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A Darkening Stain [Paperback]

Robert Wilson
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Price: £11.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Book Description

5 Aug 2002

A stylish, tough and exciting thriller set in West Africa, the fourth in Robert Wilson’s critically acclaimed Bruce Medway series.

Bruce Medway, fixer for the great unfixed, does not see the disappearance of schoolgirls off the streets of Cotonou as any of his business. That is the domain of his ex-partner, police detective Bagado. Bruce has the more pressing matter of a visit from two mafiosi, employees of the Lagos-based capo, Roberto Franconelli. They want him to find Jean-Luc Marnier, a French businessman, who is definitely in for more than a wrist-slapping.

In a night of brutal terror with Marnier, Bruce finds himself with a choice to make, followed by a life-saving lie that has to be told. Both choice and lie will rumble over the rest of his days like the interminable rainy season.

Then an eighth and very important schoolgirl goes missing and Bruce must descend into a morass of police corruption, mafia revenge, sexual depravity, and illegally mined gold… To save himself, Bruce has to conceive a plan. A scam that will excite the natural greed that prevails along this coast and when executed will inevitably result in death and destruction. But then innocence has always been the burden of dark experience.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins; (Reissue) edition (5 Aug 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007130422
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007130429
  • Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 441,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

‘Unmissable … Unflinchingly imagined and executed. No hint of competition. First in a field of one’ Literary Review

‘For once a novelist influenced by Raymond Chandler is not shown up by the comparison, matching his mentor’s descriptive flourishes and screwball dialogue … A class act’ Sunday Times

From the Back Cover

'"Robert Wilson dissects the dark heart of Africa with an insight and compassion that makes it so sleazily vivid you'd pay money not to go there"'
'Val McDermid'

Bruce Medway, fixer for the great un-fixed, does not see the disappearance of schoolgirls off the streets of Cotonou, Benin, as any of his business. That is the domain of his ex-partner, police detective Bagado, and his corrupt boss. Bruce has the more pressing matter of a visit from two sweet-natured mafiosi who want him to find Jean-Luc Marnier, a French businessman in for something nastier than a wrist slapping.

Then an important schoolgirl goes missing and Bruce gets involved, descending into a deeper darkness of police corruption, mafia revenge, sexual depravity and illegally mined gold. To save himself he conceives a scam, one that will excite the natural greed that prevails along this coast and, when executed out on the black waters of the lagoon system, inevitably result in death. But then innocence has always been the burden of dark experience.

'"Unmissable…Unflinchingly imagined and executed. No hint of competition."'
'Literary Review'


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Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Get The Girls Back And Try And Stay Alive 24 Sep 2002
Format:Paperback
Thrillers need a good sense of place and some interesting characters, to add colour to the plot. Benin in Africa provides the exotic backdrop and Wilson provides a multi-national cast of characters, some quite grotesque, but none you can trust. The African descriptions hold up well but our hero is not quite in enough jeopardy to create any real tension. The story keeps you turning the pages but considering the subject, it seems under-written at times. The African heat is palpable but you can't really smell it. A rather routine excursion but just about worth a read.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars White Men Black Hearts 26 Sep 2002
Format:Paperback
I have to say I was disappointed with this. All the right ingredients are there but there is something missing and its probably humour. I think the plot deserves more detail and atmosphere. Little things annoyed me, like everyone seems to drink the same whiskey, either red or black label. The place seemed empty except for the few characters. Some of the minor black characters are a bit weak, which robbed the book of so much. The ideas are great and they deserve a thicker book to really live. I just thought it was an okay read.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars From a HUGE Robert Wilson fan 20 Jan 2009
Format:Paperback
If you haven't read a Robert Wilson book before, this is a really different storyline. Set in Africa it really does give you an insight into how life and the problems are totally different to the life we know. I have read all the Robert Wilson books (having been recommended by the great Graham Hurley to read one) I think he is brilliant.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars a taste of africa 14 Sep 2010
Format:Paperback
Good story premise in an unusual locale. This book gives a feel for west Africa, without any of this noble savage rubbish. There are just as many messed up individuals there as here. The hero Bruce Medway is a bit of a fixer with the usual troubles drink and women and just as much a knight errant as Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe but through the mean streets of Lagos. It does not do a lot for the Benin or Nigerian Tourist offices , lagos not high on must see list. Not sure if i want to read any more about Bruce Medway, which surely says it all
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