Backlash

The Riot Trilogy #1

by Rod Duncan

A tough, gritty police procedural set in Leicester The discovery of a butchered pig deliberately left in a local mosque is the catalyst which ignites the simmering racial tension in inner-city Leicester into open warfare. As the police come under fire for their inappropriate response, and the violence starts to escalate, mixed-race Inspector Marjorie (Mo) Akanbai finds herself made into a convenient scapegoat. In addition to watching her painstaking community-relations police work go up in smoke and with her emotional life in crisis, Mo is faced with a terrified Serbian asylum seeker, the brutal murder of an Asian factory owner, a gang of white supremacists, a counterfeit CD scam and an unplanned pregnancy.

Genres: Mystery

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Rod Duncan worked in scientific research and computing before settling in Leicester to be a writer. His first novel, Backlash, was short-listed for the John Creasey Memorial Award (now the CWA Debut Dagger).

After four crime novels he switched to fantasy. The Bullet Catcher's Daughter was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. He is currently writing a series of alternate history books, called ‘The Map of Unknown Things'.

Rod is also a screenwriter, and was once eaten alive in the feature film Zombie Undead.

Reviews

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read these books ages ago and loved them at the time. Gripping, original and gritty.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Love the writing style. Draws you in from the first page to the very last. Successfully captures all the nuances of racial tension in the heart a multicultural city.

[Writerlibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intéressant premier roman d’un auteur gallois, homme à la maison. L’Angleterre sous toutes ses couleurs : hindoue pakistanaise, jamaïcaine, musulmane, chrétienne. C’est une Angleterre métisse que Rod Duncan met en toile de fond de ce thriller où l’inspecteur Marjorie “Mo” Akanbai, chargée des relations intercommunautaires doit se battre pour sa vie et contre la montre. Racisme, xénophobie, dialogue de sourds, ajoutez un peu de corruption policière et vous avez un mélange qui vous tient en haleine jusqu’à la fin.

Un premier roman réussi.