'The 85-year-old writer reminds us just why his critical standing is so high ... Leonard has found his mojo again, and has us in the palm of his hand' INDEPENDENT.

Dara Barr, documentary filmmaker, is at the top of her game. She's covered neo-Nazis and post-Katrina New Orleans, but now she's looking for an even bigger challenge.

So Dara and her right-hand man Xavier head to Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, to tackle modern-day pirates. But they soon find a whole lot more than they bargained for and quickly learn that almost no one in Djibouti is what he seems.
A mob of colourful characters patrols the seas, including a pirate chief with a taste for fine cars and an Oxford-educated sheik with scams of his own. And then there's the gun-toting Texan billionaire Billy Wynn, and James Russell, an American al-Qaeda convert who wants to blow up something big. As hijacked tankers line up like floating bombs, Dara and Xavier know it's time for a showdown .
'A vibrant contemporary thriller - exhilarating read, full of fun' Sunday Times
'Deliciously to-the-point dialogue . . . highly entertaining' Independent on Sunday

"an exhilarating read, full of fun, energy, and offbeat ploys" - SUNDAY TIMES

"Classic no-holds-barred Leonard" - DAILY TELEGRAPH

"An interesting change of locale for Leonard and a thrilling novel." - CATHOLIC HERALD

"Leonard is still the master of diamond-sharp dialogue, stylish prose and likeable, believeable bad guys." - SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

"Leonard tells the story with his usual swagger, and it might be an updated Casablanca." - EVENING STANDARD

"The dialogue fizzes, the plot twists right up to the final paragraph and everything and everyone is cool and sexy" - THE TIMES

"A superior piece of pulp fiction." - SUNDAY HERALD