The Ignorance of Blood (Inspector Falcon) [Hardcover]

Robert Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2009 | Series: Inspector Falcon

As a sweltering Seville recovers from the shock of a terrorist attack, Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón is struggling to find the bombers.The death of a gangster in a spectacular car crash offers vital evidence implicating the Russian mafia in his investigation, but pitches Falcón into the heart of a turf war over prostitution and drugs.Now the target of vicious hoods, Falcón finds those closest to him are also coming under intolerable pressure: his best friend, who’s spying for the Spanish government, reveals that he is being blackmailed by Islamist extremists; and Falcón’s own lover suffers a mother’s worst nightmare.He might be able to bring the perpetrators of the bombing to justice, but there will be a devastating price to pay.

(20090415)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Wilson's insightful fourth and final Javier Falcón novel (after The Hidden Assassins), the intrepid Spanish homicide detective finds himself overwhelmed with the pressures of personal and professional entanglements. After a suitcase is recovered from a car accident containing several million euros and discs showing video footage of local council people in compromising positions, Falcón begins piecing together a vast international conspiracy that involves not only the Russian mafia and Islamic extremist groups but also implicates his best friend, Yacoub Diouri, a spy for the Spanish government. When the young son of his lover, Consuelo Jiménez, is abducted, Falcón comes to some startling revelations about his career, his relationships and his future. While convoluted plot lines initially slow the pace, patient readers will find the action-packed—and bombshell-laden—conclusion well worth the wait. As always, the richly described Seville backdrop is a plus. (June)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Most critics found The Ignorance of Blood to be highly entertaining and hailed it as a successful combination of psychological fiction, police procedural, and international thriller. They also found Wilson's key characters -- Javier, Consuelo, Yacoub, and even young Dario -- to be expertly drawn and three-dimensional. More than one critic, however, felt Wilson had overextended himself with regard to plot lines and secondary characters; these reviewers cited an indistinguishable assortment of detectives and Mafiosi. Overall, however, most felt Wilson's final entry was a worthy, complex, and gritty read, particularly for readers who enjoy foreign settings.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (June 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151012458
• ISBN-13: 978-0151012459
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #887,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ROBERT WILSON is the author of nine previous novels, including A Small Death in Lisbon and The Company of Strangers. A graduate of Oxford University, he has worked in shipping, advertising, and trading in Africa, and has lived in Greece and West Africa.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "No rules. No code. No reason. It's like trying to negotiate more time from Death.", May 30, 2009

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ignorance of Blood (Inspector Falcon) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

The final novel of the Inspector Jefe Javier Falcon series begins with a spectacular car crash, resulting in a coup for law enforcement: one dead Russian gangster, a trunk full of cash and computer disks with explosive images. Absorbed by an ongoing investigation into a terrorist bombing three months ago in Seville, Falcon appreciates the ramifications of the material on the disks. Organized crime has escalated since the arrival of the Russian mafia, a level of brutality never before seen in this city, where the new enforcers inject themselves into every faction, prostitution, drugs, human trafficking. This accident may finally provide the critical, if obscure link to the terrorist bombing, only one ingredient in an elaborate operation.

With each successive Falcon novel, Wilson's has protagonist confronts shifting circumstances, the death of his ex-wife at the hands of her husband, the terrorist bombing, the street-fighting tactics of the Russian mob. The senseless bombing has outraged Falcon, strengthened his resolve. Without doubt, the Russian domination of organized crime in Seville has contributed to the expansion of Falcon's investigation, the escalating violence in his city reflecting a world seething with geopolitical conflicts fueled by abundant drug money and the making of strange bedfellows. As is his habit, Falcon ruminates, shuffles facts and insights, ever alert to connections. What he discovers through the car accident is a tenuous thread between two worlds, a confluence of agendas from the unpredictable and deadly landscape of organized crime to the bloody scenes of brutal murders, a pervasive corruption of the judicial system and the perpetrators of the bombing that shattered Seville's innocence.

