A Line in the Sand
A sinuous, powerful and white-knuckle thriller, from the award-winning author of The Yellow Birds, shot through with treachery, trauma and the long tentacles of war.
An early morning on a beach in Virginia. As he is taking his daily swim, Arman Bajalan – formerly an interpreter in Iraq – discovers a dead body. After surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman has been given lonely sanctuary in the US. Now, sure that the murder is connected to his past, he knows he’s still not safe.
Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her fresh-off-the-beat partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the man’s pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist as grief-stricken as Arman by the Iraq war, who is investigating a nefarious corporation: one on the cusp of landing a multi-billion-dollar government defence contract.
As victims mount around Arman, taking the team down wrong turns and towards startling evidence, they find themselves in a race, committed to unravelling the truth and keeping Arman alive – even if it costs them everything.
‘A kickass mystery from a superb storyteller’ David Baldacci, author of The 6:20 Man
‘A spellbinding and totally original thriller’ Philipp Meyer, author of The Son
‘A tense, twisting, and thoughtful story of the intersection between grief and greed’ Michael Koryta, author of Never Far Away
(P) 2023 Hachette Book Group
An early morning on a beach in Virginia. As he is taking his daily swim, Arman Bajalan – formerly an interpreter in Iraq – discovers a dead body. After surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman has been given lonely sanctuary in the US. Now, sure that the murder is connected to his past, he knows he’s still not safe.
Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her fresh-off-the-beat partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the man’s pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist as grief-stricken as Arman by the Iraq war, who is investigating a nefarious corporation: one on the cusp of landing a multi-billion-dollar government defence contract.
As victims mount around Arman, taking the team down wrong turns and towards startling evidence, they find themselves in a race, committed to unravelling the truth and keeping Arman alive – even if it costs them everything.
‘A kickass mystery from a superb storyteller’ David Baldacci, author of The 6:20 Man
‘A spellbinding and totally original thriller’ Philipp Meyer, author of The Son
‘A tense, twisting, and thoughtful story of the intersection between grief and greed’ Michael Koryta, author of Never Far Away
(P) 2023 Hachette Book Group
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Reviews
PRAISE FOR THE YELLOW BIRDS
'A masterpiece . . . a classic'
Books of the Year, THE TIMES
'A stunning achievement - visceral [and] poignant'
SUNDAY TIMES
'Remarkable . . . every line is a defiant assertion of the power of beauty to revivify'
HILARY MANTEL, GUARDIAN
'A wonderful, powerful novel that moves and terrifies'
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
'An important novel by a formidable talent'
DAILY MAIL
A riveting powerhouse of a book, A Line in the Sand pits two small town cops - and a mysterious Iraqi interpreter whose secrets have already gotten a lot of people killed - against corruption and violence at the highest levels of government. A spellbinding and totally original thriller; Kevin Powers has reinvented himself as novelist yet again
Sure to rank among the year's best thrillers, A Line in the Sand is a tense, twisting, and thoughtful story of the intersection between grief and greed - and the human lives crushed in the middle. Kevin Powers writes with uncommon grace, delivering the rare novel that is both propulsive and contemplative, calling to mind writers as varied as Tim O'Brien and Michael Connelly
Kevin Powers walks-the-walk and talks-the-talk in this compelling, frighteningly knowledgeable thriller
Powers has done it again. A Line in the Sand has it all . . . Enjoy the latest from a superb storyteller
A thriller, with a crime so big and characters so flawed, you'll be holding your breath the whole time . . . The book's got all the stuff you've always loved about Powers' writing: a deep and abiding understanding of what soldiers sacrifice, a thoughtful examination of the place he grew up, and prose so beautiful it'll make you weep
A stunning novel . . . Kevin Powers provides what any discerning reader desires the most - complex and flawed characters, precise use of language, succinct description and believable dialogue . . . One is reminded of Graham Greene's or Robert Stone's work, only set in the 21st century . . . Vivid, seemingly tossed-off descriptions abound, but the book is also filled with gems of wisdom on interior states
Expertly told . . . thrilling
Kevin Powers' story has the vivid writing, memorable characters, complex plot, and perfect pacing that we get in the best crime fiction, but A Line in the Sand is also something more: a timely indictment of a political system that attempts to disguise greed as benevolence. My admiration for Powers' writing increases with each new novel
A deeply compelling story that is both angrier and larger in scope than its predecessor . . . A Line in the Sand succeeds . . . because of its brilliantly nuanced depiction of how veterans deal with coming home to a nation that is, in many ways, as treacherous as a war zone
Taut and enjoyable . . . Powers shows such skill in smoothly blending polemic with intrigue and (often viscerally violent) action that you'd swear he's an old hand at the thriller genre
Tense and enthralling . . . Already compared to le Carré, Powers superbly demonstrates an ability to generate a lyrical story that is both delicate and thrilling
A cracking mystery . . . Let's hope Powers sticks to writing thrillers, because A Line in the Sand is a blast
A slow-burning thriller punctuated with understated violence . . . Powerful, cynical and, on occasion,
unexpectedly tender in its depiction of grief, A Line in the Sand is one of the best crime novels of the year to date
A thriller with a conscience . . . If you're looking for an entertaining, intelligent, and effortlessly readable late addition to the summer reading list, A Line in the Sand is just the ticket
[A] compelling tale of death and shadowy conspiracy. Powers writes evocatively about the depth and grief of loss and exile. Yet his characters, no matter how tested, retain their humanity.
A wise, insightful and gripping thriller exploring the tragedy of war - its grief, greed, and treachery