Decker 07

Third Person

Fiction

41

2018-06-26 16:46:02

Naples 1750: In the dead of night, three men with swords burst into the palazzo of a French aristocrat. The intruders’ leader, the Prince of San Severo, accuses the Marquis of being an imposter, and demands to know a secret that he believes this man harbours. In the fight that ensues, however, his target escapes over the rooftops, leaving behind a burning palazzo and a raging prince who is now obsessed with tracking him down at any cost. Baghdad 2003: An American army unit hunting down Saddam Hussein’s inner circle makes a horrifying discovery: a state-of-the-art, concealed lab where dozens of men, women and children have died after enduring gruesome experiments. The mysterious scientist they were after, a man believed to be working on a bioweapons program and known only as the Hakeem - the doctor - escapes, taking with him the startling truth about his work. A puzzling clue is left behind, crudely carved into the wall of one of the underground prison’s cells: a circular symbol of a snake feeding on its own tail. So begins Raymond Khoury’s explosive new novel, placing two bold women at the centre of the action as they get caught up in a murderous trail of ancient clues.

2018-06-26 16:46:02