An excellent story and illumination of a culture. I look forward to the second in this series. ( )

From the book jacket: Wen sixteen-year-old Nouf goes missing, along with a truck and her favorite camel, her prominent family calls on Nayir ash-Sharqi, a desert guide, to lead a search party. Ten days later, her body is discovered by anonymous desert travelers. But when the coroner’s office determines that Nouf died from drowning, and her family seems suspiciously uninterested in getting at the truth, Nayir takes it upon himself to find out what really happened to her.

My reaction
This was a wonderful debut psychological thriller. I particularly appreciated the setting in Saudi Arabia, and the use of a female lab technician who has some decidedly “modern” sensibilities. Katya Hijazi chafes at the rigid segregation of men and women in this ultra-conservative society. Her widowed father indulges her – to a point; she still must have a driver and escort wherever she goes.

Contrast this strong woman, determined to be as modern as possible within the confines of societal rules, with Nayir. He’s a Palestinian orphan who was raised by a bachelor uncle. He is devoutly Muslim, praying five times a day, refraining from contact with women, and rather rigid in his daily life. He is appalled at this brazen woman, and yet intrigued by, even drawn to her. Theirs is a partnership neither sought, but which both ultimately appreciate.

I’m fascinated by this glimpse into modern-day Saudi Arabia, a country that lives by an ancient code that mystifies this Westerner. I’m interested to see where Ferraris takes this series.

Published in the UK as Night Of the Mi’raj ( )

Got two chapters in, didn't enjoy spending time with anyone I'd encountered yet.

3.5-3.75 stars. The death of a young Saudi aristocrat is investigated by Nayir, a friend of the family who is a desert guide, and a young woman Katya, betrothed to an adopted brother in the family. Nayir's character is somewhat inconsistent, with strong cultural beliefs about women, who manages to work with Katya in solving the mystery. Katya's character is much better, helping to show the deep gender divide in Saudi culture, and then make herself successful in contravention thereof. The cultural and setting aspects of the book were better than the murder mystery. ( )

A basic murder mystery is raised above the norm by its setting in Saudi Arabia. We see how one of the most controlling and repressive societies in the world affects the lives of its citizens; the rich and the not-so-rich, male and, most tellingly,female. Nayir, the desert guide, who is engaged by a wealthy family to find their missing daughter, starts off the book as a slightly unsympathetic character. He struggles to uphold his devout muslim beliefs in the face of all sorts of challenges, mainly involving females. He teams up with Katya, an intelligent and independantly-minded employee at the Coroner's Office and slowly looses his prejudices. Their developing relationship is what captivated me most; Nayir's sense of humour slowly emerges and when I reached the final page I was really rooting for him. ( )