Firebird

Sammy Rashid, Cairo’s maverick detective, is assigned the hopeless case, a political hot potato made even worse by his being harnessed to an FBI partner, covering the American interest in the case. The first body is an American man found in the back of a shop, with a bullet to the head. The police’s instant suspicion is that it is a hate crime; the work of Militants, but Commander Hammoudi insists it isn’t a terrorist act. But the only clue is a charm connected to the disappearance of a Persian king, his army and his gold centuries earlier. And the word ‘Firebird’ overheard by a witness. How could that be of interest now - unless it is related to its use as a symbol by a defunct Islamic fundamentalist group, the Sanusiya Brotherhood? The CIA become involved, led by the brutal Van Helsing. And the man they go to see about the suspicious charm suggests a more sinister, ghoulish presence is involved and the shadowy Jinns… Meanwhile, Rashid is getting closer and closer to his FBI partner, Daisy. As the killings continue on a six-monthly basis, Cairo is seized by the fear of the unidentified killer… Can Rashid and Daisy find the organised but brutal killer before he or she strikes again? And what do the animal-like marks on the bodies mean? Daisy and Rashid are drawn into a race against time as they search for the killer and the mysterious Benben stone which is their only lead… ‘Firebird’ is a tense, vivid thriller, steeped in the mysteries of the past, set among the dangerous alleyways of Cairo. ‘Fast-moving, well written, endlessly exciting’ RICHARD BUNDY ‘One of the most impressive novels I’ve read in years. The quality of writing, the characterisation, the plot twists are all excellent. A stunning achievement; a book to buy and read over and over’ - DAVID V BARRETT Michael Asher served in the Parachute Regiment and SAS. A fluent Arab speaker, he has lived for years among the Bedouin peoples. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He is also the author of ‘Shoot to Kill’ and ‘The Eye of Ra’. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.