The Golden Scales by Parker Bilal

The Golden Scales

Parker Bilal

Cairo is the setting for this unpredictable thriller which had me enthralled from page one. Bitter rivals Hanafi and Bulatt rule the ruthless world of crime and corruption which ex-police inspector Makana unwittingly enters. Makana thinks he’s left behind his own troubled past in war-torn Sudan but his enemies are determined to haunt him every step of the way.

Extract
What was Vronsky up to? Makana found out soon enough. He felt himself strike something hard in the water. He would have broken his ribs except that the speed he was travelling at lifted him up and sent him skimming over the shallow reef. He felt the sharp pricks against his skin as his clothes were ripped by the coral. It was like being flayed by a thousand tiny razor blades.
Parallels
  • Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
  • The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
  • Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare