Done and done with these. In addition to the highly questionable politics, we now have far far far too many storylines.

I find Ferraris's novels disturbing to read - the attitudes of the religious fundamentalists are pervasive and powerful, to the extent that there is a veil of fear hanging over everything. I have no idea if this is an accurate portrayal of life in Saudi Arabia, but it is convincing, as are the stories of foreign workers and the abuse they suffer. The three main characters - Katya, Nayir and Ibrahim - are sympathetic and flawed, and the various mysteries are interesting.

Even though this is book 3 of a series I picked it up and was able to enjoy it without any of the history of the characters. It is a serial killer thriller set in Jeddah Saudi Arabia and the hunt for the killer is interestingly played out against the cultural and religious expectations of the country. Thus a female forensics detective has to battle the authorities requirements that women are covered, do not mix with men, and have a subserviant role when clearly this is an exceptional woman investigator. The book deals with religion, exploitation of immigrants, the effect of adultery, the impossibility of divorce,womens role in the society, and the corruption of the system in a way that did not feel forced and only added to the tension of the police procedural. A very enjoyable page turner and I will look out for more of her books.

My favorite of the series so far. Set in modern day Saudi Arabia, Katya(a female lab tech) works with the chief inspector Ibrahim to solve the mystery of 19 women found murdered in the desert. The novel has great setting and describes the intricatcies of women, work, and family in Saudi Arabia.

Once more, I have to point out how wonderful and convincingly well written the characters are!

The struggles Nayir and Katya face in their relationship were realistic and rang familiar, to a degree.
It's not often that I genuinely doubt if the literary couple (I'm rooting for) is going to come together.

I've liked the previous titles in the series, but this one's the strongest!
I'm hoping there's a fourth one in the making? Any info? Anyone?

Kingdom of Strangers is a crime novel set in Saudi Arabia. The crime component reminded me of tv shows like Dexter and Bones-- solving an elaborate puzzle to catch a flamboyant cereal killer. I've read very few crime novels so I'm not sure how it compares to the rest of its genre.

The hunt for the cereal killer provides structure, suspense and pace, but the subplots are the really interesting part of the story. Detective, Ibrahim, and forensics technician, Katya, both face complications in their private lives that are specific to their culture. Ibrahim’s mistress has gone missing, but he can't report this since their relationship is a crime punishable by death. Katya is trying to push for the career she wants, but the code of conduct she must follow as a woman is a minefield.

I found this book a really interesting insight into the laws, culture and religious practices of Saudi Arabia and what people's day to day lives are like in a society so different from my own. On top of that it was a quick, easy and satisfying read with smooth prose.

Extremely interesting insight into life in Saudi Arabia cleverly woven together in an intriguing tale of love, murder and everyday struggles. I was a little dissatisfied with the ending as I never felt like there was a big climax, it just slowly tied everything together and came to a leisurely end, but I think it felt right in retrospect.

Well done. This book was a delightful surprise. She really captured the essence of human nature and how some of us deal with one another within the confines of Islam.

I really enjoyed this book, mainly because of the depiction it gave of being a woman in modern day Saudi Arabia. I learned so much I didn't know about Saudi culture. And wow, am I ever glad to live where I do as a woman! It was also quite a page turner though definitely some darker themes, definitely not a book I'd want my kids reading.

I have kind of a love-meh relationship with these books! I love the portrait of Saudi life. I love (many of) the characters. But the mystery plots... they are the weak link. Not terrible, but they don't quite play by the rules of either the traditional mystery or the modern thriller, and not in a "messing with conventions" kind of way, just a "crap, how do I tie up this mystery?!" kind of way.

Also, as much as I love the characters, Ferraris has been introducing new ones every book, so that people I'd like to see more of get shoved to the background. Nayir, who was arguably the main character in [b:Finding Nouf|2302650|Finding Nouf (Nayir al-Sharqi, #1)|Zoë Ferraris|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266714311s/2302650.jpg|2309056] is even further in the background in this book than he was in [b:City of Veils: A Novel|7168509|City of Veils A Novel (Nayir al-Sharqi, #2)|Zoë Ferraris|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1279399390s/7168509.jpg|6680130]; Osama, whose story was central to [b:City of Veils: A Novel|7168509|City of Veils A Novel (Nayir al-Sharqi, #2)|Zoë Ferraris|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1279399390s/7168509.jpg|6680130], is consigned to the periphery; and I fear that Ibrahim, whose story is one of the main plots of this book, will be similarly absent from the next book.

This series reminds me of Ruth Rendell's Wexford books - a similar weaving of crime-solving, social issues, and domestic drama. Even the settings, though outwardly very different, seem to share a similar sense of claustrophobia - the insular smallness of Wexford's small English town vs. the suffocating layers of restriction that Katya and the other characters encounter in Jeddah, from societal pressures to burqas and abaayas to the oppressive desert heat.

Anyway, for all that I'm bitching about the mystery plots, these books are competently written and feature compelling characters. I highly recommend them.