Light of the Desert by Lucette Walters

Born into a wealthy family, loving parents, and a beautiful home, Zafferra and Noora have the best of everything, including the chance to be educated in London. What more could they want?

Noora is engaged to Michel, handsome and with good prospects he is everything a girl could want, and he is deeply in love with her.

However, this story is about sibling rivalry, a common problem, however Zaffeera’s jealousy of her sister Noora transcends all reason. Carefully hidden beneath her meek demeanour, Zafferra is harbouring a deep jealousy, it is consuming her! Nobody realises, but as a young girl she had fallen in love with Michel after a chance meeting years before, she should be his wife, and is determined it will be so.

Time is running out, soon the sisters will be leaving London, returning to Egypt for Noora and Michel’s wedding. So, during their last few days in London, Zafferra puts her plan into action…

When they excitedly return home, the reception Noora receives leaves her confused. Then, when she is called to a meeting with her father, her life changes forever. For their father, Farid Fendil is a loyal MOFHAJ member, and having been presented with undeniable evidence of an immoral crime being perpetrated, by a member of his family, he knows what he must do.

Thus Noora finds herself fleeing for her life, travelling across continents, in her pursuit of sanctuary she must take on a new identity.

With her new name, Kelley, her life changes in ways she could never have imagined, however, the past has a way of catching up on you, and as the sisters both discover, the future can never be assumed.

We read every day in the papers, and see on the news the damage and chaos caused by fundamentalist groups, and hear horrific tales of female circumcision, and other ordeals which are inflicted on women and children in the Middle East. This story graphically brings these things to life.

This gripping novel captures your attention from the very first page. It takes you on a wonderful adventure, yet it is also a beautiful love story, interlaced with jealousy, betrayal and a myriad of other emotions. To me it was not only entertaining, but also fascinating, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

About the Author: Lucette Walters was born in Alexandria, Egypt, grew up in Paris, relocated with her family to Chicago, and eventually moved to Los Angeles where she pursued a career in film. She recently completed the screenplay adaptation of Light of the Desert and is working on her second novel.

About the Book: It is 1972 when Noora Fendil is born into a wealthy Middle Eastern family. As she grows up blessed with beautiful eyes and a lean body, Noora's intelligent yet plain younger sister, Zaffeera, becomes increasingly jealous. But now that Noora is engaged to the only man she has ever wanted, Zaffeera's envy is about to spiral out of control. Just before her wedding, Noora is framed by Zaffeera, who has developed a diabolical plan to destroy her sister's happiness. Believing she has shamed him and dishonored the family name, Noora's father follows a secret ancient practice and attempts to drown her. As her lifeless body floats away from him, Noora's father has no idea she has survived. Now on a journey to escape her nightmare, Noora's dangerous path takes her from Jordan to Egypt and France, and eventually California. Along the way, she hides her true identity in the hope that one day she can return to prove her innocence, even as she is stalked by a fundamentalist determined to seek justice. Light of the Desert shares the moving tale of a Middle Eastern woman's remarkable journey of survival, courage, and the ultimate act of humanity. “. . . A truly inspiring and engrossing novel. . .”

Available from Amazon in Hardcover https://www.amazon.com/Light-Desert-Lucette-Walters/dp/1425977499/r...

Paperback https://www.amazon.com/Light-Desert-Lucette-Walters/dp/1425977480/r...

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