Kismet: A Festival Under Threat, a Debt Centuries Old

Ghent is preparing for ten days of music, crowds and celebration. More than a million visitors will flood the historic city centre for the annual Ghent Festival. For George Bracke, now working beyond the confines of the local police force, it should no longer be his problem.

But then the warnings begin.

European intelligence services fear that major public events may become targets for a new terrorist network. At first, Bracke is sceptical. Reports are vague, the organisation behind the threat is barely known, and no one can say where—or when—it might strike.

Then violence erupts elsewhere in Europe.

Meanwhile, Berker Kerim leaves his remote Anatolian village carrying the burden of a tragedy that has haunted his family for generations. His journey towards Belgium is driven by something older and more powerful than politics: a debt rooted in the past, and a belief that fate cannot be escaped.

As the streets of Ghent fill with festival crowds, separate stories begin to converge. Somewhere among the music, packed terraces and thousands of unsuspecting visitors, a man is preparing for an act of devastating violence.

George Bracke has little time to discover who is behind the threat—and whether a tragedy set in motion centuries ago can still be stopped.

Kismet is the fourth George Bracke thriller, following Botero, Tango Mortale and Cold Fire. Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Ghent and its famous summer festival, it combines police investigation, international terrorism, history and psychological suspense in a story about revenge, fanaticism and the inescapable pull of fate.

About the author

Stefaan Van Laere, born in 1963, is a Belgian author, journalist and publisher. He has worked as a journalist for numerous magazines, newspapers and online publications and is associated with Boomager.be and Partizaan Publishers. His books have appeared in Dutch, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Italian.