If you’ve read the ‘What next?’ section of my website you’ll know I have been working on three separate projects. I have now officially abandoned one of these after my editor couldn’t get his head around it. Since it’s now unlikely to see the light of day, I thought I’d share a few details with you.
I had pitched it as ‘Emirates Noir’ – a dark crime thriller set in Dubai. There was, however, a twist to it. I have always been fascinated by the idea that each age produces a city of great wealth that descends into decadence and excess. The best known is probably Sodom and Gomorrah from the Bible. In the present day the most obvious example must surely be Dubai with its materialism, impossible skyscrapers and gaudy excess. Any city that can build ski slopes, complete with snow, in the desert is asking for trouble.
So my thriller set was in a post-cataclysmic Dubai. As if provoked by the wrath of God, a tsunami had hit the city. While I was researching the idea I came across another interesting fact. Dubai is not sufficiently insured, so if it did suffer a major disaster there would not be enough funds to rebuild. In the aftermath, its institutions unable to cope, a foreign police force (similar to the private security contractors used in Iraq) takes over law and order. Into this half-submerged city came two cops: a British female detective (late 30s, recently heart-broken) who is partnered with a native of the Emirates, an extrovert Arab, resentful of having to work with a woman.
To give you the briefest taste of the plot, they are assigned to a murder case which leads to a trail of other bodies and a conspiracy that involves criminal gangs and corruption. With inadequate insurance to rebuild Dubai, it has become a rich source of materials to be stripped and shipped off to Asia. This illegal reclamation is worth millions. The heart of the story, however, is the relationship between the female detective and her Arab partner. Like the city, both are damaged, both need to rebuild themselves – but don’t have the resources. I thought it was a promising set-up…
Except my editor just couldn’t get the concept of a flooded city. He wondered if it was science fiction; JG Ballard’s Drowned World was mentioned. His lack of enthusiasm means I have now shelved the project. What do you think? From this briefest of pitches do you understand what I was trying to do?
On a more positive note, it now means I have more time to devote to my other two incipient books. Details about them to follow…