Synopses & Reviews
"Plot twists galore, relentless suspense and expert insights to satisfy anyone fascinated by today's financial crisis."Culture TF1
From Lagos to London, by way of the Faroe Islands and St. Petersburg, an investigation turns deadly. The head of the Nigerian fraud squad is evacuated from Lagos by secret service operatives. Meanwhile a junior prosecutor in Nice probes the mysterious death of the wife of a powerful banker and a crusading journalist in St. Petersburg pursues a corrupt oligarch and his criminal business empire.
The paths of all three cross in London, where they find themselves embroiled in violent events obviously linked to financial and political interests and hunted by the oligarch's men, the Western secret services, and goons sent by Nigerian oil magnates.
A satirical, intelligent, and fast-paced thriller set in the world of high finance and low politics, The Eyes of Lira Kazan is co-written by Eva Joly and Judith Perrignon.
Eva Joly is a prominent former prosecuting judge in Paris, France, and a candidate in the 2012 French presidential election. She is Norwegian born and this is her first novel.
Judith Perrignon is a prize-winning essayist and the author of a number of historical and other literary works, including La nuit du Fouquet's avec Ariane Chemin. This is her second novel after the much lauded Les Chagrins, published in France in 2011.
Review
'The ring of authenticity pervades this book. Stories that surely come from the political coal-face create the complex plot...horribly realistic story by two women who know this dangerous world from the inside. The Independent
'Moves along at a rattling pace. Glasgow Herald
'An original and absorbing tale. Literary Review
Synopsis
Russian oligarchs and Western secret services in pursuit of a beautiful journalist with too much information about their financial shenanigans.
About the Author
Eva Joly: Eva Joly is a Norwegian-born French magistrate and politician. She lives in Paris and became famous as an anti-corruption prosecuting judge taking on, among others, former minister Bernard Tapie and the bank Crédit Lyonnais. Her most famous case was that of Frances leading oil company Elf Aquitaine. In the face of death threats, she carried on the case to uncover several cases of fraud. She is now running in the French presidential elections. This is her first novel.
Judith Perrignon: Ex-journalist at the newspaper Liberation, prize-winning essayist and the author of a number of historical and other literary works, including La nuit du Fouquets avec Ariane Chemin. This is her second novel after the much lauded Les Chagrins also published this year.
Emily Read: Emily Read lives in London and is a much acclaimed translator from the French. Most recently she has translated Tonino Benacquistas Badfellas for Bitter Lemon Press.