characters into the wider world * <i><b>Independent</b></i> * 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 * 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 * 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 * This 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 *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
Weight
615 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-2785-7 (9781408827857)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2013
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€10.49
Available for download
Person
Parker Bilal is the pseudonym of Jamal Mahjoub. Mahjoub has published seven critically acclaimed literary novels, which have been widely translated. He has written four Makana Investigations, titled The Golden Scales, Dogstar Rising, The Ghost Runner and The Burning Gates. Born in London, Mahjoub has lived at various times in the UK, Sudan, Cairo and Denmark. He currently lives in Barcelona.