The Ghost Runner: A Makana Investigation (The Makana Mysteries)
Hardcover – February 4, 2014
Description
From Booklist *Starred Review* In 2002 in Cairo, Sudanese private investigator Makana (Dogstar Rising, 2013) is navigating the complexities of investigating infidelity in a Muslim country when the husband in the case, Ragab, a prominent attorney, breaks routine to visit a private clinic treating a young burn victim bearing his name. Makana suspects he’s found evidence of infidelity and possibly a botched honor killing. Surprisingly, the day after he reports his findings, Ragab appears at Makana’s office and hires him to investigate the fire that has just claimed the mysterious girl’s life. Ragab suspects the girl’s death was orchestrated by her father, a former client who has been exiled for terrorist activity. The trail leads to Siwa Oasis, a small city with a Wild West feel, where the girl’s parents grew up together. Makana’s arrival coincides with a string of ritualistic murders starting with the city’s judge, prompting Siwa’s police captain to recruit a reluctant Makana to guide the investigation. Siwa’s small-town secrets, black-market gangs, and casual corruption hinder both investigations, but Makana is doggedly determined, even as his life is threatened. Makana’s sharp and sometimes melancholy observations bring both Cairo and Siwa to life, and Bilal handles grotesque crimes delicately, favoring characterization and culture over blood and gore. This third Makana mystery is a literary gem and a good match with Zoë Ferraris’ novels and Shashi Tharoor’s Riot (2001). --Christine Tran “Since we can't count on visiting Cairo right now, we might as well binge on Parker Bilal's atmospheric mysteries set in that city and featuring his distinctive private detective, a Sudanese refugee known as Makana…[An] excellent series…The story is set in the unsettled period during the Israeli invasion of the West Bank, which allows Bilal to write in great depth and detail about Egypt's turbulent political landscape. But it's the tragic story of one girl that really captures the climate of fear and rage that has come to define life in a perpetual war zone.” ― The New York Times Book Review “The conclusion will startle and exhilarate readers... This superb novel executes a slow build-up, exploring Middle Eastern cultural practices and explaining historical context. Thus drawn in, readers will be mesmerized by the rippling events that occur in quick order.” ― Library Journal, starred review “Makana's sharp and sometimes melancholy observations bring both Cairo and Siwa to life, and Bilal handles grotesque crimes delicately, favoring characterization and culture over blood and gore. This third Makana installment is a literary gem.” ― Booklist, starred review “With its elegant prose and its incisive insight into the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Makana's third appearance transcends genre, satisfying fans of both mystery and literary fiction.” ― Kirkus Reviews “Well-crafted… concludes with satisfying dashes of action and keen deduction.” ― Publishers Weekly Parker Bilal is the pseudonym of Jamal Mahjoub. The Burning Gates is his fourth Makana Investigation. Born in London, Mahjoub has passed through Sudan, Egypt, Denmark and Britain, before settling in Barcelona. Read more
Features & Highlights
- It is 2002 and as tanks roll into the West Bank and the reverberations of 9/11 echo across the globe, tensions are running high on Cairo's streets.Private Investigator Makana, in exile from his native Sudan and increasingly haunted by memories of his wife and daughter, is shaken out of his despondency when a routine surveillance job leads him to the horrific murder of a teenage girl. In a country where honor killings are commonplace and the authorities seem all too eager to turn a blind eye, Makana determines to track down the perpetrator. He finds unexpected assistance in the shape of Azza, a woman who seems to share Makana's hunger for justice.Seeking answers in the dead girl's past he travels to Siwa, an oasis town on the edge of the great Sahara Desert, where the law seems disturbingly far away and old grievances simmer just below the surface. As violence follows him through the twisting, sandblown streets and an old enemy lurks in the shadows, Makana discovers that the truth can be as deadly and as changeable as the desert beneath his feet.