From A Small Death in Lisbon and The Company of Strangers to the Falcon series, Wilson adapts his novels to the changing face of criminal enterprise, a world beset by terrorism and the deterioration of society. Once begun, this novel accelerates, explosive, riddled with outrageous acts and the corruption of elected officials. A confrontation with a judge in the June bombing, the Russian mob's internal conflict, a meeting with an old friend who shares terrible secrets and Javier painstakingly assembles a picture that will provide the answers he seeks, but bring him to his knees in grief. Even the love he has finally embraced is filled with barbs. A policeman to his core, Wilson's Javier Falcon is a man who faces an abyss, heart-breaking choices and a great personal reckoning. Wilson doesn't settle for a dynamic plot with nail-biting action; he delves into the deepest territory of Falcon's psyche, where truth and pain reside in equal measure, where each thing worth having carries a terrible price, where Seville is forever scarred by the imprint of terrorism. Luan Gaines/2009.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Personal crusades are not advisable in police work.", July 8, 2009

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ignorance of Blood (Inspector Falcon) (Hardcover)

In Robert Wilson's "The Ignorance of Blood," Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón, chief of homicide in Seville, makes his final appearance. The book opens in a sweltering September in 2006, at a time when Falcón is caught up in a multi-faceted investigation involving prostitution, drugs, blackmail, kidnapping, espionage, political corruption, and terrorism. Javier is beginning to suspect that his old nemesis, disgraced judge Esteban Calderón, who is in prison for the murder of Falcón's ex-wife Inés, may have actually been a pawn in a deadly conspiracy. Nor has Javier forgotten the June 6th Seville bombing that destroyed an apartment building, a mosque, and a nearby preschool. He and his team are still hunting for the men who planted the explosive device that wreaked so much havoc.

This is a carefully constructed and intricate story with a large cast consisting of brutal assassins (the Russian mafia seems to pop up in every thriller these days), terrified witnesses, a close friend of Javier who is in deep trouble, and the lovely Consuelo Jiménez, the long-suffering woman whom Javier adores. When Falcón begins to ask too many pointed questions, he is warned that he will pay a high price for his inquisitiveness. Sadly, his passion for justice may end up destroying both his career and his relationship with Consuelo.

Wilson is a meticulous stylist whose vivid prose keeps us hooked even as we struggle to keep track of the incredibly convoluted plot. Falcón is a highly intelligent and charismatic leader whose determination, investigative skills, and composure earn his colleagues' respect (although his boss seems to be immune to his charms). Javier can be tough and aggressive, but he is also loyal, fair, and passionate about dispensing justice. "The Ignorance of Blood" contains disturbing scenes of sadistic brutality and bloodshed. However, it is worth reading for its indelible portrait of an exceptional individual who, in spite of the heartache and grief that he has experienced, has become neither cynical nor jaded. If anything, Javier still cares about doing the right thing, even at great personal cost. Admirers of Inspector Falcón will not want to miss the last installment of this timely and intriguing series.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complicated, but oh so good, June 23, 2009

By 

Jody (Northwest Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ignorance of Blood (Inspector Falcon) (Hardcover)

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As the last of a quartet of police procedurals, Ignorance of Blood ties up a lot of story lines and loose ends, not the least of which is Inspector Jefe Javier Falcon's own story. Not having read the first three Falcon novels, I gather that the relationship between Falcon and his ex-wife Ines, her subsequent murder for which her current husband, a prominent judge was tried and convicted, provided much plot material for the first three books, as does Falcon's complex history and relationship with his friend Yacoub Diouri. I think that reading those three books first would add immensely to enjoyment of this one, but I found this one compelling reading even without the backstories.

Falcon's developing romance with the restauranteur Consuelo, and the kidnapping of her son, apparently related to the murders of two Russian bad guys, provides much of the meat of this book. Dario's kidnapping also proves to have links to Yacoub Diouri, who's been acting a little odd lately, and everything seems to be related to the Seville bombing of 2004. The threads of this ambitious story stretch wide; municipal corruption, the Russian mob and the Saudi royal family. After much suspense, oceans of blood and plenty of surprises, all is neatly wrapped up in a way that miraculously never seemed contrived.

Mr. Wilson's novel is filled with tormented characters acting out their dramas against backdrops ranging from enchanting Seville, to Madrid, to London and finally to exotic Morocco. Emotionally much deeper than a run of the mill thriller, all the characters are damaged and Mr. Wilson does not shy away from delving into the cause and effect of this damage. What saves it from grimness are the charming and passionate characters who still manage to express humor, joy and hope despite the swathes of blood and gore festooning the pages of this book. This is that unusual bird--a guy type thriller that will appeal to women.