City of Veils by Zoe Ferraris
It is rare that a follow-up book is better than the first, but as much
as I really enjoyed Ferraris’ first Saudi Arabia mystery, Finding Nouf,
the second one is even better. The main characters are Nayir, a devout
Muslim desert guide, and Katya, a forensic analyst caught in the dilemma
that is Saudi’s policing system - there is strong disapproval of women
who have jobs, but men are not allowed to interview female suspects or touch
female corpses; there must, therefore, be female police officers and
analysts, but women shouldn’t have jobs… read the rest of Lillian's review.
Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong
I have to confess: I may not have read this novel if I hadn’t been
invited to meet the author, despite all the great things I heard about
Truong’s previous novel, The Book of Salt. I should just tell myself to stop thinking and just start reading because oh, am I glad I am read this! The narrator, Linda, has synesthesia that makes her taste words as she hears and speaks them...read the rest of Tegan's review