Paul Cooper follows his acclaimed historical debut, Rivers Of Ink, about medieval Sri Lanka, with this all-action adventure set between ancient and modern Iraq.
In the kingdom of Assyria in 2400BC, two destitute siblings
are on the run after killing their father in self-defence; in 2014, a British archaeologist, Katya, arrives in Mosul to hunt Assyrian artefacts just as Daesh unleashes a new wave of violence.
How it all fits together isn’t a mystery, and while the plot runs on well-worn lines, with last-ditch escapes and love among the ruins, Cooper’s fulltilt storytelling remains immersive all the same.
Ruins: Mosul features in Cooper’s thriller