A discovered conspiracy. A ransom gone wrong. A two-month coma.
Spoiled Iranian girl Neda awakes to find her parents dead—a tragic murder at the hands of her now-executed fiancé. But Neda saw the perpetrators, and he wasn’t one of them.
The justice system dismisses her. Evidence mysteriously vanishes. And when others begin to die, she knows her own life could end just as brutally at any moment. All it will take is her enemies catching up—or her suicidal tendencies taking control. When her losses become all-consuming, there is one way forward: turn the tables and finally get revenge.
When the only option is to kill or be killed, one thing is clear: this war will end in blood.
Thirteen contains themes involving blood, death, violence, grief, depression, PTSD, suicide, sexual abuse, rape (only alluded to), misogyny, toxic interpersonal relationships, and sex.
The story-telling in Thirteen is nonlinear and does not does not follow the beats of the hero’s journey or the three-act structure in the traditional sense. Particularly, the story unfolds across three timelines simultaneously, letting the reader discover the past and present like pieces of a puzzle. If you’re only interested in reading linear stories, this book might not be for you.
You’ll only see their first names on the dedication page, but if you want to know their stories, here are the four heroes I dedicated Thirteen to: Asra Panahi, Elham Modaressi, Kosar Eftekhari, Neda Agha-Soltan.