An investigation into a missing member of a wealthy family leads Probator Agusto Zidarov into a web of lies and danger amidst the criminal cartels of Varangantua. As the net closes in, Zidarov falls further into darkness from which he may never return....
Listen to it because: take a step into the murky underworld of the 41st Millennium through the eyes of a lawman in a gargantuan city whose investigation leads him into darkness and danger. Our protagonist, Zidarov has the feel of those dedicated cops we see in the likes of Dalgliesh's 'Dark Yorkshire' series. An officer run down by bureaucracy and corruption doing their best.
The story: in the immense city of Varangantua, life is cheap, but mistakes are expensive. When Probator Agusto Zidarov of the city’s enforcers is charged with locating the missing scion of a wealthy family, he knows full well that the chances of finding him alive are slight. The people demanding answers, though, are powerful and ruthless, and he is soon immersed in a world of criminal cartels and corporate warfare where even an enforcer’s survival is far from guaranteed. As he follows the evidence deeper into the city’s dark underbelly, he discovers secrets that have been kept hidden by powerful hands. As the net closes in on both him and his quarry, he is forced to confront just what measures some people are willing to take in order to stay alive....
With Bloodlines being the first of the Warhammer Crime stories it had to do two things correctly right from the outset. Firstly it had to capture the feel of the grimdark 40k universe and secondly it needed to be a gripping crime story. I feel it did the second admirably with a great tale of people trafficking where the characters and their motives felt real within the setting. The grimdark setting also felt as if it could exist with the best part of four decades of lore to pull on.
I would rate Bloodlines as a top tier novel and recommend that everyone grab a copy where they can.
