Book description
Former police inspector Makana, in exile from his native Sudan, lives on a rickety Nile houseboat in Cairo, scratching out a living as a private investigator. When he receives a call from the notorious and powerful Saad Hanafi, he is thrust into a dangerous and glittering world. Hanafi is the…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Golden Scales as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
In writing my own crime novels set in 1920s British India, I am always looking for other series that take me into “Other” places, and the Makan series that starts with this book is a wonderful model. This is the pen name for Jamal Mahjoub, a Sudanese-British writer who gives real insights into cultural differences and practices. His protagonist is a Sudanese working as a cop in Cairo, and the adventures roam far and wide across the city and its people.
For me, the word pictures created here help inspire my own writing aspirations, there is always much to learn.
From Brian's list on crime novels to help us understand other cultures.
If you love The Golden Scales...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like The Golden Scales?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Golden Scales.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,298
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Golden Scales, you might also like...
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman
Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.
A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…
Dark Fae Outcast
Trapped in our world, the fae are dying from drugs, contaminants, and hopelessness. Kicked out of the dark fae court for tainting his body and magic, Riasg only wants one thing: to die a bit faster. It’s already the end of his world, after all.
But while scoring his last…
