The Black Crescent

Johnson (The White Hare) imbues 1950s Morocco with some light magic in this robust tale about a man favored by djinns. The sultan is exiled from French Morocco, and a Moroccan nationalist group known as the Black Crescent stage killings of French citizens to wrest back control of their country. Against this backdrop, Hamou Badi discovers a dead body in the fictional village of Tiziane, and the sight inspires him to move to Casablanca to train as a police officer. There, he establishes a new life and finds a new family. As violence and rebellion rage on in Casablanca, however, he inevitably runs into members of the Black Crescent and discovers that his friends and family are also among them. Working for the French Sûreté, Hamou finds himself torn between his allegiances to his countrymen and the colonizers. Despite establishing early on that Hamou is a zouhry, a half human, half djinn creature capable of finding water sources and treasure, Johnson keeps the magic vague and only occasionally relevant to the plot. Though historical fantasy readers may be disappoint, others will be drawn in by the tense and complex political machinations. This is one to savor. (Mar.)