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 the wife and daughter he lost, is shaken out of his grief when a routine surveillance job leads him to the horrific murder of a teenage girl.

Seeking answers, he travels to Siwa, an oasis town on the edge of the great Sahara desert, where the law seems disturbingly far away. As violence follows him through the twisting, sand-blown 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

A question of honour. An eye for eye. The truth cannot stay buried for ever. Makana travels into the desert heart of Egypt to solve a series of brutal murders and explore the shifting sands of the past.

About the Author

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.

Reviews
The third in this fine series ... Not for the first time, a literary novelist uses the crime genre to terrific effect, exposing official complicity in historic crimes against women * Sunday Times *
Murder mystery that expertly probes the dark side of Cairo ... This atmospheric crime fiction probes deep issues * Independent *
Cairo detective Makana investigates an "honour" crime * Sunday Times, Summer Reading *
A novel that is both celebration and indictment of modern Egypt * Daily Telegraph Summer Reading *



Book Information
ISBN 9781408841136
Author Parker Bilal
Format Paperback
Page Count 432
Imprint Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 549g
Dimensions(mm) 191mm * 127mm * 30mm