CRIME FICTION SET IN SAUDI ARABIA

http://awej.org/images/AllIssues/Specialissues/Translation4/10.pdf
Above link is an article on crime fiction in Arabic literature. This is a scholarly and excellent article.
++++++++


 Here is the list of 5 crime fiction books set in Saudi Arabia I enjoyed.

Finding Nouf 2008 is the same as The night of the Miraj 2008
City of veils 2010
Kingdom of strangers 2012
All of the above 3 books are by Zoe Ferraris.
Incidentally, Ferraris is an American lady who was married to a Saudi-Palestinian Bedouin when she wrote her first book "Finding Nouf". By the time she wrote her second book, she had separated from him and moved back  to USA. Her books reveal how claustrophobic life is for Saudi women. The more I read books set in Saudi and other Gulf countries, the more I grateful that I was not born there!

Dan Fesperman's Layover in Dubai is a crime fiction I really enjoyed--it's set in Dubai, a city of UAE, a country which is a neighbour of Saudi Arabia.

A Gentleman's game: a queen and country novel by Greg Rucka. This is a thriller about a female assassin of the British government who kills a terrorist.

++++++++++

Raja Alem's A dove's necklace, to be released in May 2016 won the Arabic Booker award in 2011. 
The reviews have rated this book very highly and I am looking forward to reading it. Though it is a murder mystery, it is much more than a crime fiction.  And the story is set in Mecca which would have shocked and irritated the religious bigots of the world! Today, I have placed a hold on it in TPLibrary and hope to get it soon and read it!

I read  A dove's necklace for the first hundred pages and gave up...sadly, it's not my cup of tea!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Other books  I read which are not crime fiction but are set in Saudi Arabia are :

 The Ruins of us by Keija Parssinen, which reflects life of a Saudi family and the emotional difficulties faced by a son born of an American mother and Saudi father.
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea and translated by Marilyn Booth is another fast, interesting read about life of girls and women of a certain section of Saudi Society. This book gives a peek of life in Saudi Society which is always a bit of a mystery to many as there are  few books from this country.
Princess Sultana's circle by Jean Sasson is another book set in Saudi which I read and felt disgusted by the fate of women in the country.

Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis by John R Bradley. He is  a journalist and tells about today's Saudi Arabia ;this book is highly  readable, though it is not fiction! It was after reading Bradley's book,  that I was inspired to read  crime fiction book set in Saudi Arabia . I liked all of the crime fiction I read but was  appalled by the life of women in Saudi Arabia. I thank God that I was not born in that wretched country.( I apologize sincerely to the moderate Saudies and all women & children of Saudi for calling their country wretched)


+++++++++++++
The final bet is, according to a news item I saw on the internet,  supposed to be the 'first Arab crime novel' translated to English. Not read it yet. It is set in Morocco. It is written by Abdelilah Hamdouchi and he's written 8 other crime novels.
++++++

Throwing sparks by Abdo Khal: Not crime fiction but crime, nevertheless! This is banned in Saudi Arabia...possibly as it is about crimes  by big shots who live in palaces! 
++++++
Check these (not crime) novels from Arab world shortlisted for a prize

Rabai al-Madhoun ("The Lady from Tel Aviv"), 
Mansoura Ez Eldin ("Beyond Paradise"), 
Rabee Jaber ("America"), 
Mohamed Mansi Qandil ("A Cloudy Day on the West Side") and 
amal Naji ("When the Wolves Grow Old").