Affairs of State

A call-girl, whose black book lists her elite international clients, is found murdered in an underground garage; a plane bound for Iran laden with illegal arms disappears from the skies over Turkey; and the head of a controversial national security unitwho happens to be the president's closest advisoris found to be illegally manipulating the system. Rookie investigator Noria Ghozali determines to untangle the threads that bind together these seemingly unrelated events. As she reveals the sinister connections, she confronts the confluence of money and corruption in the Elysee Palace and combats the deeply embedded racism that repeatedly stalls her.

Dominique Manotti is the author of Dead Horsemeat; The Lorraine Connection, winner of the 2008 Duncan Lawrie International Dagger Award; and Rough Trade, awarded Top Thriller of 2006 by the French Crime Writers' Association.