The Bone Ritual
Why a Booktrail?
What you need to know before your trail
Inspektur Ruud Pujasumarta has seen some gang-perpetrated horror crimes in his time, but the slum murder of a middle-aged woman he is called to is both horrifying and baffling. Mari Agnes Liem has not only been choked to death while tied to her bed, but the murderer has amputated her left hand and left a mah jong tile in her throat. And he has taken the hand with him.
The only bright spot on Ruud’s horizon is the imminent arrival of Imke Sneijder from Amsterdam, whom he hasn’t seen for fifteen years, when they were both twelve-year-old neighbours before her family moved back to Holland.
As Ruud and his department investigate Mari’s murder, it isn’t long before they have more than one corpse on their hands . . . and a serial killer to catch. And Ruud begins to realise that the current murderous spree may be linked to events which occured fifteen years ago, at about the time Imke left Indonesia . . .
Travel Guide
Travel BookTrail style to Jakarta
A thriving, bustling city where Imke Sneijder is returning to after her family left for Amsterdam. Now back with her Aunt Eck who is commissioned to paint a portrait of President Susilo Bambang Yudhayono. The city lives under the chaos of the upcoming elections.
Her brother lives in a vertical village in the country:
…built into a maze of narrow alleys and unnamed backstreets. The residents call in kampung susan or vertical village”
Her friend Ruud works at the police station and knows the people and the city well yet this murder is the most brutal and gruesome he has ever come across. The cultural clues come with the Mah Jong tiles, a popular local game, stuffed inside the victim’s throats.
The traffic jams on the Jagorawi Toll Road were relentless. Imke kept her window open for a while. She liked to take in the smells and sounds of the city…”
The local colour and landscape create a unique and chilling atmosphere:
“The bamboo grove clicked and clacked, the forest grew quiet. Stilled by an intake of breath”
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Bone Ritual
Destination : Jakarta Author/Guide: Julian Lees Departure Time: 2000s
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