Tangiers in 1912 is an unusual city -- sometimes the police are there, and sometimes they aren't. When Seymour of Scotland Yard arrives to investigate a murder things inevitably go wrong. Seymour finds himself caught between the ancient and the modern worlds in this divided country, where tradition is harsh and limiting, and the future crashes in the form of a military boot. There is a woman, of course, to complicate matters, and soon Seymour comes to realize that the closer he comes to discovering the truth about the murder, the closer he may be to his own demise.
Pearce is a wonderful story teller and he has both a feel and a depth of information for the period in which he sets his "who dunnits." After Victoria and before World War I, the "sun never set" on the British Empire so who knows where Pearce will visit next? Seymour "Of The Yard" has had three thoroughly invigorating outings and "A Dead Man in Tangier" is every bit as enjoyable as the others. Exotic Morocco at the period where the European powers are competing to establish a protectorate is wonderfully evoked--and is compellingly different than the Egypt that Pearce deals with in his Mamur Zapt series (also a tour de force.) I have read historical treatments of this period and I am certain that Pearce has read more of them because this rings very true. If you want a page-turner that explores the last ripe stage of Colonialism, Michael Pearce is your author!
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