Dead Water

A conspiracy that dates from World War Two starts to unravel in the aftermath of an act of piracy: a genre-defying thriller from a critically acclaimed British author.

Off the coast of Sri Lanka, a tramp steamer is seized by pirates. The captain has his wife and son aboard and knows that their survival depends on giving the pirates exactly what they want. But what can they possibly want with his worn-out ship and its cargo of junk?

On the island of Bali a tsunami washes up a rusting container. Inside, the mummified remains of a shipping magnate missing for 30 years and a hand-written journal of his last days locked within his aluminum tomb.

Through the dusty industrial towns of India's Great Trunk Road, a disgraced female detective tracks a criminal syndicate. Her life has been ruined, but she will have her revenge.

In a backstreet Mayfair office, an automated distress signal is picked up on a private satellite network. A ship is missing. A Dead Water ship.

Dead Water is the key to everything. A code name for a covert operation initiated during World War Two. But why is it unravelling now, and what will the consequences be?



Simon Ings is a novelist (

The Weight of Numbers, 2006) and science writer (

The Eye, 2007). He lives in South London.



THE WEIGHT OF NUMBERS - CRITICAL ACCLAIM:

Dazzling, admirable narrative verve... It is unlikely there will be a finer written fiction this year



An ambitious, exciting novel.. unforgettable'



A dynamic, innovative, and compelling book that brings into focus some of the most interesting trends in contemporary fiction



Simon Ings' ambitiously genre-defying novel is a virtuoso display of imaginative plotting



Ings weaves an ingenious, shimmering web of contiguity and chance... a feat of meticulous plotting.



One of the most exciting - and relevant - books of the last year. Booker material, for sure.



A deceptively readable, dizzyingly constructed novel... Ing's mad, mad world is held together to the very last page by humour, vivid depictions and a deeply compelling emotional core