City of Veils
A Novel

There have been many literary mysteries written and many books about the plight of women in repressive Saudi Arabia, but I have never read an author who is able to so seamlessly weave these threads together to create a potboiler thriller that sizzles with knowledge. Set in Jeddah – seemingly one of t......more

I have no idea why I waited six years to read this sequel, which I think was better than the first book which won a couple of book awards. Set in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this book once again pairs Nayir Sharqi (a religious Muslim desert tour guide) with Katya Hijazi (a woman working in a man's world,......more

Book Review: The saga of Katya and Nayir continues in this, the second in this Ferraris series. Elsewhere here on GR I have been embroiled in commentary regarding the nature of protests: political, economical, etc. And as I was responding in that particular thread my mind kept returning to perhaps the......more

Everyone knew that if a suspect could not be found, the police would happily take a relative as insurance, until the suspect chose to turn themselves in…so most relatives attempted to portray an unhappy family – in the hope that an officer would actually believe it. Part police procedural / part love......more

I wondered several times during The City of Veils if I could read another Nayir Sharqi mystery after this follow-up to the mesmerizing Finding Nouf. The oppressive Saudi culture and the unforgiving interpretation of Islam that requires subjugating women sets a haunting and desperate tone that is alm......more