When the Apricots Bloom
The evocative and emotionally powerful story of secrets, family and betrayal . . .
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- 2,99 €
Publisher Description
'Thrilling yet heart-wrenching . . . This must-read novel is mesmerizing, captivating, and profound' DEBORAH RODRIGUEZ, internationally bestselling author of The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul
'I truly felt for the memorable women risking their lives to protect themselves and their families . . . Baghdad springs into vivid violent life . . . Outstanding!' DINAH JEFFERIES, internationally bestselling author of The Teaplanter's Wife
Readers can't stop talking about this book!
'I felt the warmth of the sun and tasted the sweetness of the lime tea . . . Beautiful' *****
'Riveting from beginning to end . . . A great read!' *****
'Atmospheric and suspenseful . . . I read this novel with my heart in my throat' *****
'All I can say is: WOW - read it. You won't be disappointed' *****
What would you sacrifice to protect your family?
As night falls in Huda's fragrant garden of apricot trees, a breeze sweeps in from the desert, warning of visitors at her gate . . .
The secret police have ordered Huda to befriend and spy upon her employer's wife. She is in an impossible position - if she refuses her son will be forced to join the regime's deadly militia, and worse. And it soon becomes clear that the Deputy Ambassador's wife, Ally, is keeping dangerous secrets.
Meanwhile, Huda's estranged childhood friend Rania - a sheikh's daughter whose wealth is long gone - is battling to keep her daughter safe from the dictator's men.
As their connection with Ally brings Huda and Rania reluctantly together again, each of their hidden pasts spill into the present. Facing danger - and betrayal - at every turn, all three women must decide who to trust, even as they discover just how far each is willing to go to protect the people they love . . .
Lose yourself in this evocative, emotionally powerful and completely gripping international bestseller, where secrets are precious currency and three courageous women are tested to the limit by a horrifying power seemingly beyond their control.
Have you discovered the international bestseller yet?
'Richly drawn characters and high-stakes plot' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
'[A novel] of suspense, intrigue and conspiracy; where female friendship is platformed . . . Although it is set within a backdrop of male power, where human grief is "almost a creature into itself", the power of a woman's intent for the safety of those she loves carries the novel through with a mesmerising pulsating force' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Wilkinson's vivid debut, set in early 2000s Baghdad, secrets and lies mingle as easily as the scent of apricot blossoms and nargilah smoke. Huda, a secretary to the Australian deputy ambassador to Iraq, is forced by the secret police to become an informant on Ally Wilson, the ambassador's wife, or risk her son's forced recruitment into the deadly fedayeen, the militia led by Saddam Hussein's son, Uday. Meanwhile, Ally, whose presence in Iraq is motivated by a search for answers about her long-dead American mother, strikes up an acquaintance with Rania, Huda's estranged childhood friend. When Rania's daughter draws the attention of Uday's cronies, Rania and Huda form a reluctant alliance and later rope in Ally, whose own safety is imperiled due to her being part American, to help protect their families. While the denouement is somewhat abrupt, Wilkinson weaves in the miasma of fear and distrust that characterized Hussein's regime with convincing detail ("Two can keep a secret only when one of them is dead," a character remarks sardonically). Scenes from Iraqi life paying for work with food items, or snacking on "counterfeit Keet Katts' " offer a glimpse into a country crippled by economic sanctions. The richly drawn characters and high-stakes plot are enough to compensate for the minor shortcomings.
