The Ignorance of Blood Book

In The Ignorance of Blood, the final book of Robert Wilson’s sterling Javier Falcón sequence, his doughty police inspector is in the middle of a battle between Russian mafia groups. He has made a promise to the inhabitants of Seville that he will track down those behind a bombing which has wrecked a pre-school building, and killed many -- including children. Falcón is stumped until a connection with the Russian mob becomes apparent after a fatal car accident. But things are complicated for Falcón when his closest friend, the Moroccan Yacoub Diori (who spies for the Spanish intelligence agency), is blackmailed by a group of terrorists into whose organisation he has inveigled himself.In The Ignorance of Blood, Robert Wilson demonstrates once again his effortless skill at orchestrating a variety of elements: vividly drawn, fully-rounded characters, complex and intriguing plotting (with endemic corruption and the impact of the past on the present recurring themes), and – perhaps most piquant of all – a strong and atmospheric sense of place; few novels have conjured up the sultry city of Seville with the skill on offer here. This, regrettably, is the final book in Wilson’s much-admired Falcón quartet will inspire a duality of feeling in readers who have keenly followed the sequence: satisfaction that Wilson has written such a satisfyingfinis to the quartet, and regret that this is to be our last time in the company of the intriguing Javier Falcón. But we can at least anticipate further achievements from the highly talented Robert Wilson. --Barry ForshawRead More