Lost World

Maiquel is an ex-contract killer who's been a fugitive for ten years - ever since his girlfriend Erica ran off with his daughter, took up with an evangelical pastor and disappeared from his life. When his aunt dies, leaving him a house and a savings account, Maiquel has a fresh chance to find the lost world of his onetime family. Breaking all the rules in the book, including his own, he sets out on a relentless journey to seek revenge. 'A hero's journey with a difference ... Uncompromising and very, very dark, Lost World is a grimly compelling and superbly atmospheric read' Guardian 'It's a quick, sharp shock of a read, but underlain with moral ambiguity, not to say ambivalence about the fascinating Maiquel, whose voice and presence seem to linger even after the pulse has stopped racing' Independent 'On a relentless cat-and-mouse chase that takes him through Brazil and Bolivia, is a mark of Melo's skill as a writer that the antihero is so sympathetic; his terse and unflinching narrative so readable. Maiquel's slick-talking PI might advise that revenge is a dish best served cold, but, as Melo deftly illustrates in this compelling novel, sometimes it is best not eaten at all' Observer 'Casually brutal and utterly uncompromising, this Brazilian noir thriller is nerve-shreddingly compelling from start to grizzly finish ... Melo creates a truly fearsome climax refreshingly free from authorial moralising' The List