Acts of the Assassins - Tapa dura

"Brilliantly original and absurdly compelling ... it’s a book you’ll read in one, frantic gasp" (Guardian)

"Richard Beard is one of those rare writers whose novels are at once radically inventive and brilliantly entertaining. Acts of the Assassins ... is as joyously original as it is a page-turner to read" (Tom Holland Daily Mail)

"The Acts of the Assassins is...spectacularly successful. It is thoughtful and clever and brutal and true... It is a Chinese puzzle box of a novel. A garden of forking paths. A page-turner. A modern classic" (Benjamin Judge Book Munch)

"Extraordinarily funny...confident and enchanting" (Guardian)

Gallio does counter-insurgency. But the theft of a body he's supposed to be guarding ruins his career. Bizarre rumours of the walking dead are swirling, there is panic in the air, and it’s his job to straighten out the conspiracy. He blows the case.

Years later, the file is reopened when a second body appears. Gallio is called back by headquarters and ordered to track down everyone involved the first time round. The only problem is they keep dying, in ever more grotesque and violent ways. How can Gallio stay ahead of the game when the game keeps changing?

Acts of the Assassins is about one man’s struggle to confront forces beyond his understanding. And about how lonely a turbulent world can be.