Play Book Tag discussion

Finding Nouf – Zoë Ferraris
4****

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



LINK to my review

I'm so glad you liked it. I loved this book and it is part of a short series which I enjoyed. Ir further develops Kata's and Nayir's story.