ABOUT
THE BOOK

When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. To investigate, Borlú must travel from the decaying Bezel to its equal, rival, and intimate neighbour, the vibrant city of Ul Qoma. But this is a border crossing like no other a journey as psychic as it is physical a seeing of the unseen. With Ul Qoman detective Qussim Dhatt, Borlú is enmeshed in a sordid under-world of nationalists intent on destroying their neighbouring victim and unificationists who dream of dissolving the two into one. As the detectives uncover the dead woman’s secrets, they begin to suspect a truth that could cost them more that their lives.