City Without Stars

Tim Baker

An epic second novel from the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger-shortlisted and Shamus-nominated author.

Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780571338337
Date Published
18.01.2018
Delivery
All orders are sent via Royal Mail and are tracked: choose from standard or premium delivery.
Summary

‘One of those books that just won’t let you go … An exhilarating and kaleidoscopic novel that will also break your heart.’ STAV SHEREZ author of A Dark Redemption and The Intrusions

‘Beautifully plotted, with excellent characterisation and a highly developed social conscience, City Without Stars is an intelligent thriller that moves at a breath-taking pace.’ NICHOLAS SEARLE, author of The Good Liar

The only thing more dangerous than the cartels is the truth…

In Ciudad Real, Mexico, a deadly war between rival cartels is erupting, and hundreds of female sweat-shop workers are being murdered. As his police superiors start shutting down his investigation, Fuentes suspects most of his colleagues are on the payroll of narco kingpin, El Santo.

Meanwhile, despairing union activist, Pilar, decides to take social justice into her own hands. But if she wants to stop the killings, she’s going to have to ignore all her instincts and accept the help of Fuentes. When the name of Mexico’s saintly orphan rescuer, Padre Márcio, keeps resurfacing, Pilar and Fuentes begin to realise how deep the cover-up goes.

Critic Reviews

Beautifully plotted, with excellent characterisation and a highly developed social conscience, City Without Stars is an intelligent thriller that moves at a breath-taking pace.

NICHOLAS SEARLE, author of The Good Liar
Critic Reviews

One of those books that just won't let you go – not when you're reading it and not for a long time afterwards. An exhilarating and kaleidoscopic novel that will also break your heart. Assured, trenchant and gripping, Baker has assumed his place among those crime writers you must read.

STAV SHEREZ, author of A Dark Redemption and The Intrusions
Critic Reviews

If I had been a Man Booker judge, I would have argued for the merits of Tim Baker's City Without Stars, an unflinchingly grim but unputdownable novel set in Mexico, in which the activities of a prolific serial killer go practically unnoticed in a country in which homicide is quotidian.

Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph BOOKS OF THE YEAR
Critic Reviews

‘An unflinching portrayal of Mexico as a country brought to the brink of destruction by the narcos… But however harrowing it gets, the novel is too gripping to put down and is lightened by flashes of hope and bursts of humour.’

Sunday Express
Critic Reviews

‘Worth the near two-year hiatus. Tim Baker has woven together another intricately plotted, multiple narrative tale… a fascinating, immersive page-turning read. For those interested in reading crime fiction based in the border territory between the US and Mexico, City Without Stars will sit alongside powerful novels like The Power of Dog by Don Winslow and The Dead Women of Juarez by Sam Hawken.’

Crime Fiction Lover
Critic Reviews

‘A powerful second novel… With all the moral uncertainties of an Ellroy or a Winslow.’

Crime Time
TimBaker

Born in Sydney, Tim Baker lived in Rome and Madrid before moving to Paris, where he wrote about jazz. He has worked on film projects in India, China, Mexico, Brazil and Australia, and currently lives in the South of France with his wife, their son, and two rescue animals, a dog and a cat. His debut novel, Fever City, was…

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