Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #196024 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Review
'Ferraris's remarkable debut is a tense psychological drama, and a riveting portrait of everyday life in a society with paranoid attitudes towards women and sex' --Sunday Times

'The sympathy she extends to her characters makes this both a likeable novel and a timely one' --New Statesman

'Her well-written, sure-footed debut novel is not only an intriguing literary whodunnit but also a fascinating window on a world where both men and women live bizarrely unnatural lives shackled by religion' --Daily Mail

New Statesman
'The sympathy she extends to her characters makes this both a likeable novel and a timely one'

Daily Mail
'Her well-written, sure-footed debut novel is not only an intriguing literary whodunnit but also a fascinating window on a world where both men and women live bizarrely unnatural lives shackled by religion'

Customer Reviews

Excellent!
This is a really good whodunnit, beautifully written, with an excellent plot that makes you want to go on and on reading it. But the fascinating extra dimension is the setting, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and the relationship between the central character, Nayir, a devout and traditional Muslim, and the other characters, in particular the female pathologist he has to co-operate with. Highly recommended!

a lerning curve mystery
So much to learn about the relationship between men and women in the traditionally strict Muslim society in Jeddah made this a learning curve as well as a gripping mystery whodunnit. Beautifully written with a sensitive portrayal of the male main character. I can't wait for the next book!

Superb
This a fascinating novel that at one level is a crime story but on another level is a fascinating and beautifully written portrayal of life in the Middle East. At the core of the story is an examination of the relationship between men and women in a very different culture to our own. The plot builds nicely towards a satisfying denouement but the real pleasure is in reading about the society within which the mystery is embedded. You can almost smell, touch and feel the scorching heat and desert sands (and sense the relief offered by air-conditioned buidlings). Superb.