Bloodstained Bliss

After an assassination mission goes terribly wrong, Rave, the most wanted assassin, finds himself hunted by armed law officials out for his blood. In a desperate attempt to escape, he loses his prized possession, a data pad containing his dark, deepest secrets. And to make things worse, the bounty on his head has quadrupled, an enticing sum powerful warriors want to get their hands on. Now the most wanted criminals in multiple galaxies, he is running out of friends and places to hide. Will Rave escape and get away like he has done for centuries or will justice finally catch up to him?

A cult classic by Morocco’s foremost writer of life on the margins. Malika Moustadraf (1969–2006) is a feminist icon in contemporary Moroccan literature, celebrated for her stark interrogation of gender and sexuality in North Africa. Blood Feast is the complete collection of Moustadraf’s published short fiction: haunting, visceral stories by a master of the genre. A teenage girl suffers through a dystopian rite of passage​,​ a man with kidney disease makes desperate attempts to secure treatment​, and a mother schemes to ensure her daughter passes a virginity test. Delighting in vibrant sensory detail and rich slang, Moustadraf takes an unflinching look at the gendered body, social class, illness, double standards, and desire, as lived by a diverse cast of characters. Blood Feast is a sharp provocation to patriarchal power and a celebration of the life and genius of one of Morocco’s preeminent writers.

As witnessed in landmark criminal cases, the quality and integrity of bloodstain evidence can be a crucial factor in determining a verdict. Since the first edition of Interpretation of Bloodstain Evidence at Crime Scenes was published nearly a decade ago, bloodstain pattern interpretation has continued to grow as a branch of forensic science. Revised and updated to reflect new technology and developments in the field, the second edition is packed with new information and illustrations-including 421 photographs and diagrams of improved quality that will aid in interpretation of evidence. Expanding on a single chapter presented in the bestselling first edition, the second edition details, in four chapters, an introduction to bloodstain interpretation; low-velocity impact and angular considerations; medium and high-velocity impact; and the significance of partially dried, clotted, aged, and physically altered bloodstains in four new chapters. A full chapter on the detection of blood with luminol, featuring high-quality, full-color photographs of luminol reactions, has been added. This new edition also includes 12 new case studies in addition to 8 original case studies from the first edition that have been retained for their interpretative value. Everyone involved in crime scene evaluation and interpretation-law enforcement officers, criminologists, medical examiners, forensic pathologists, medicolegal personnel, and prosecutors and defense attorneys-will benefit from the improved and expanded second edition of this definitive reference.