Bookreporter.com - FINDING NOUF by Zoë Ferraris

FINDING NOUF
Zoë Ferraris
Mariner Books
Literary Mystery
Hardcover: 9780618873883
Paperback: 9780547237787

Life in Saudi Arabia is notoriously opaque. Closed to most outsiders and with women covered and often kept isolated, it is hard to imagine, much less penetrate, the social and personal customs and daily lives of the people who live there. First-time author Zoë Ferraris takes readers inside Saudi society with her exciting novel, FINDING NOUF. It is a tale of secrets and sensuality, propriety and identity --- and it is a good mystery as well.

When a teenage girl disappears from her isolated family home, a search is quickly organized. Fearing she was kidnapped, but lacking a ransom note, her parents and her many siblings and cousins are at a loss. Nouf ash-Shrawi seemingly vanished into the harsh desert, taking with her only a camel by her side. Could she have run away hesitant about her upcoming marriage, or feeling stifled by the religious laws and traditions that demanded modesty and subservience? Her brother Othman brings in a trusted friend to investigate. Nayir ash-Sharqi, along with his Bedouin comrades, begins to track Nouf, but her body is found at another site. Nayir's search continues, however. He hopes to solve the mystery of her death, understand the family he has known for so long and challenge himself personally and professionally.

Nayir is lonely for a real connection and longs for a wife and spiritual partner. He is strangely attracted to Katya Hijazi, a lab tech also working on Nouf's case. But her forwardness embarrasses him and forces him to rethink his beliefs about men and women and gender roles under Islam. He and Katya learn that they share a curiosity about Nouf as well as a relationship to the Shrawi family. The two continue to investigate Nouf's death and uncover her secrets, including a mysterious American who promised her a life of freedom in the U.S. But it is not easy work figuring out who killed her and why.

FINDING NOUF is a well-crafted mystery with several logical suspects, plenty of doubt and dead ends, a compelling corpse and likable investigators, in addition to a unique setting. The Saudi Islamic culture is, in fact, more than a setting; it is fascinating and very important to the tale. Yet it never distracts, and Ferraris never makes readers feel ignorant or like tourists. She brings us neatly into the worlds of Nouf and Nayir.

Ferraris also deftly plays with symbols and themes. The desert is a character of sorts, almost unknowable, revealing its secrets to those with patience. The evil eye crops up now and again to offer protection and signify tradition. For Nayir, a coat bought at the market on a whim acts like a talisman and allows him to don a new layer of self to confront the case and work with Katya. Many of the characters are outsiders to the rigid and traditional society in which they are living: Othman is the adopted Iraqi son of the Shrawi family, Nouf is passionate and curious in a world where she is expected to be quiet and restrained, Katya is educated and bold and seems to some immodest, and Nayir is a Palestinian raised by an uncle as a quasi-Bedouin in Saudi Arabia. Each searches for acceptance and peace but often finds danger, discomfort or worse. Perhaps, though, Nayir can find happiness once he puts Nouf's case behind him.

FINDING NOUF is a solid debut. It is interesting, smart and never falls back on easy answers or simple stereotypes. The characters are finely portrayed, and the strict Islamic culture is shown honestly but with great respect. Nayir is the Saudi man we don't commonly imagine: traditional yet kind, religious yet sensitive. The book is more literary than many murder mysteries but just as entertaining and is sure to please readers who wouldn't normally pick up a mystery. Saudi Arabia is a country most of us will only travel to in books, and Ferraris's story brings it to life for readers with a well-told narrative.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

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