Title:The Night of the Miraj
Author: Zoe Ferraris
Source: Personal Library
Genre: Mystery
Set in: Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
My thoughts:
I love reading anything set in the middle east, so when i saw the desert on the cover, I picked it up without realizing what the book is about. I was surprised when later I read the synopsis carefully and noted that it was a thriller. I don’t know many thrillers set in the desert. Imagine my surprise when I found out that ‘Night of the Mirage’ is the book ‘Finding Nouf‘ with a different name, a book which had been on my wish list for some time.
A rich 16 year old Nouf goes missing taking with her a truck and a camel. Assuming she is either kidnapped or has ran off into the desert, her family takes help of a family friend Nayir who knows a lot about the desert. Nayir takes help of Katya, Nouf’s brother’s fiance, who works in the forensic department. As Nayir and Katya learn more about Nouf and her life, we as readers get to see inside the life of the rich of Jeddah and also get a glimpse of a society which likes to keep its women under wraps and their family honor intact under any circumstances.
Set in Jeddah, this book offers a unique setting which the author has bought to life. It feels like you are actually inside Jeddah and are looking at real people and real issues. The Night of the Miraj is not just a mystery but it also shows the changing face of the society when it comes to women and their position in it.
Recommended. I’m really looking forward to City of Veils, the follow up to The Night of the Miraj.
Book-Shelved 
How cool! It’s like you were meant to find this book. 🙂
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Absolutely 🙂
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Oh no! I’ve got City of Veils – I didn’t realize that there was a book before it. I’m glad to see the author’s work is good, though.
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I’ve read the synopsis of City of Veils, I don’t think the main plot has anything to do with the plot in this book. Only the main characters seem to be the same. At least I hope so.
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I’ve never read a book set in Saudi Arabia. This one looks like I’d learn a lot about the society. Great review!
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Ooh, wow, I do like the sound of this. Like Stacy, I’ve also never read anything set in Saudi Arabia (though my mother has an abundance of books set there) so would really like to read something like this. 🙂 That’s so cool though – I had no idea books changed their titles unless written in different languages.
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I came to know about the different titles thing recently too. I think it’s really bad for the book. I would have kept searching for ‘Finding Nouf’ in bookstores and never found it.
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I really want to read Finding Nouf, so I’m glad you enjoyed it. Also, I have City of Veils to review and had no idea it was a sequel, so I’m glad you told me!
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