Kingdom of Strangers

A Saudi inspector investigates the chilling case of a serial killer operating under the radar in this thriller by the author of City of Veils.

“Ferraris lifts the veil from a culture where apparent virtue masks violence. . . . This sensitive and enlightening mystery is sure both to move and to chill its readers.” —Shelf Awareness

When a secret grave is unearthed in the Saudi desert, the bodies of nineteen women are discovered and a shocking truth is revealed: a serial killer has been operating undetected in Jeddah for more than a decade.

As the officials investigate, lead inspector Ibrahim Zahrani and Katya Hijazi, one of the few women in the police force, are drawn into a dark underworld that exploits the most vulnerable members of Saudi society.

In this tense, page-turning thriller, award-winning author Zoë Ferraris weaves a tale of psychological suspense around an elusive killer and the sinister forces trafficking in human lives in the Middle East.

“Ferraris expertly mines her locale for tantalizing details.” —New York Daily News

“Engrossing. . . . Suspense is heightened in intimate scenes that reveal the tensions of life in a theocracy.” —The Washington Post

“The suspenseful unraveling of clues mixes with an insightful look at Saudi social politics. . . . Thanks to Ferraris’s watchful eye, we see how both men and women are isolated within their culture and how severely they’re punished when they break the code.” —O, The Oprah Magazine