The Divinities: A Crane and Drake Novel (Paperback)
When two bodies are found brutally murdered on a building site in Battersea, Detective Sergeant Calil Drake is first on the scene. He sees an opportunity: to solve a high-profile case, and to repair his reputation after a botched undercover operation almost ended his promising career in the Violent Crimes Unit. Assigned to work with the enigmatic forensic psychologist Dr Rayhana Crane, and on the hunt for an elusive killer, Drake’s investigations lead down the dark corridors of the past—to their military service in Iraq and the destruction they witnessed there. With a community poised on the brink of violence and their lives on the line, Crane and Drake must work together to stop the killer before vengeance is unleashed.
Parker Bilal is the pseudonym of award-winning literary novelist Jamal Mahjoub. His Makana Investigations series has drawn critical acclaim, with The Ghost Runner being longlisted for the 2015 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.
"[Confirms] Bilal’s ability to create terrific crime fiction rooted in geopolitics." —Times
"A fresh and vivid portrait of a city that is less melting pot than explosive pressure cooker." —Guardian
"As you would expect from Bilal, the story is told with a delicate elegance, with its two protagonists becoming ever more compelling. It promises to be a fine series." —Daily Mail
"Their professional relationship is obviously set to continue in future novels. If those are as well written as this one and present as convincing a picture of the state of the nation, they will be very welcome." —Literary Review
"There's a real feel for London down at street level, and Cal is a wonderful hero in the "maverick copper with a troubled back story" mould." —Times and Sunday Times Crime Club
"Bilal's sure-footed storytelling and nuanced sense of character augur well for this new series."—Kirkus Reviews
"A fresh and vivid portrait of a city that is less melting pot than explosive pressure cooker." —Guardian
"As you would expect from Bilal, the story is told with a delicate elegance, with its two protagonists becoming ever more compelling. It promises to be a fine series." —Daily Mail
"Their professional relationship is obviously set to continue in future novels. If those are as well written as this one and present as convincing a picture of the state of the nation, they will be very welcome." —Literary Review
"There's a real feel for London down at street level, and Cal is a wonderful hero in the "maverick copper with a troubled back story" mould." —Times and Sunday Times Crime Club
"Bilal's sure-footed storytelling and nuanced sense of character augur well for this new series."—Kirkus Reviews