A River of Blood

by Adam Williams Book 1 in the A River of Blood Duology series.

First published 2025

Amazon

4.1(26)

In Fatimid Cairo in 1099, the Nile turns red and dead fish collect along its banks. Samuel, a Jewish physician trained in alchemy and rational investigation, and his English apprentice Gregory recover a mutilated body from a crocodile and conclude that its injuries were inflicted before the animal attacked. When further victims appear, Samuel’s attempt to identify a serial killer brings him into conflict with officials who would rather suppress the evidence.

The investigation widens into a conspiracy involving assassins, a hunted child and secrets capable of destabilising the state. While armies of the First Crusade move through the eastern Mediterranean, Samuel relies on observation and medical knowledge in a society shaped by court politics, religious rivalry and fear. The novel combines historical crime with political thriller, using Fatimid Egypt as the starting point for a two-volume story that continues toward Jerusalem in A Sea of Tears.