Published 3rd August by Head of Zeus.
From the cover of the book:
Bringing 1950s Morocco vividly to life, Jane Johnson's masterful new novel, The Black Crescent, is a gripping story of murder, magic and divided loyalties...Hamou Badi is born in a mountain village with the magical signs of the zouhry on his hands. In Morocco, the zouhry is a figure of legend, a child of both humans and djinns, capable of finding all manner of treasure: lost objects, hidden water.
But instead, Hamou finds a body.
This unsolved murder instils in Hamou a deep desire for order and justice: he trains as an officer of the law, working for the French in Casablanca. But the city is trapped in the turmoil of the nationalist uprising, and soon he will be forced to choose between all he knows and all he loves...
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Hamou Bidi was born in the mountain village of Tiziane, Morrocco, marked with the sign of the zouhry on his palms. Legend decrees that a zourhy, born of the djinn and humankind, is capable of finding treasure, but when, as a child, Hamou discovered the body of a woman he did not think himself fortunate. However, this event has marked the course of Hamou's life in many ways. It awakened within him the desire to help the victims of crime, and when fate took him to the big city, he was convinced that becoming a policeman in Casablanca was the way to fulfil his dream..
Casablanca in April 1955 is a dangerous place to be. Hamou sometimes feels awkwardness on the part of some of his fellow Moroccans at his choice to work for a police department controlled by the French colonial government, but he has always believed he is in the right place to uphold law and order for all. Now, he is not so sure. The decision of the French government to exile the Sultan of Morocco in 1953 has led to unrest and Hamou cannot ignore the open hostility that is directed at his uniform as he goes about his job. Protests ignited by resistance groups like the Black Crescent, who aim to gain independence, have led to violence on the streets, and Hamou is horrified to discover that he is expected to take part in brutal counter measures as part of his job. Caught between two worlds, Hamou must decide where his loyalties lie.
The Black Crescent immerses you in a time of political unrest during the dying days of French colonial rule in Morocco, and Jane Johnson brings alive a period of history that is filled with violence and injustice. Hamou Bidi is a decent man, caught between his desire to uphold law and order, and the gradual realisation that his ideals have absolutely nothing to do with the job he is being asked to do. Johnson beautifully describes a country torn in two by the clash between cultures of a native population and a French imperialist government with very different ideas about how to live, and the painful journey towards Morocco's independence. Many of the scenes she describes through Hamou's eyes are distressing to read, full of cruelty and injustice, but she does not flinch from exploring the harsh reality of the acts that occur on both sides of the divide too.
Curiously, for all the fascinating history outlined in these pages, it is actually the people who make this story so readable. The intensely emotional moments that Johnson writes about in the lives of Hamou, his friends and his family are the core of the novel. This allows her to open up aspects of the tale that involve so much more than a fight for independence, as it encompasses mystery; domestic drama; romantic suspense; and Hamou's coming of age as he grows into manhood. My favourite parts of the the book were those set in Tiziane, where the story thrums with community spirit, the weight of history, and deeply held beliefs in mysticism and magic. I adored Hamou's mother, who brings in a lovely thread of humour with her constant desire to get him married off, and her letters to him in Casablanca are a joy. Delightfully, she is only one of the incredible women whose tales weave in and out of Hamou's story, bringing in threads that show real insight into their lives, especially when it comes to strength of character, and resistance.
It did take me a little while to get into this novel, but there is something seductive about the way the threads of the story weave together and capture your imagination, making it one full of warmth and hope. I particularly enjoyed the element of mystery that brings the book full circle, tying everything up nicely, and if you enjoy a tale that includes animal characters among the human ones then you are in for a treat.
The Black Crescent is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Ransom PR for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
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