Set in Jeddah, a more "progressive" city in Saudia Arabia, a woman is found washed up on a beach, brutally murdered.

A murder investigation follows, involving the disappearance of the American husband of a woman recently returned from a trip home to America (and who is finding living away from the American compound hard, especially navigating all the rules placed on women), a woman attached to the police department and her friend who is really in love with her.

Each person is trying (with various levels of success) to live in a world where both women and men are expected to live by certain behaviour, and how they struggle when it seems these rules are broken.

The book makes no excuse for Islam (and it shouldn't) but shows instead how people try and live by the rules, circumvent them when they can or think it necessary, and that ultimately, many people are simply human.

Meanwhile there's also the crime to investigate which boils down to theft and blackmail
( )

I hadn't read the first novel in this series from Zoe Ferraris but City of Veils, set in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia was both fascinating and gripping. A young woman's body is washed up on the shore, due to her injuries she is difficult to identify. It is Katya, a forensic scientist who is keen and clever, who find the bluetooth in her cloak and reveals her identity. Miriam, an American woman, returns to Jeddah after a month in the US as her husband is working in Saudi Arabia. Her husband is late collecting her from the airport, drives her to their flat, goes out for takeaway and then disappears. These two mysteries eventually collide and all with the backdrop of Islamic ways of living that make it difficult for women to get out and about. Nayir, a desert guide and friend of Katya helps out and Osama is the detective on the case. We see characters change and develop as they navigate the rules and come across new experiences as the cases are investigated and different people interviewed. ( )

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, Sausi Arabia, specifically, the coroner's office), who are attracted to each other, but precluded by contact by strict social codes. A woman washes up on the beach, badly beaten, stabbed, disfigured and is thought to be one a housekeeper until Katya discovers she had a Bluetooth recorder in her hijab and is able to connect her to a missing persons report. The victim is a divorcee, who lives with her tyrannical brother, and works part-time as a videographer for a local news station. Meanwhile, an American is traveling back to Saudi Arabia, and her husband goes missing after meeting her at the airport. The lead investigator loses his female detective and Katya is given an opportunity to partner with him, making the most of her chance, including bringing in Nayir when alternate versions of the Quran become important in the investigation. Very good detective story, with complex social issues, and interesting view into Saudi culture. ( )

The second book is a great follow-up to the first. And if nothing else, the sandstorm description is remarkable. ( )

Wow. #2 in the series and it's even better than #1. I was on edge at first, wondering if the author would be able to hold this tension between being respectful and honest about the practice of Islam - and I begin to see the correlations with the practice of any belief system which is both personal and cultural. Then there's the mystery itself, the vividness of the characters and, yes, the love interest. The final 2 pages are delicious. ( )