TBR #22. City of Veils by Zoë Ferraris.
First sentence: “The woman’s body was lying on the beach.”
In classic mystery tradition, the discovery of an anonymous body opens this novel, sequel to Finding Nouf, wherein desert guide Nayir and forensic scientist Katya make an unusual detecting pair. What I like about these two books is the integration of setting–Jeddah, Saudi Arabia–with cultural change–the wearing of burqas, the role of women, and even the inerrancy of the Quran.
Although Nayir is a man with traditional Islamic views about gender roles, his conflicts about justifying his religion and his new opinions make him the most interesting character of the novel. (Plus I have a weak spot for deserts, and so does Nayir.) His evolution and his relationship with Katya are almost more engrossing than the solution of the mystery. I found myself a bit frustrated by the novel’s resolution, not of the murder, which was perfectly fine, but by the almost-cliffhanger-ending about the characters’ personal lives.
If there is another book in the series, which there certainly must be, I will read for the local flavor and to find out more about Nayir and Katya. If there are one or more corpses in the background, all the better.
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