The Fertility of Evil

Italian writer Lakhous (Divorce Islamic Style) blends a thrilling mystery with an illuminating dive into the history of postcolonial Algeria. In 2018, Col. Karim Soltani investigates the death of a former revolutionary fighter named Hoopoe, whose body was found at his luxury home. In a parallel narrative set in 1958 during the Algerian War, Hoopoe learns that his superior, Yazid Mansouri, was arrested and killed the night before. One of Hoopoe’s comrades, Stork, is accused of being a spy and is captured, tortured, and assumed to have been killed. Back in the present day, Hoopoe’s death raises the question of whether Stork has somehow returned. As Soltani unravels more of Hoopoe’s mysterious past, including love affairs, cocaine dealing, and secret arms deals with Libyan terrorists, his urgency to solve the case by the end of the day becomes apparent. At no expense to the tautness of his story or the depth of his characterizations, Lakhous traces a line from the country’s promising independence in 1962 to its struggles with terrorism in the ’90s and the corruption of the Algerian ruling class. Readers will find a lot to enjoy. (Feb.)