ABOUT THE BOOK

'Blood', reflects Russell Fairley,' .the endless journey, the ongoing story; genetic saga, mystery thriller, modern romance, social realism, science fiction. Blood picked you out, nailed you down. Blood could damn you or save you. Blood was the ultimate witness.' Dilys Rose's eagerly awaited first novel is all of these: a paean to the silent power and genius of blood.

As Russell Fairley, dumped by his girlfriend, struggles to get over a bizarre bout of the flu, his own life starts to resemble a fictional nightmare. The blood-processing plant where he works becomes a stage for mystery and tragedy, through which the medieval bringer of plagues herself, the Pest Maiden, seems to stalk. With the economy and precision for which she has been praised in her short fiction, Dilys Rose brings us the very human story of one man surviving a crisis - and conjures the shadow of a dark and ancient threat.

Dilys Rose was born in 1954, in Glasgow. She has previously published two collections of poetry and three of short stories, Our Lady of the Pickpockets, Red Tides and most recently War Dolls. She lives with her family in Edinburgh. Pest Maiden is her first novel.