Blood Kin

A chef, a portraitist and a barber are taken hostage in a coup to overthrow their boss, the President.

They are held captive in the mountains high above the capital city. Down below, chaos tears through the streets. As the old order falls, so does the veil that hides the truth about these men and their families and lovers.

Dovey's debut novel is a tense and sweaty evocation of revolution in a hot country whose name we never discover. Neither do we find out the names of the characters in the novel, but none of this seems to matter, for Dovey is skilful at describing their reactions to the situation they find themselves in, and the motives for their actions.