Rune Sarasin is about to learn just how quickly the life of a jewel thief can spiral out of control.…

Seven days are all it takes for Rune Sarasin’s life to completely derail. It starts with a typical heist: lifting a pouch of rubies from the Bangkok hotel room of wealthy smuggler Charles Lemaire. Rune nearly gets caught and Lemaire’s goons give chase, but they are no match for the clever motorbike maneuvers of Rune and her boyfriend Kit. As the high of the chase wears off, Kit delivers some terrifying news: his teenage sister Madee has gone missing. They track her cell phone to the dangerous Khlong Toei slum, but the trail ends there. The night gets even worse when Rune realizes she lost the pouch of gems somewhere in the slum while searching for Madee.

Charles Lemaire is the wrong man to mess with. He is a perfectionist when it comes to both his attire and his crimes, and he isn’t afraid to kill to get what he wants. When he catches up to Rune and Kit, he gives Rune an ultimatum: return his rubies or she will never see her boyfriend again. Now Rune must race against time to either recover the lost gems or find something even more valuable with which to ransom Kit back from Lemaire. But she also still needs to find out what happened to Madee. As Rune investigates deeper into the shadows of the Khlong Toei slum, she uncovers a web of crime with consequences far more insidious than just one missing girl and a handful of stolen rubies.

Hurtling from the back alleys of Bangkok, Thailand, to the glamorous auction houses of New York City, Mailan Doquang’s heart-pounding debut will leave readers questioning just how far they would go for the ones they love.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Mysterious Press, May 2024

• Amazon Editors’ Pick: Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
• The Strand Mystery Pick of the Month
• Globe and Mail Best New Mysteries Summer 2024

“This debut thriller heralds a series to watch; Rune Sarasin is an alluring antihero battling injustice at breakneck speed.”
―Booklist

“Doquang comes out with her guns blazing”
―Publishers Weekly

“Twisty cat-and-mouse thriller…a crisp caper”
―Kirkus Reviews

“Mailan Doquang has created a criminal to root for….With Rune at the novel’s center, Doquang launches into a fast-paced mystery filled with action and adventure.”
―Shelf Awareness

“This is a cleverly plotted and convincing novel where the characters are well-developed (Charles Lemaire gets a real star turn) and the setting is brilliant. Doquang is a writer to watch.”
―Globe and Mail

“Smart, edgy, and rocket-paced, BLOOD RUBIES is a thrill ride, packed with international intrigue, lushly drawn settings, and thrilling action. You’ll be breathless as whip-smart jewel thief Rune Sarasin steals a pouch of rubies, races her motorbike through the streets of Bangkok, then jets off to the glamorous auction houses of New York City to save the people she loves. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Don’t miss this fresh and exciting debut from newcomer Mailan Doquang — she’s a writer to watch.”
―Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B

“Jewel thief turned reluctant investigator Rune Sarasin makes a winning protagonist in this captivating, page-turning debut. Mailan Doquang is a writer to watch.”
―Alafair Burke, NYT bestselling author 

“Blood Rubies is a young woman’s incredibly fast and frantic struggle to use her special skills―the good ones and the bad ones―in a global race to save the people she loves. Highly recommended.”
―Thomas Perry, bestselling author of thirty novels, including the critically acclaimed Jane Whitefield series, The Butcher’s Boy, and Metzer’s Dog 

“Mailan Doquang’s propulsive debut novel, starts off with a bang and the suspense never lets up.”
―Joanna Margaret, author of The Bequest

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