A decade-defining exposé which does for the energy industry what Empire of Pain did for pharmaceuticals, and Bad Blood did for Silicon Valley.

On March 24, 2021, in the remote north of Mozambique, 500 ISIS militants attacked the small, paradise beach town of Palma - strategically unimportant but for vast offshore gas fields that had attracted $50 billion in foreign investment, including over £1 billion from the British government.

As the Islamists surged through town beheading civilians, a group of men, women and children - including 80 gas plant construction workers - barricaded themselves inside a hotel to await rescue. An oil and gas compound defended by attack helicopters and 1,000 soldiers was just minutes away. But help never came.

Five years on, Alex Perry's spell-binding, meticulous reconstruction unearths a hidden and unprecedented fiasco. Woven into his account is a search for the truth about how energy companies really make their vast profits.

His investigation takes him around the world, from Europe to the US, and back to Africa again, as he tracks down the roughnecks, mercenaries, billionaires, and corporate spooks who can shed light on our most essential industry. As the revelations build and the lies multiply, Perry finds himself drawn into a legal drama, and an exploding political scandal.

Propulsive, prophetic, and arriving at a time when energy companies imperil the planet, Blood Will Flow delivers a morality tale for the global economy, and an inspiring quest for justice.

Praise for Alex Perry's writing:
'Harrowing and heartening' Tom Burgis, Financial Times
'Gripping and heartbreaking' Clare Longrigg, Observer
'Riveting ... reads like a thriller ' Alice Speri, The Intercept
'A book to marvel at and return to again and again' John le Carré
'Extraordinary reporting, extraordinary storytelling' Lev Grossman

Details

ISBN13: 9781804182727
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 320
Edition:
Publication Date: 16 Jun 2026
Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
Publication City, Country: Chichester, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.5(H)x15.4(L)x2.9(W)470
Weight (gm): 470

Author Biography

Alex Perry's prize-winning journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Outside, The Economist, National Geographic, Harper's, The Guardian, TIME, Newsweek, The Sunday Times magazine and others. His work on Mozambique has won a George Polk award and a True Story award. He is the author of The Good Mothers, The Rift, Falling Off The Edge, and Lifeblood. Born in Philadelphia and raised in England, Perry spent fifteen years reporting from Asia and Africa. He now lives in Hampshire, England.

Reviews

A magnificent, earth-shaking achievement. How many books truly change the world? This one will - indeed it already has. Perry's book combines moral fury, forensic research, a vivid cast of characters, and the pace and drama of a thriller. -- Andrew Harding, author of A Small, Stubborn Town
A powerful, gripping and rigorously reported story of greed, violence and courage -- Jason Burke, author of The Revolutionists