The Burning Gates

December 22, 2014
Set in Cairo in 2004, Bilal’s riveting fourth Makana mystery (after 2014’s The Ghost Runner) plunges the intrepid investigator into the world of art dealers and high-stakes art theft. Fellow exile and artist/automobile restorer Ali Shibaker introduces Makana to Aram Kasabian, a rich and well-connected art dealer who, it appears, is on the lookout for certain modern masterworks that disappeared during the Nazi regime—but have somehow resurfaced in connection with the notorious Col. Khadim al-Samari of the Iraqi armed forces. Kasabian employs Makana to locate al-Samari, a fugitive on America’s most-wanted list, who may be secretly in Egypt thanks to his cronies in the army. Makana’s quest takes him to shabby bars, discreet nightclubs, and even to mosques. More than one gruesome death helps propel the twisty plot to a Pyrrhic conclusion. Agent: Euan Thorneycroft, A. M. Heath (U.K.).