Every Drop of Blood Is Red

Turaki follows up Everything to Behold with a jolting noir set in Jos, Nigeria. At the outset, Murmula Denge, a 25-year-old Muslim woman, arrives in Jos and asks car mechanic Dareng Pamson for a job. Soon, Turaki reveals Murmula’s ulterior motive: her mother identified Dareng as the person responsible for the death of Murmula’s father and for stealing their family’s land, and Murmula is seeking revenge. Meanwhile, Dareng attempts to save his fractured marriage after his pregnant wife discovers his infidelity. For the novel’s first half, Turaki toggles between his protagonists’ perspectives, gradually revealing their secrets and transgressions in the manner of Nicholas Blake’s classic, The Beast Must Die. Then a major midpoint twist sends the narrative careening in a less grounded, more philosophical direction. The details of Murmula’s plan provide hair-raising tension in the book’s early sections, which goes a long way toward helping readers swallow the big reveal and subsequent gear shift. Adventurous mystery fans will be rewarded with a tense and pensive suspense tale. Agent: Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger Literary. (Nov.)