Masterfully blending speculative fiction and hard-boiled mystery, Jon Courtenay Grimwoods acclaimed Arabesk series plunges readers into a world eerily familiar and shockingly unpredictable. Here a troubled detective follows a trail of clues through a city where innocence itself may be a thing of the past.Its the twenty-first century and El Iskandryiaan alluring metropolis built on seduction, corruption, and liesis the double-dealing heart of an Ottoman Empire that still rules the world. But these days a sense of dread hangs over El Iskand over Ashraf Bey, the citys new Chief of Detectives. A trial is set to take place, and its up to Raf to decide the case. Theres only one problem: the suspect is the billionaire father of the woman Raf should have married. Industrialist Hamzah Effendi is accused of crimes so horrible that even El Iskandryia wants him eliminated. But Raf finds that protecting the sensual and impetuous Zara Quitrimala from the secrets of her fathers past may be even more dangerous. For Raf must now solve a series of brutal murders that are somehow connected to the caseand to Zara. And the closer Raf gets to the truth, the more elusive the answers becomeand the closer he comes to his own demise. Raymond Chandler for the 21st century. Esquire All brilliant light and scorching heat...Grimwood has successfully mingled fantasy with reality to make an unusual, believable, and absorbing mystery.Sunday Telegraph (London)If youre not reading Jon Courtenay Grimwood, then you dont know how subtle and daring fiction can be. Michael Marshall Smith, author of Spares and One of UsFast, furious, fun and elegant, the Arabesk trilogy is one of the best things to hit the bookstores in a while. SFRevuFrom the Trade Paperback edition.